7 December 2023
Media: Stuff
Topic: Emergency housing
Enquiry
Reporter contacted Mayor Tapsell and RLC to provide comment on Emergency Housing and mixed Motels throughout the country. Below are the questions for the Mayor and RLC:
Mayor’s question:
What has changed since then-Minister Woods signed an agreement to end the mixed use of motels and adopt a 'sinking lid policy' in Rotorua?
What were your suggestions to other mayors who would like to stop having emergency housing providers in their area?
RLC’s questions:
What other ways of addressing the housing crisis have you committed to?
Are you still committed to introducing targeted rates on emergency housing providers? If yes, how would they pay?
How many providers have stopped being emergency housing providers since May last year?
How has Rotorua changed since the National government introduced emergency housing in 2016?
Do you know how many people were in emergency housing in Rotorua this month?
Response
From Mayor Tapsell:
What has changed since then-Minister Woods signed an agreement to end the mixed use of motels and adopt a 'sinking lid policy' in Rotorua?
From Mayor Tania Tapsell – “Shortly after being elected I made a strong call that we needed an exit plan from emergency housing motels. Within two months we finally had acceptance and commitment from the Minister at the time to resolve the issues that were manifesting in Rotorua motels, and we signed a Rotorua Housing Accord alongside iwi partners to reduce the use of emergency housing in Rotorua to near zero as soon as possible.
“We’ve made positive progress through the Accord and reduced total emergency housing motels by almost 60% in the past year. About 30 motels that stopped being emergency housing were inspected and are monitored by Council to confirm a permanent return to tourism.
“Another success was getting transparency for our community by creating monthly housing dashboards to confirm declining numbers and prove that people will stop being moved to Rotorua from outside of the district.
“We’ve seen positive ripple effects such an improvement in crime levels within the inner city too.”
What were your suggestions to other mayors who would like to stop having emergency housing providers in their area?
From Mayor Tania Tapsell – “It’s not enough to just talk – taking action with a commitment to reduce or end the issues, and then accountability on the progress is key to addressing the complex issue of a housing crisis and the homelessness that comes with it.
“Don’t just focus on the negative issues, it’s important to provide solutions and work alongside Government and local stakeholders who can help to deliver them.”
Response from RLC organisation to follow tomorrow