November 04, 2022
Te Arawa opposing homeless motels
The Rotorua Lakes Council’s partnership body has opposed an application for the city’s motels to be used for emergency housing for the next five years.
Te Tatau o Te Arawa chair Te Taru White told the commissioners hearing the application from the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development the city is being seen as a dumping ground for the homeless of the Bay of Plenty.
He says the city depends on international tourism.
“Our businesses are suffering. Our reputation is out the door as a safe place to come. People are driving up from Taupo to go mountain biking and then going back top Taupo for their accommodation. This is mayhem quite frankly and to say we are going to face another five years of homeless being housed in motels is beyond belief for us and we just can’t continue to do that, it’s as simple as that,” Mr White says.
Te Arawa wants to help provide a solution to the homelessness problem, but it has difficulty getting any information from the government agencues which created the problem.