Housing lobby confident of urgency in reconsenting
Andrew Crisp had met McClay and Tapsell to discuss their concerns. The statement said the ministry was “strengthening our lines of communication” with Rotorua Lakes Council.
Residents respond
Restore Rotorua — a lobby group that has openly opposed emergency housing and fought against consents being issued — also issued a statement, saying it had met McClay and Tapsell and was confident they would pursue the re-consenting issue with urgency.
“During both meetings it was very clear that neither Todd McClay nor Tania Tapsell had been previously made aware of [the ministry’s] intentions.”
Restore Rotorua said it would meet with the ministry ahead of its re-consenting application.
“The previous independent commissioner hearing, where the consents were granted for two years, came at a huge financial cost to taxpayers, Rotorua ratepayers, and Restore Rotorua supporters. Why [does the ministry] want to put the Rotorua community through this again?”
The statement said its question to the ministry was: “When will the use of Rotorua motels for emergency housing stop?”
By the numbers
The following is information from the Rotorua Temporary Housing Dashboard as of March this year.
How many motels are used for emergency housing?
There are 18 — 10 contracted emergency housing motels, six non-contracted motels used for those with emergency housing special needs grants, one Housing and Urban Development-contracted motel and one transitional housing motel.
How many households are in Rotorua emergency housing?
There are 252, up from 249 in February. There are 189 households in contracted emergency housing motels and 39 in non-contracted motels.
Who are they?
There are 234 adults in contracted emergency housing and 294 children. In the non-contracted motels there are 45 adults and 15 children. Māori make up 83 per cent of those in contracted motels and 77 per cent of those in non-contracted motels.