29 August 2018
Media: Stuff
Topic: Māori representation in the Waipā district
Inquiry
I'm writing an article about Māori representation in the Waipā district. Having voted down Māori wards last year, they are now looking at other ways of accommodating iwi voices.
Waikato Regional Council of course has Māori seats. I have been led to believe that Rotorua Lakes Council has some form of Māori representation as well. Do you think there would be someone at the council (members or staff) who would be interested in chatting to me this week about the rationale behind this and how successful/effective it has been? I will be talking to Waikato Regional Council as well.
Here are some of the questions I would be interested in asking:
- What policies does Rotorua Lakes Council have in place to ensure representation of tangata whenua?
- Were there problems with this structure in the beginning?
- Was it hard to get councillors onboard?
- Did it take a lot of research and workshopping by council staff?
- What has been the end result; positive effects?
- How has the public response been?
- Are there particular advantages in a council system having Māori seats rather than other means of representation, or vice versa?
Response
The Stuff reporter interviewed Te Tatau o Te Arawa chair, Te Taru White and Council's kaiwhakahaere Maori Gina Rangi.
Te Taru's kōrero canvassed the history of Te Arawa representation and the evolution of Te Tatau o Te Arawa while Gina's interview explored the operational aspect of the Te Arawa partnership.
Mayor Steve Chadwick was also interviewed and spoke about how the partnership has shaped Rotorua from a community perspective.
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Infometrics report
Inquiry
Reporter sought comment from Destination Rotorua CE Michelle Templer regarding tourism figures included in the latest Infometrics Quarterly Report.
NOTE: If you didn't see it last week click on THIS LINK to view the media release issued on Friday regarding Infometrics latest. This also includes a link to the report.
Response
The following was provided by Rebecca Wright, Executive Manager - Investment, Growth and Intelligence, Rotorua Economic Development Limited:
As Rotorua's largest employer, the tourism sector plays a key part in Rotorua's economic growth story and it's encouraging to see that our visitor economy has continued its positive growth trajectory with strong performance from both international and domestic markets. This is reflected in another recent success story with the announcement that Rotorua has been rated the 4th best place in the world for travel experiences by travel website, TripAdvisor!
Destination Rotorua continues to encourage this growth through our international trade and domestic marketing programmes. From an international visitor perspective, we partner with our industry, surrounding regional tourism organisations and key industry partners such as Tourism New Zealand, Air New Zealand and Auckland International Airport to promote Rotorua in markets such as Australia, USA, China, UK, Europe and India. Domestically, our collaboration with the Rotorua tourism industry through the Rotorua Tourism Investment Partnership Incorporated Society (RTIP Inc.) enables our domestic marketing campaign, Famously Rotorua, to raise awareness of all there is to do here and encourage repeat visits throughout the year.
These positive growth trends look set to continue with a strong pipeline of initiatives and events ahead for next year including Crankworx, the China/New Zealand Year of Tourism and Rotorua's hosting of TRENZ, New Zealand's biggest annual business-to-business travel and trade event.
While it's also great to see continued growth in tourism spend, there is still room to increase our share of high value visitors in line with the national growth rate. This year we've undertaken a comprehensive review of luxury opportunities as part of our visitor strategy that focuses on value over volume. This is about encouraging a higher spend per visitor rather than just seeking more visitors. The results will inform further work on investment and reinvestment into those authentic experiences that are valued by visitors.
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Elected member's salaries
Inquiry
A reporter asked for the new salaries for the Mayor, Councillors and community board members
Response
The reporter was given informaiton for how to locate the salaries on the Remuneration Authority's website.
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Media: Stuff
Topic: Prayers/Blessings in meetings
Inquiry
I am a reporter with The Dominion Post and Stuff, I am currently researching a piece on whether councils in New Zealand have a policy on prayers at official meetings.
I wanted to ask council, does it begin or end its meetings with a prayer, religious or non-religious blessing, or karakia, and if so, what is it?
Also, how often are these prayers/blessings/karakias said (ie at every single meeting, or only particular ones?)
Response
We can confirm that our full Council meeting is opened with a blessing/karakia which can be said in maori, english or both.
All other meetings are at the discretion of the chairs and or participants.
