Sydney’s CBD “tent city” residents will have to find shelter elsewhere, with police given the power by government to tear the camp down.

The bill authorises police to remove people from crown land if the land minister deems there is a “public safety issue”.

It was passed in the upper house on Wednesday evening without amendment after being introduced by the government on Tuesday in a bid to quickly clear the Martin Place camp.

The bill was opposed by Labor and the Greens who described it as nothing but a smokescreen to mask “political argy-bargy” between two tiers of government.

A plan agreed to by the City of Sydney and the homeless tent dwellers to vacate the Martin Place campsite had failed. Both the council and state government have blamed each other for the stalemate.

The opposition said the government already had the laws required to clear the tent city. But under previously existing laws, the NSW government would need to issue a warrant against the homeless residents, which the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, had said she was reluctant to do.

“It is a sham and a mockery of this chamber, it is indicative of a government that simply do not understand their legislative powers, abilities, do not understand the need to build relationships across levels of government,” Labor MP Clayton Barr said during debate in the Legislative Assembly.

Greens MP David Shoebridge said the bill was a “new low” from the government and they are giving police new powers to arrest the homeless, rather than providing permanent housing for them.

The social housing minister, Pru Goward, said the proposed legislation would ensure any unlawful use of Martin Place could be dealt with “appropriately and in a timely manner”.

“This bill underscores the principle that no one … should need to sleep in a tent in Martin Place,” Goward said. “The new powers are not intended to apply generally or specifically to homeless persons in the City of Sydney.”

Homelessness groups had criticised the proposed law before it was put to parliament.

