The Government says it is possible it has paid for out-of-town people to move to Rotorua for emergency housing but says it does not "actively relocate" people. Photo / Laura Smith
The Government says it is possible it has paid for out-of-town people to move to Rotorua for emergency housing but says it does not "actively relocate" people.
Rotorua MP Todd McClay says, in his view, the phrasing is "spin", while a resident believes there is no difference.
An emergency housing motel resident who moved to Rotorua from Taranaki says she is thriving and would never have been able to do so without moving.
An official information release shows in December 2021 RotoruaNZ chairman John McRae wrote to Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni asking for the minister's "assurance that people are not being actively sent here".
RotoruaNZ is the district's regional tourism and economic development agency and is a Rotorua Lakes Council-controlled organisation.
McRae was writing in support of a November 24, 2021 letter sent to Sepuloni from then-mayor Steve Chadwick and Ngāti Whakaue kaumatua Monty Morrison about the ministry's "voucher system" that allowed people to live in motels of their choice rather than managed facilities.
In his letter, McRae said mixed-use motels meant the "rise in drug use, violent behaviour, vandalism and other anti-social behaviours in the proximity of the motels ... are destroying the reputation of our city".
On February 22, Sepuloni replied, saying as the emergency housing special needs grant was a financial grant, eligible people could choose where they stayed and the ministry could only provide advice on suitable accommodation.
"When a person chooses to move regions to access emergency housing, the Ministry of Social Development [MSD] may support them with costs for transportation when they are eligible for support.
"I can assure you that MSD, or any of their providers, do not actively relocate people to emergency housing in Rotorua."
She said sometimes relocation was the only way a whānau might find safe accommodation, such as family violence situations.
Sepuloni acknowledged anti-social behaviour may occur in emergency housing but the ministry was "not able to take responsibility for people's behaviours".
An RNZ report last year revealed official documents showed ministers were warned about the "risks to public safety" in Rotorua in 2020, and that week-by-week motel accommodation was not suitable for families, or those with high needs.
In her letter, Sepuloni said the issues that "drive and flow from homelessness are symptomatic of wider trauma from many in the community ... MSD alone cannot address those complexities", adding the Government was reviewing the emergency housing system.
"This may require wider legislative change."
Rotorua MP Todd McClay said Sepuloni's statement the ministry was not "actively" sending people to emergency housing motels in Rotorua but could pay them to do so was, in his opinion, "spin".
McClay believed: "The people of Rotorua can see through this'' and that "paying for people to come to Rotorua is the same as actively sending them here".
He said, in his view, it was "frankly, not good enough" Sepuloni said the ministry was not responsible for clients' behaviour in motels.
He believed the minister owed Rotorua a "better response" and to "take action to sort out the problem her Government has created" and repeated his call for a cap and sinking lid on the use of motels for emergency housing.
Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell said, from her perspective, while Sepuloni had denied the ministry actively sent people to Rotorua it was "still enabled and allowed".
"The major concern for us all is the lack of information and transparency. Rotorua needs and deserves confidence in the information given to us by the Government and a plan to stop this immediately."
Tapsell said she wanted to see an independent review into emergency housing in Rotorua, and renewed her call for a government funding boost to the town's tourism industry and policing.
"It shouldn't be left up to Rotorua to deal with the consequences of a government decision."
Restore Rotorua chairman Trevor Newbrook said he "simply" did not believe the Government was not actively moving people to Rotorua.
"The narrative before was all emergency housing clients were locals and we now know that is not true. Now it's we don't actively relocate people to Rotorua but we [can] pay for transport."
He said Sepuloni's comment that the ministry was not responsible for the behaviour of its clients, in his opinion, "goes to show how little this ... government cares about the local people of Rotorua".
"The cumulative effects of so much concentrated emergency housing is an issue.
"Cabinet was warned about this.
"I would suggest this Government has been negligent in its responsibility to the people and economy of Rotorua."
