23 February 2017

Media: Rotorua Review

Topic: Extension of Smokefree Zones

Inquiry

What has the response been to the change [extension of outdoor smokefree zones] so far?

Why the phased approach to the zones - for example, why not include Eat St from the Feb 22 date?

Can I confirm that these changes do not come with any sanctions for smokers who may decide to continue to smoke in the zones?

If there are no legal powers to prevent smoking in said zones, will we end up with the potential for smokers to gather, for example, at either end of Eat St?

Response

From Rotorua Lakes Council's Strategic Development Manager, Rosemary Viskovic:

We have had a very positive response so far. The policy is about education and we know this will take time. Some people have asked questions like what happens if people do smoke in the areas, however it's early days and not all the signage is yet in place. In general, signage to remind people that certain locations are smokefree, along with the absence of ashtrays, deters smoking in those places.

Lots of people have commented on how glad they are that places where people gather are smokefree so they aren't exposed to second-hand smoke, but also we want to acknowledge that many people who smoke support the policy and agree that smoking around others isn't okay and they don't do it.

There is a lot involved behind the scenes from support signage and talking with a range of stakeholders to coordinating education and support activities with our partners. We wanted to focus on doing that effectively rather than trying to do everything at once.

We know there's a lot of work to do around the outdoor eating areas and we hope to learn from this first phase with the opportunity to try different things in the second phase in January 2018.

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Media: Seven Sharp - TV1

Topic: Substandard rental properties on Ranolf Street

Inquiry

Seven Sharp requested an interview with Mayor Steve Chadwick regarding the substandard rental properties in Rotorua featured in their show the previous night.

Response

Statement from Mayor Chadwick:

What we're seeing happening in Rotorua is growth and demand on our housing which has moved through to demand for rentals.

It's the same as what's happening in other parts of New Zealand, in particular Auckland, Tauranga and Hamilton.

Council has limited tools at its disposal to deal directly with the sorts of circumstances you've highlighted but the key here is availability of good quality, affordable housing and rental housing.

I'd welcome the opportunity to work with central government to develop a solution that addresses the wider issue.

I look at this from a community perspective - I don't want to see anyone living in sub-standard housing, especially if there's a chance it's putting their health or safety at risk. It is a concern but we're limited in what we can do as a Council so it's frustrating for us.

Council can only act on health and safety grounds or if there's deemed to be a fire hazard and in all situations we're limited in our powers to intervene.

Under the relevant legislation - the Building Act, the Health Act and the Local Government Act - the thresholds required to give council the ability to take action tend to be quite high. The level of proof required to take court action is also high and the cost of this is prohibitive and often much higher than the penalty itself.