3 March 2021
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Boozy liquor licence application
Enquiry
I've been speaking with business owner Ankush Konde who is in the process of applying for a liquor license for his business, Boozy (which is a part of Deliver Eats).
He says he applied for the license in the first week of October 2020 and the police met with him and submitted a report to the DLC.
Toi Te Ora also met with him but have yet to submit a report, which I understand is enabled by the immediate modification order (IMO) which means from the date on which the current Epidemic Notice is lifted, police and medical officers of health will have a further 30 (instead of 15) days to file a report. That Epidemic Notice is in place for three months from December 23 2020 unless lifted earlier but may be extended past March 22 2021.
Mr Konde is frustrated by this and although much of his problem is with Toi Te Ora, I have some comments for right of reply for the council and also some questions.
If the council could please get back to me by 2pm tomorrow (March 2) that would be much appreciated.
[btw I have a letter from Karen Hunt to Mr Konde and an email to him from Kurt Williams].
Questions:
[for clarification, can you please briefly explain the process of applying for a liquor license - ie. is it standard for all liquor license applications to have reports from the police and TTO? Indeed I have looked at the council's website but haven't found a clear pathway laid out].
- How many liquor license applications has the council received since the first epidemic notice was put in place?
- Of those, how many have received submissions by Toi Te Ora?
- Can an attributable council spokesperson please comment on Mr Konde's frustration with this situation? Mr Konde says if no resolution is found soon he will take the business, which he believes will employ at least 3 - 4 people on a part-time basis, to Hamilton where he understands he is likely to receive a liquor license - is this an ideal outcome to the council?
- What is the mayor's view of this situation?
Comments:
Owner Ankush Konde applied for a liquor off-license for Boozy to Rotorua Lakes Council's district licensing committee in the first week of October last year and the Police met with Konde then submitted a report to the committee for its consideration.
Konde said in the same week Toi Te Ora Public Health also met with Konde to understand the business' operation.
The next step in the process would be for Toi Te Ora to deliver its report on Konde's application, but months later, the report has not been submitted and Konde - and his business - is in limbo.
Konde said he has invested about $20,000 in the business so far and had employed a duty manager for the Boozy operation, but that person had left the job because he did not see a "future" in it due to the delay.
"The problem is we have applied for a license for more than six months. There is no timeframe that we are getting from the council on when our license will be approved [or rejected].
"We applied in the first week of October and it's the 1st of March. It's been more than five months, we're still waiting for the license. Nothing is happening in the background.
"When you can get a firearm delivered to your doorstep why can't we have liquor? Because in the liquor delivery, we are not opening any extra liquor stores or retailing anything. We are just delivering what we have existing in Rotorua. We're just trying to deliver from the liquor store to the customers."
"My conclusion is the medical officer either doesn't understand or is doing it intentionally.
"How long do we have to wait? I thought it should not be any problem. You can't just do the research for six months. If she's not happy, just give us a no and we'll go for a hearing, but she's not saying yes or no, so there's no rejection. Everything has stopped."
Response
The licence application process/pathway varies depending on the type of licence required. Mr Konde has applied for an off-licence (endorsed for remote sellers) which always requires reports from the police and the Medical Officer of Health.
Timeframes for reporting on and processing applications are determined by legislation. Currently these timeframes are impacted by the Government's Immediate Modification Order which gives police and Medical Officers of Health extra time to consider applications.
NOTE TO REPORTER - The following link may be useful to you - it contains information for both DLC's and applicants while the Epidemic Notice remains in force - Information about alcohol licensing during COVID-19 | New Zealand Ministry of Justice.
Re how many liquor license applications council has received since the first epidemic notice was put in place: 174 in total (excluding Managers Certificates (new and renewals) and Temporary Authority applications).
Re how many of those have received submissions by Toi Te Ora: The Medical Officer of Health has reported on 155 of these applications.
While others have experienced delays under the IMO, Mr Konde's application is the only one currently experiencing a delay of this length.
