Stout Street Squatter

This morning on the way to work I walked along Stout Street - where Jennifer Graham was telling everyone that the council was coming to take all her possessions away later on that day, and we should come back to help her.

Jennifer Graham became well-known in Wellington for parking her house truck and Morris Minor on Stout Street for several months accumulating thousands of dollars in fines. The Wellington City council already have taken her housetruck because of unpaid parking fines, now they are trying to force her to move on by making her remove her possessions.

At the moment, she sleeps on a bench opposite the old Government Buildings, and has another bench taken up with a stack of her stuff covered with a bright blue tarpaulin.

I don't understand Jennifer Graham's motivations, she could have moved on some time ago and avoided losing her truck, car and now possessions, but has insisted on camping on the street. I understand she is doing this as some sort of protest, but have never been able to find out what she is upset about.

And the Wellington City Council have been backed into a corner by her. They gave her ample opportunity to remove her truck from the street (including offering to repair, warrant and register the house truck) where she was illegally parked. And they have given her notice to move on again, along with an offer to rehouse her through the Downtown City Ministry.

So, if the Council does remove her stuff, I won't be too worried about it - as long as Jennifer Graham gets the hint and accepts the help offered.