‘Moving in a positive direction’: Rotorua Lakes Council’s first 100 days

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell. Photo / Felix Desmarais / LDR

“Rotorua, we are moving in a positive direction.”

That is how Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell, in a statement, has summed up the Rotorua Lakes Council’s first 100 days since the 2022 local election in October.

Tapsell claimed victory as Rotorua’s new mayor 100 days ago today. Fisher Wang, deputy mayor Sandra Kai Fong, and newcomers Gregg Brown, Robert Lee, Don Paterson, and Conan O’Brien were elected as her general ward councillors while Trevor Maxwell, Lani Kereopa and Rawiri Waru were elected as Māori ward councillors and Karen Barker in the rural ward.

“As we begin the new year, it is timely that we review what we, as your new council, have delivered in our first 100 days,” Tapsell said in the statement.

“We now have an exit strategy for emergency housing. We achieved this through the signing of the Rotorua Housing Accord with Government and iwi. This is our commitment to work together towards better housing and social outcomes for Rotorua.”

So far, Tapsell said, 20 motels have stopped being used for emergency housing, and there were 223 fewer people having to live in motels.

“A comprehensive council regulatory approach to motels being used for emergency housing is under way to ensure things cannot go back to how they were.”

Fenton St had also improved significantly, she said, and antisocial issues in the CBD had reduced.

“We’ve made our community safer by working with police on increased visibility, sharing of resources, and continue to develop a long-term community safety strategy for our district in collaboration with police.

“We removed a section of the Green Corridor and reinstated 29 carparks to better support businesses in the CBD.”

The sale of reserves was stopped as they will remain as green spaces for families to enjoy, and the revitalisation of the Rotorua Aquatic Centre got off to a “smashing start”, she said.

“We look forward to delivering the finished product to our community.”

Tapsell also said in the statement the council had improved financial management and frozen significant spending decisions to allow for additional council scrutiny, as well as introduced enhanced reporting and project management systems to ensure the organisation delivered better value for money for the community.

“We set new council priorities for 2022 to 2025, and council spending will now be evaluated against these priorities - community, infrastructure, housing, and economy.”

Two new committees have also been established, including the Infrastructure and Environment Committee, and the Community and District Development Committee.

“To top this summer off, we successfully hosted two major events, Six60 and Crankworx, and we will soon be hosting the NRL Harvey Norman All-Stars Māori vs Indigenous Games, which is the first time it’s been outside of Australia,” she said.

“Our city has been busy as ever this holiday season, with visitors taking the opportunity to explore the many things Rotorua has to offer.”

Tapsell said in the statement that the city was moving in a positive direction.

“We look forward to delivering even more for our Rotorua community in the exciting year ahead, with many positive new developments just around the corner.”

- A previous version of this article omitted mention of the Māori and rural ward councillors.