11 May 2023
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Emergency housing in Rotorua
Enquiry
Enquiry for Mayor Tapsell:
I'm doing a story on the latest emergency housing dashboard info for March today and have noticed the following that I'd like your comment on if possible.
- The number of motels overall in use for EH in March dropped by 2 motels since February to 30, from 32
- There are 14 non-contracted emergency housing motels still operating, down from 16 in February
- The number of households has risen to 381 from 375
- There are 6 more households in non-contracted motels than there were in February
- There are 12 more adults in non-contracted motels and 15 more kids
- This is the second slight increase in overall numbers two months in a row
- There are still 795 people in all emergency housing motels in Rotorua
- Are you still generally happy with what the Rotorua Housing Accord has achieved?
Questions:
Are you concerned the overall numbers have risen again in March like it did in February? (Increases two months in a row)
Are you concerned there are still 14 non-contracted motels being used for emergency housing in Rotorua?
Response
From Rotorua Mayor Tapsell:
The reduction of emergency housing in Rotorua is progressing in a positive direction and its good news that the total number of motels being used has decreased.
Over time numbers of motels will change, but the main thing is that we’re seeing a downward trend overall.
The Housing Accord was a commitment between Council, Government and iwi to work together for better housing outcomes for Rotorua locals.
Rotorua is in a significantly better position now and feedback from our community who have seen the improvements has been good. We now have a positive way forward for our community and those in need.
We will keep working hard to reach our goal of progressively reducing the use of motels for emergency housing in Rotorua to near zero.
As well as addressing emergency housing we have also not lost sight of the overall need for more affordable, healthy homes.