May 26, 2022
Motel slam upsets Rotorua councilor
A Rotorua Lakes district councillor is upset her council is taking motel owners to court.
The council has asked the Environment Court for enforcement orders against nine motels being used for emergency accommodation after concerns were raised about whether they were fit for purpose.
Merepeka Raukawa-Tait says putting homeless and vulnerable families in motels at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown was the only option, but the plan was neither ideal nor sustainable.
“We set these families up. We put them there. The Government said to get them off the streets. We provided the motels and now we wonder why we have got the situation we have. Taking the moteliers to the Environment Court because they are not complying with local bylaws, what is that going to do.” she says.
Ms Raukawa-Tait says the council knew hotels were not suitable emergency accommodation.