Rotorua resident Carolyne Hall, whose home backs onto two emergency housing motels and is adjacent to another, said the revelation the Government could help people to move to Rotorua's emergency housing motels affirmed what the public knew anecdotally.
"Because we live on the ground and work on the ground, you see the changing faces all the time."
She said the ministry was taking "no responsibility" to make sure clients were looked after and followed up while in motels but said it "undoubtedly" should.
"Where does the responsibility start and end? Are they just there to administer payments?"
Asked if she believed paying for people to move and actively relocating them was the same thing, Hall said "of course it is".
"I think they are splitting hairs."
Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni said her response in the letter to McRae referred to all New Zealanders' rights under the Social Security Act to apply for either proactive or retrospective assistance for travel "if they are stranded".
"It in no way implies that MSD are actively relocating people to Rotorua."
She said an MSD report, published earlier in the year, found the "majority of people in emergency housing were from the city, a neighbouring territorial local authority, or had close ties to the city."
She said the ministry acknowledged there were concerns from Rotorua residents about the origin of emergency housing residents and had "therefore moved to put extra checks in place to ensure emergency housing in Rotorua is not accessed by people from outside of the city without a good and proper reason".
Sepuloni said anti-social behaviour was addressed by the police, not her ministry, but the ministry assisted clients to "support them with their immediate needs".
The ministry also worked with the police, the council, iwi and other social agencies "to contribute to community safety".
"In Rotorua, [the ministry] has contracted two providers, to deliver intensive support services to those clients in emergency housing in Rotorua."
Sepuloni said the Government did not want people living in motels in Rotorua or anywhere in New Zealand, but successive governments had "neglected the city and not built enough housing".
"We have invested heavily in building more homes in Rotorua and we are seeing results with the numbers of people accessing emergency housing in the city dropping in recent months."
There were 231 households in emergency housing in Rotorua at the end of September, down from 256 at the end of August and down from a peak of 370 at the end of December last year.
The ministry was asked how much it had spent on relocating people between regions for emergency housing since March 2020, how many grants that was made up of, how many individuals received them, and how many were used for transportation to Rotorua for emergency housing since March 2020.
The ministry could not immediately provide that information but is investigating.
Ministry of Social Development client service delivery group general manager Graham Allpress said In the 12 months to September 2022 there had been a decline in people from outside the district accessing emergency housing in Rotorua. In the month of September, there were no entries into emergency housing in Rotorua by people who started their emergency housing stay outside of Rotorua.
He said in Rotorua the ministry asked for a clear and valid reason before any emergency housing support was provided for people to relocate from outside the region.
"MSD clients, like other New Zealanders may have urgent reasons they may need to move towns."
That included medical, family, safety reasons, or as a "last resort" where there was no other possible solution.
Motel resident Emma Corlett moved to Rotorua from Taranaki for emergency housing, the $300 cost of which was paid for by her mother,
She said the Ministry of Social Development refused to compensate the $300.
Allpress said hardship assistance was available to meet an "immediate need" and under law, clients were required to utilise their own resources in the first instance, with hardship assistance as a last resort.
He said there was limited scope for the ministry to retrospectively meet costs for relocation that had already been met.
A former methamphetamine addict, Corlett said she needed to leave Taranaki to get clean.
"It was an emergency. In Taranaki ... I hit my rock bottom."
She said moving away was "so important" for her recovery and said she was "just so much more happier" in Rotorua.
"I'm so grateful for what I have. Rotorua's a lot more supportive."
She said life was "amazing" and while she was still in the emergency housing motel, she was optimistic about leaving in the near future.
Corlett said she was now able to address the issues that led her to meth use, and that wouldn't have happened in Taranaki.
"I've just seen miracles since coming here. I'm high on life."
Local Democracy Reporting is public interest journalism funded by NZ On Air.
A previous version of this story said in the 12 months to September there were no "entries" to emergency housing in Rotorua from outside the district.
A disregard for authority could be why those attending court are thumbing their noses.