9 February 2024

Date:

9 Feb 2024, 12:00 am

Categories:

Media Enquiries

Media: Rotorua Daily Post

Topic: Begging

Enquiry

I am writing a story about a homeless person being fined this morning under the Land Transport Act after police charged him with being a pedestrian and loitering on a roadway longer than necessary.

There are 3 more people who are appearing in court in the coming weeks on the same charge.

The man fined this morning was standing in the middle of the intersection at Amohau St and Fenton St and was holding a sign. He was fined $35 and ordered to pay court costs of $130.

We have in the past reported issues with homeless people begging on footpaths, for instance at the end of McDonald's. I realise the difference between the two with footpath begging potentially coming under the council and intersection begging coming under the Land Transport Act/NZTA.

I was wondering if there has been any progress with a begging bylaw or discussions with the "new Government" about making a begging bylaw easier to police, as mentioned in this story.

Response

From Mayor Tapsell:

“Our community has been loud and clear that the begging occurring at main intersections has been a nuisance and also a bad look for our top tourism town”

“There’s no doubt the cost of living is putting pressure on families. But in New Zealand those who are struggling financially are fortunate to have assistance provided to them by the Government, and there are many jobs available locally.”

“Council has been advocating for and actively investing in a broad range of improvements to decrease social issues in Rotorua and improve community safety. We’ve seen great progress already and crime seemed to have reduced in our inner city over summer.”

“The Minister for Police Hon Mark Mitchell and I have been in touch and I look forward to meeting him as soon possible to continue positive discussions on how we can work together to end safety issues in Rotorua.”

From Rotorua Lakes Council Group Manager Community and District Development – Jean-Paul Gaston:

The Rotorua Lakes Council currently has no plans to enact a begging bylaw. Nevertheless, we are actively addressing the issue of people begging on footpaths, roads, and state highways through a multi-staged approach.

Repeat begging has become a public concern, with some individuals exhibiting behaviour that is perceived as threatening, intimidating, and generally disorderly. Safety worries arise from beggars operating on raised centre islands at major intersections and outside busy businesses, presenting a negative image of our city to visitors, tourists, and locals alike.

To address this, our Safe City Guardians are working to educate and support repeat beggars. They inform them about the General Bylaw Act 2017 regarding to nuisance and public safety, directing them to relevant support agencies for assistance. Additionally, they encourage beggars to move on.

Where this has not worked, we have collaborated with Police, who has now begun issuing infringements and trespass notices.

Anecdotally, our teams have observed a decrease in beggar numbers during the summer months. Through interactions with our Guardians, Police, and MSD (Ministry of Social Development), some beggars have opted not to return.

For those who persist in begging and refuse to engage with the support process, the Council will utilise existing legislation to empower Safe City Guardians to lawfully move beggars on.

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Media: Rotorua Daily Post

Topic: New national recycling standards

Enquiry

I am writing a story to remind people of the new changes to recycling and what they can/can't put into their recycling bins now standardisation rules are in place.

Could you please answer the following questions?

What can and can't be recycled from now on?
What were some of the interesting things people tried to recycle this week, which cannot be recycled?
What does RLC think of the recycling standardisation rules? Are these rules beneficial to our environment?
How much does RLC allocate from their budget each year for rubbish collection?

Will the standardisation rules cost RLC any extra expenses to run the rubbish collection service?

Response

From Rotorua Lakes Council’s Waste and Climate Change Manager, Craig Goodwin:

Rotorua Lakes Council already uses the new household kerbside recycling set by the Government on February 1, so it is unlikely that the new standards will incur any extra expenses. If anything, we hope that it will make the service more efficient if we can reduce the levels of contamination.

In regards to your question regarding “interesting things people tried to recycle this week”. We do not have this month’s bin audit report yet. However, we recently posted on our Facebook page photos of items that had been placed in recycle bins. These included soft plastics, electrical items, clothing, building materials and much more.

It’s always disappointing to see recycling collections contaminated with waste which often results in valuable recyclables having to be send to landfill.

The Government’s move to standardise household kerbside recycling across New Zealand, led by the Ministry for the Environment Manatū Mō Te Taiao should make it easier for us all to recycle correctly which is important, especially for tourist towns like ours.

Although Rotorua already collects the standard set of items, we’re getting behind MfE’s campaign and using this as an opportunity to educate our community about the importance of recycling right.

Below is a link to the information you were seeking regarding;