1 October 2019

See below re comment from Mayor Chadwick in response to your enquiry but first, for your understanding and additional info please note:

Housing is a key challenge for Council and the district, as identified in this year's Pre-election Report and there is community engagement currently underway with a view to development of a housing strategy for the Rotorua district. See more HERE

There's further reference to development of a housing plan in the Daily Post's two page feature from Saturday just gone relating to the role of councils (pages 6 and 7). Towards the end Rotorua Lakes Council CE Geoff Williams is quoted regarding work with central government agencies to look at a more integrated response to social challenges and council working with Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and Housing New Zealand.

You'll find the letter to ministers the mayor refers to in her comment HERE - go to p6 of the draft minutes from the Extraordinary Council Meeting held 12 September during which the letter was tabled. It was reported on by the Daily Post - see their story HERE.

IMPORTANT RE LETTER: Please note that the reference in the letter to "Rotorua has about 2700 people registered as homeless and needing accommodation assistance" should be "Rotorua had about 2700. The number refers to 2676 people in Rotorua who needed emergency housing special needs grants in 2018 in Rotorua because they were unable to find housing and needed accommodation assistance. The information came from the Ministry of Social Development.
Comment from Mayor Chadwick:
"As it is around New Zealand, housing is an issue of high concern for Rotorua and we need to keep the pressure on to get more housing.
"I've written to the Ministers of housing, local government and transport expressing our concerns and frustration at a lack of alignment between government agencies and with the likes of NZTA objecting to subdivisions on land we are trying to open up for housing. We have been talking to government agencies about this and I wanted to ensure the relevant ministers are aware because this misalignment is keeping people out of homes.
"We need more homes of all types and solutions will require a collaborative approach by all with a role to play, including local and central government and its agencies. Ultimately, we all want the same outcome but what we are currently doing collectively isn't producing the homes our community desperately requires. We want to develop a plan and actions so we can provide homes that match people's needs and align with the aspirations of our community. Council can't do this alone and is prepared to work with all agencies and organisations to provide housing solutions for our community.
As I've said many times, using motels as temporary housing is not a viable long-term solution. It is far from ideal for those requiring emergency housing and is not what visitors expect.
"Council's primary focus around homelessness has been to support and work collaboratively with other organisations that have expertise to provide services and deliver long-term solutions like the Housing First programme which is now underway in Rotorua. The reintroduction of the wellbeings into the function of local government places greater expectation on councils to take the lead in facilitating localised responses to social issues like this."

Comment from Mayor Chadwick:

As it is around New Zealand, housing is an issue of high concern for Rotorua and we need to keep the pressure on to get more housing.

I've written to the Ministers of housing, local government and transport expressing our concerns and frustration at a lack of alignment between government agencies and with the likes of NZTA objecting to subdivisions on land we are trying to open up for housing. We have been talking to government agencies about this and I wanted to ensure the relevant ministers are aware because this misalignment is keeping people out of homes.

We need more homes of all types and solutions will require a collaborative approach by all with a role to play, including local and central government and its agencies. Ultimately, we all want the same outcome but what we are currently doing collectively isn't producing the homes our community desperately requires. We want to develop a plan and actions so we can provide homes that match people's needs and align with the aspirations of our community. Council can't do this alone and is prepared to work with all agencies and organisations to provide housing solutions for our community.

As I've said many times, using motels as temporary housing is not a viable long-term solution. It is far from ideal for those requiring emergency housing and is not what visitors expect.

Council's primary focus around homelessness has been to support and work collaboratively with other organisations that have expertise to provide services and deliver long-term solutions like the Housing First programme which is now underway in Rotorua. The reintroduction of the wellbeings into the function of local government places greater expectation on councils to take the lead in facilitating localised responses to social issues like this.