5 September 2022
Media: NewstalkZB
Topic: Emergency housing
Enquiry
Newstalk ZB requested an interview with Mayor Chadwick about emergency housing.
Response
The Mayor participated in the interview and reinforced the following:
- Council shares the concerns and frustrations of the community regarding current emergency housing situation
- We are talking endlessly with Government about fixing the situation
- Always said motels are not an appropriate/safe solution
- We’re advocating for change and working with Govt & iwi
- There is no easy fix – the current situation needs to be untangled
- Using all tools available to council to do our bit – Ministers must also do their bit
- MSD voucher situation must change
- We cannot keep taking in people from outside of Rotorua
- Some of the motels being used are dogs and wouldn’t have survived Covid but the pandemic created a perverse market
- MHUD contract motels, MSD put people into the motels
- We need the right clients in the right motels while we build our way out – this will take 3 – 5 years
- We have received Govt investment to help fast-track housing
- Current situation is damaging our reputation
- Public has been very clear about the impact of concentration on Fenton Street and this needs to stop
- Re allegations against Visions – it’s the Minister’s job to look into this and she has said she will.
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Media: Stuff
Topic: Council candidate's language/slurs
Enquiry
I am writing a story about a council candidate who has been using slurs on his social media eg the word "n****er' and also general swearing eg "motherf***er" I wanted to find out if the council has any rules regarding unacceptable language for councillors or for the council as an organisation - for eg on using racist slurs or calling people names using slurs.
Response
Mayor Chadwick spoke with the reporter and reinforced that while there are no rules as such for elected members, there is a code of conduct which is based on decency and respect, this use of language is entirely inappropriate and not a good show of leadership.
She let the reporter know that this type of language would be called out in a Council setting.
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Media: The Hits (radio)
Topic: Dog registrations
Enquiry
The Hits Rotorua requested interview following media release about dog registration extension sent out last week.
See release HERE.
Response
RLC Manager, Community & Regulatory Services, Kurt Williams participated in an interview today covering information about the dog rego extension and why dog registration is important, as well as information about council’s rehoming programme and safety advice for dog owners in the lead up to summer.
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Animal control services
Enquiry
*NOTE: this is a further follow-up from enquiries last week regarding a resident’s concerns about animal control services and how her recent calls to the council were dealt with
Can I please ask if the callers concerns of the dogs being menacing and their attempts to get her cats were taken in to consideration when she called? She says she explained this in the calls to the unit. Were these concerns noted down?
Response
We provided the following:
When it comes to responding in detail to a customer’s concerns or complaints regarding a service provided by council we prefer to deal with those directly involved. This is a much more efficient and appropriate way of dealing with their concerns. In this instance Mr Williams has now been in touch with the resident you have spoken to and discussed council’s response to her calls.
The following can be attributed to Council's Manager, Community and Regulatory Services, Kurt Williams:
The public does have a right to know about how we provide our animal control services and these processes have been outlined to you in the response we provided last week.
These are the same processes our team followed when they received the after-hours calls about roaming from the resident you have spoken with.
In the one instance this resident has reported a ‘rushing dog’, our team has responded appropriately, seizing and impounding the dog that night.
In regards to the calls about roaming, our team has responded and visited the properties in question on repeated occasions in an attempt to locate the dogs, but have only been able to locate the one dog so far.
There has only been one recorded mention of a cat. This involved a call about three dogs roaming that had allegedly previously chased a cat.
Our team will continue to have a patrolling presence in this area while we determine if any additional steps are required.