13 June 2024
Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Alleged incident at sewerage scheme work site
Enquiry
I have the below for response and answer please and thank you, will also be in touch with police and Fulton Hogan.
Rotokākahi Board of Control co-chairman Peter Moke said he, his uncle and his cousin went to go fishing yesterday afternoon (about 4pm) on the lake and came across a sign within 1m of its edge notifying of the injunction.
He said he asked a nearby Fulton Hogan worker to please move the sign up to the roadworks.
He said the worker went from "0 to 100" in his response and told Moke, "touch that sign and i'll smash you".
He said it was a big man who "said some really gruesome stuff". He had a staple gun in his hand and was "towering" over Moke.
"Acting like it was a knuckle duster."
Moke said the man said "I'm from Auckland, we'll fucking kill you."
Moke said: "He rushed me".
"I have never been abused at my own lake in my life."
He believed the Fulton Hogan crew had purposefully been changed to "big boys".
He said a police liason officer went with him this morning to the site so he could make an incident report.
He said the situation deescalated when he said he would go and get his phone and video the worker, and a foreman came over.
As well as response to the above can I please ask:
Has the court made a decision on the injunction? I understand the trust has made a submission in opposition.
Is the council still seeking an injunction and will it continue to do so?
When and why were the signs put up? Who put them up?
Is the council aware of the incident?
Is it following up on it?
What is its understanding of what happened? How does this differ from what Moke has said?
How does the council plan on mitigating issues going forward?
Any other comment?
Subsequent from reporter:
can I also please ask:
Has the council liaised with Fulton Hogan over this incident or spoken to the person?
Is the council aware of other complaints?
Are there any other reported interactions between staff/contractors and members of the public?
Response
From General Manager Infrastructure and Environment, Stavros Michael:
We were made aware of an alleged incident by Fulton Hogan and they will keep us informed.
We have no comment on what allegedly occurred as we were not present at the time and the matter is being dealt with by the police.
We’ve had no reports of any other incidents at the work site.
We are taking the pre-emptive step of applying for an injunction to try and ensure nothing happens that could create a safety risk or cause damage to public assets.
The sign – which was required by the court to be erected at the work site – was in the roading corridor. It was first erected on 28 May and has had to be replaced several times since then due to being removed or damaged.
There has been no decision on our injunction application as yet. When there are objections a hearing is held before a decision is made. No dates have yet been confirmed.
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Heavy rain warning
Enquiry
Rotorua is under a heavy rain warning tomorrow and we just wanted to check if any plans were in place to front foot it especially around trouble spots like Western Rd, Paradise Valley etc.
Things like sandbags or any other preventive measures?
Response
We informed the reporter we would let him know if anything was happening and later sent him the link to a news item on RLC website: Heavy rain warning in place for Rotorua - Rotorua Lakes Council
