1 December 2022
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Business survey
Enquiry
I attended this morning business pulse survey breakfast this morning and just wanted to put some of the results to council and the mayor for response.
In general, businesses have said a new council and mayor have added to its upped positivity. Comments provided an overview that the business community wants to have a longer term vision businesses can get behind.
Specifically, when asked if council could do one thing for the business community what would it be, they said sort the emergency housing situation and repair the city's damaged brand.
It also asked business owners to write one word which describes the current state of Rotorua. The survey report says: "The results suggest a city that is struggling despite an optimistic cohort remaining hopeful."
"Lifting of sights is needed by Council to provide the business community with a vision beyond the immediacy of challenges around Fenton Street.
Business funding priorities center around infrastructure and housing.
While the responses show there are very clear immediate challenges to be addressed, comments from businesses suggest that this can't be at the expense of Council developing a long-
term strategic vision that the Rotorua business community can get behind. Businesses are calling for a proactive Council willing to work closely with Rotorua business leaders and provide leadership in the development of a sector strategy and a long-term infrastructure plan. This would also go some way to boost business confidence that Rotorua can become a city that attracts high quality talent, an area that businesses are clearly struggling with."
If businesses were given $100m to spend on long-term capital projects in the city how would it alllocate it?
Business funding priorities back up the need for a long-term vision, coupled with the immediate need for housing. Core infrastructure is the top priority, with an average sum allocated of $23.8m of the total allowed $100m.
Residential land development is the second highest with $18.3m and inner city is next at $15.6m. The Rotorua Museum and industrial land development are neck and neck at $15m.
Project-specific items such as the Aquatic Centre, Blue Baths, EEC, Lakefront and Westbrook received lower allocations.
Looking at the number of respondents who allocated funds, the inner city actually received the highest proportion with near universal support of 87%. Core infrastructure followed with 83% and residential land at 79%.
*We requested a copy of the survey from the reporter for context and full information and were provided with this – see attached
Response
Deputy Mayor Sandra Kai Fong provided the following comment:
We are heartened that the business community of Rotorua has confidence in the new council and as a team the new council is committed to finding solutions to the immediate issues we face here in our city around emergency housing but also to taking a long term view of what we need to prioritise to drive the city in the right direction. The work around setting new long term priorities is something that the new council is currently progressing.
Rotorua is an amazing place to live and visit. We will continue working hard to support our beautiful city and that includes our business sector who will play a vital role in lifting Rotorua after we saw a pandemic rock our tourism industry and the proliferation of emergency housing in motels.
We know we can’t make these types of changes overnight, and there has to be a long-term strategic vision and plan developed that has the support of business leaders and the whole community.
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Media: Newsroom
Topic: Gender, ages and ethnicities of elected members
Enquiry
Can you please email me the following breakdowns of the mayor, councillors and (separately) local/community board members elected last month?
1: Gender
2: Ages: (eg 23,45,57,57,82) or failing that, in five-year bands (18-20,21-25,26-30, etc)
3: Stated primary ethnic identification (eg 5 NZ European/Pākehā, 4 Māori, 2 Pacific Islands …)
Response
We’ve checked the waivers candidates sign when they submit their nominations and other required information – it gives permission for some information to be made publicly available but that does not include information from their proof of identification such as DOB so for privacy reasons we would not provide that information.
We do not hold information about how each individual elected member identifies in terms of gender and we hold no information regarding their “stated primary ethnic identification”.
If you wish to contact the elected members and ask them directly for information about their age and how they identify re gender and ethnicity, you’ll find names, photos and contact details at this link on our website:
Mayor and Elected Members - Rotorua Lakes Council
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Media: Spinoff
Topic: Demand for animal shelter space
Enquiry
I am writing a story about the demand for animal shelter space and I was hoping to get an idea of how many dogs were needing homes this festive season. Are you able to let me know (roughly) how many dogs are currently up for adoption in Rotorua council shelter/s?
Response
There are currently 6 dogs in the Rotorua Lakes Council pound that are up for adoption