27 June 2024

Media: Rotorua Daily Post

Topic: Homeless in tent in CBD

Enquiry

*NOTE: This enquiry was sent to Mayor Tania Tapsell and follows an enquiry to the council organisation yesterday regarding people sleeping in a tent on a footpath in the CBD

I've asked the council from a regulatory perspective to comment on homeless living in pop tents in our CBD but given you've been hot on the issue can you let me know if you've been made aware of it? It's certainly a new one for Rotorua.

Response

Mayor Tapsell provided the following comments:

A footpath is no place for a tent. It's disruptive to workers nearby and not a reflection of the top tourism destination we are.

I've heard residents concerns about those choosing to sleep rough and loitering in shop fronts. Council is working alongside our community safety partners like Police to assist these people in to better situations.

We're fortunate that in our country housing and other support and assistance are available. We do our best to encourage people to take up the services that are there to help them.

Council has been advocating for and actively investing in range of improvements to decrease social issues in Rotorua and improve community safety. We’ve seen great progress already and will keep working with community partners to continue this.