From Rotorua District Licensing Committee's Chairperson - Commissioner Karen Hunt:
"The Rotorua District Licensing Committee (DLC) has an independent role in considering and determining applications for licences and Manager's Certificates.
"While the DLC appreciates Mr Konde's frustration, the DLC must operate in accordance with Government's clear direction contained in the Immediate Modification Order issued under the Epidemic Preparedness Act. This includes provision to allow for an extension of time for the Police and Medical Officers of Health to report on applications. The DLC decision process relies on the independent nature of these reporting agencies.
"Mr Konde's application will be considered and a decision made by the DLC as quickly as possible once all reports have been received."
Response from Council's Manager, Community & Regulatory Services, Kurt Williams:
"We do understand Mr Konde's frustrations and the potential impact for his business. Both myself and the Chair of the District Licensing Committee have responded to Mr Konde's enquiries about the delay and have explained the impact of the Immediate Modification Order on his application, we can not influence timeframes as these are set by legislation. Council respects the independence of the District Licensing Committee and the reporting agencies."
Re mayor's view of this situation: reporter was informed that the mayor ir not directly involved in licensing and is comfortable that those involved in this process respond to the enquiry.
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Wastewater spill
Enquiry
[in response to the temporary health warning issued for Lake Rotorua - see article on RLC site HERE]
Just wondering if you're able to confirm how much wastewater got into Lake Rotorua? And what time were you notified of the leak on Tuesday?
Thinking it must be a pretty considerable amount if the whole lake needs to be issued the warning.
Response
The following information was provided:
- The call to Council's afterhours service was received at 7.02pm. This was referred to the on call staff and contractors who responded immediately.
- We are unable to determine the exact amount of wastewater that entered the lake and how much was contained within the drain. A preliminary estimate is that around 80 cubic metres of wastewater may have escaped toward the lake.
- While we want to avoid any contaminant entering our waterways, in the context of the lake which contains some 800 million cubic metres of water, this was a relatively small amount.
The health warning is a precaution to ensure the public are safe from coming into contact with any contaminated water.
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Council CCTV network
Enquiry
[follow-up to Tuesday's media enquiry re CCTV network]
Are you able to confirm whether installing new CCTV cameras worth between $4000 and $8000 (I've been told they will be that expensive) will be part of the safety plan? And if you can't comment on the price, can you at least confirm whether new CCTV is being considered and how many cameras in the CBD?
Response
Reporter was advised we can't confirm either of those things as the plan is still being developed, and highlighted that we have already stated an extension of the CCTV network could be included in the plan.
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Safety at Okareka
Enquiry
Can someone please let me know if the council would ever look at putting more security cameras at Lake Okareka, particularly at the boat ramp. There was a firearms incident there on Sunday which has really frightened residents and there has been an increase in gang activity this summer.
Obviously, this all takes money etc but some of the residents are calling for an extension of the cameras they already have.
Response
From Council's Operations Group Manager Jocelyn Mikaere:
Council takes community safety seriously, and it's important that residents and visitors are safe when spending time at lakes and recreation areas in Rotorua.
Council currently has two permanent CCTV cameras installed in Okareka. There are no current plans to add more.
A temporary CCTV camera will be installed at the Acacia Road boat ramp in the next fortnight to monitor use of the boat ramp for the next month. This could also be used to monitor other activities during this time.
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Event cancellations due to Alert Level 2
Enquiry
[information provided to reporter as a follow-up to Monday's media enquiry regarding event cancellations in Alert Level 2]:
Just as a follow-up to this enquiry, I can advise the following events have now made decisions regarding continuing or postponing:
- Industry Business: A client's perspective (3 March) went ahead with limited numbers
- Blackadder (Shambles Theatre) (5-20 March) going ahead with limited numbers
- GodZone (4-14 March) going ahead
- Opus performances (Mahy Magic and Made for Opus)(6 March) postponed. New date to be confirmed.