NZ’s ‘homeless hotspots’ identified
Rotorua is one of six ‘‘homeless hotspots’’ in New Zealand, with one business leader saying the issue is ‘‘terrorising the city’’. It comes as the Rotorua Daily
Post reveals a Rotorua Lakes Council plan to remove homeless people from its parks and reserves if they pose a threat to themselves, others or the environment.
A Housing and Urban Development Ministry spokesman said the ‘‘hotspots’’ were six areas where homelessness was an ‘‘increasing and serious issue’’ – Auckland region, Wellington region, Northland, Napier/Hastings, Hamilton and Rotorua.
The locations were not ranked and it did not mean there weren’t high levels of need in other areas, the spokesman said.
The hotspots were identified based on several factors, including advice from the Social Development Ministry and the Housing and Urban Development Ministry’s regional experts and demand for emergency housing grants. Each had a ‘‘unique set of challenges to address homelessness and housing supply’’.
Property developer Ray Cook said homelessness was ‘‘terrorising the city’’ and being a homeless hotspot did not have good implications. ‘‘From a tourism perspective, it’s not good at all.’’
Some homeless socialised on ‘‘main corners’’ and caused ‘‘all sorts of havoc’’, he said. ‘‘You feel sorry for [them] . . . but somebody needs to do something.’’
Cook believed the onus had been shifted to the council when it was a government problem.
Love Soup co-founder Ellmer Peiffer said the homeless hotspot description was fair but the problem was worse than it appeared. He said the government was doing its best with the information it had, but the hidden homeless – people sleeping in garages or couch-hoppers, for example – were likely not counted.
Love Soup helped feed Rotorua’s homeless five nights a week.
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said the town’s critical housing shortage and homelessness was a fact.
The hotspot status acknowledged Rotorua’s ‘‘urgent need’’ and ensured it was ‘‘on the radar’’ for support and programmes like Housing First, Chadwick said.
The council aimed to be an ‘‘enabler’’ for housing through the District Plan, infrastructure investment and working with landowners and developers, as well as advocating for investment from central government, she said.