Maori TV interviewed the Napier beggars last week, when they complained about being treated like animals.

By denying three men the right to beg for money, the Napier City Council is breaching their fundamental freedom of expression under the Bill of Rights, a court will hear.

The three men; Turei Cooper, Major Keelan and Myles Hemopo, have pleaded not guilty to charges of breaching a council bylaw that forbids them from soliciting for money without permission.

A leading human rights lawyer believes the men have a good case, as any council bylaw that banned begging was unlawful.

MARTY SHARPE/FAIRFAX NZ Myles Hemopo, one of three Napier men to have been charged in connection with begging in the city.

Other councils across the country are keeping a close eye on the Napier case to see what impact it might have on their own begging bylaws.

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Cooper and Keelan will have their case heard in a judge-alone trial in August. Hemopo will be tried on the same day.

In a memorandum to the Napier District Court, Cooper and Keelan's lawyer, Alan Cressey said the men will seek to challenge the validity of Napier's bylaw "insofar as it applies to begging".

"It will be submitted, as it already has in overseas jurisdictions, that to deny a person the right to ask others for help is the most fundamental breach of freedom of expression possible," he said.

"Furthermore ... begging is a form of political expression that lies at the very core of freedom of expression in that it draws attention to the defendants' plight, thus raising social and political consciousness amongst the public."

CAMERON BURNELL/STUFF Lawyer Michael Bott says Napier City Council is being "hard on poor people" by criminalising people who ask for money because there is a housing crisis and they have been pushed to homelessness by the state.

The three men's alleged offending occurred on various dates in May. Keelan faces charges of soliciting for money and breaching city bylaws, Hemopo of breaching a bylaw, and Cooper of soliciting for money and disorderly behaviour.

The council bylaw in question states that soliciting any subscription, collection or donation or undertaking any busking in a public place can only be done with prior permission of the council or an authorised person.

﻿When asked ​what criteria the Napier City Council considers before deciding to grant permission, regulatory solutions manager Hayleigh Brereton said it has scope to issue permits for busking, raffles, information stalls and street appeals, provided a charitable purpose was clearly displayed.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Wellington city councillor Brian Dawson says he is yet to see any place where a begging ban has addressed the issues behind the problem.

Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis said that if the beggars were able to prove the bylaw was void under the Bill of Rights, the council would not be able to use it to lay charges.

"The whole point of freedom of speech, which is in the Bill of Rights Act, is that people should be able to speak regardless of what those in authority think of the message."

Auckland and Hamilton have bylaws that outlaw nuisance behaviour - including intimidatory begging - while Christchurch scrapped a begging bylaw after deciding it would be too difficult to enforce.

TOM LEE/STUFF Hamilton Mayor Andrew King acknowledged begging is difficult to legislate against, particularly when it threatened to cross the line into busking.

Wellington City Council voted last year against a begging ban. But it is currently reviewing its public spaces bylaw and begging will be one of many things examined.

Human rights lawyer Michael Bott said no council could construct a bylaw that was inconsistent with Bill of Rights.

"By outlawing begging the [Napier City] council has basically behaved unlawfully."

Councils can legislate against beggars forcibly or aggressively approaching people for money on footpaths, Bott said. "However banning the poor from seeking help from others more fortunate is overkill."

Wellington City Councillor Brian Dawson, who holds the social development portfolio, said he would watch the case with interest but did not believe it would "lay much ground work" to make any impact on Wellington.

"There is the potential for some pause for thought in any further decisions we make."

Hamilton Mayor Andrew King said his city's bylaw was within the Bill of Rights, and he was "quite comfortable" with the rules how they are.

While he understood the council could not ban begging, it would cross over into unlawful harassment if it involved "touching somebody or following them down the street".