8 April 2021
Media: Newshub
Topic: trans-Tasman bubble and concerns about accommodation
Enquiry
NewsHub requested an interview with Mayor Chadwick to:
Get her reaction to [Rotorua MP Todd McClay's] concerns Aussies won't find accommodation because the motels are full of emergency housing tenants and whether you're happy with him calling Rotorua a "dumping ground."
And to get a general overview of how important travel bubble will be to Rotorua, as well as what could be done to make sure there's enough accommodation for tourists.
*NOTE: see story HERE re comments made by Todd McClay
Response
Mayor Chadwick made the following key points:
- We don't have a capacity problem
- We have a wide range of accommodation and operators who haven't been operating at capacity are preparing to gear back up
- That includes hotels which are also indicating they will be rehiring staff
- Australians were Rotorua's biggest international visitor market prior to COVID
- Travel bubble is very important for Rotorua - the announcement of a date was long awaited and very welcome but there is also still some caution regarding regulations and ensuring we are safe
- Re concerns about motels being full of emergency housing recipients: We are working very constructively with central government and iwi around housing solutions for our homeless
- We do not want to be a "dumping ground" for homeless and have been very clear that motels are not a medium or long-term solution and the 380 children in motels is a key concern - government is listening and is working with us
- I look forward to the meeting our MP said he would have with me following his public meeting to see what came from that
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Media: Local democracy reporter
Topic: Rotorua Lakes Council redundancies
Enquiry
*This is a follow up request from a previous request for data about Council and CCO redundancies.
Thanks for those answers on Monday. To follow up, I've got some comments for the council to provide right of reply to if desired.
We've spoken to Mr Coutts on camera too, and would like to invite a representative from the council to provide right of reply on camera as well if desired.
I also have some internal council documents I would also like to share with the council.
One says there are no plans for redundancies on the council intranet and the other shows the council indicating the impact of Covid-19 was a factor in the redundancies. Let me know if the council would like to address these documents, particularly since the CEO said staffing changes "were not made as a way to cut costs in response to Covid-19".
Were all of the redundancies from the finance team? If not, where were they from?
When was the statement regarding 'no plans for redundancies' originally published to the council intranet?
When did discussions begin regarding the 12 redundancies?
How much did the council pay out in redundancy payments, total, for those 12 redundancies?
The person who was made redundant who had spent the longest time working at the council - how long had they worked for the council?
[reporter provided comments about the redundancy process from Mr Coutts and another, anonymous, former staff member]
Response
The following response was provided:
See below in response to your enquiry but please also note that the transcripts you have provided include statements about named council officers that we consider to be defamatory and we would consider publication of these to be unacceptable.
From CE Geoff Williams:
In March 2020 I informed staff that the organisation was committed to their ongoing employment and that there were no plans for redundancies. That was in the context of preparing the organisation for lockdown and with news of staffing cuts being made elsewhere (eg Auckland council) as an immediate way to cut costs in response to COVID. Rotorua Lakes Council did not do that.
Changes made to the Finance and Business Performance area in April 2019 and in September 2020, and to the SHMPAC team in October 2020, were made to ensure the ongoing efficient and effective management of the organisation. These changes were not about cost cutting.
It is disappointing Mr Coutts and the unnamed person who has commented did not take the opportunity to make these allegations through the systems available to them both during and after the restructure process.
Information:
Payments for 8 redundancies in Finance and Business Support (1 of the 8 payments was from 2019 restructure) and 5 at SHMPAC last year, totalled $438,305.57
Finance team changes in April 2019 resulted in 3 redundancies.