2 November 2022
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Government spending on emergency housing in Rotorua
Enquiry
Reporter sought Mayor Tapsell’s reaction to the fact that $70m has been spent in Rotorua alone on EH (over 5 years) and new figures show the average length of stay is now 35 weeks (up from 18 in June 2020 and up from 25.7 in March 2022).
Reporter also asked what the Mayor thinks the solution is.
Response
From Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell:
It’s disappointing this amount of money has been spent on a solution that we know has had a much wider impact on our Rotorua community.
There is a need for some form of emergency housing for our own locals but I’ve urged Government to confirm an end to out of town homeless continuing to be placed here.
Housing people in motel units has been unsafe and an issue as the buildings are consented for short-term tourism accommodation only.
A motel is not a home and people deserve a better standard of living so building homes is the long-term solution. Council is working hard to support the delivery of more housing options and development, and to fast-track and enable more social housing where we can.
We need an immediate end to current emergency housing practice in Rotorua and my discussion with Minister Woods about this has been positive.
Due to the significant reputational damage to Rotorua we also need Government support for our tourism industry.
The social cost of emergency housing use has been immeasurably significant and I also call on Government to provide greater Police resourcing to help deal with crime in these areas.