Youth speak on issues

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Wheelie bins, environmental issues, the skatepark and the Aquatic Centre are among the issues important to Rotorua's young people.

Leading members of Rotorua's youth community made their voices heard at public hearings on the Rotorua Lakes Council's Long-term Plan this week.

Rotorua Youth Voice, a central government-funded project co-ordinated by former Rotorua Lakes High school student Ben Hingston, used its submission to present data collected at the city's recent careers expo.

In a voluntary survey of 234 young people attending the expo, the group found more than 60 per cent were in favour of options 4a and 4b of the council's proposed waste strategy, both of which involve switching from refuse bags to wheelie bins.

Of those supporting the two options, more than half preferred keeping refuse collection weekly, as opposed to the fortnightly schedule.

Survey results also showed strong support from young people to keep the landfill open.
Councillor Karen Hunt said she welcomed contributions from young people and asked how the members of Rotorua Youth Voice had found the submission process.

"It's been enlightening to get an insight into what Rotorua's youth are thinking," Bianca Rogers-Mott, 17, told councillors.

"They really did think about how each of the options would affect the wider Rotorua community."

A separate survey of 78 young people found 65 per cent in favour of refurbishing the Aquatic Centre.

But most stopped short of calling for a total rebuild, fearing raised entry costs.

Mr Hingston said he had been encouraged by the engagement of young people in the process.

"We made sure the way that we were asking young people appealed to them," he said.

The state of the Utuhina Stream was the main focus of a submission made by the Rotorua Youth Environment Forum.

With the aid of a slickly-produced video, forum members implored council to show "more involvement across the board" in dealing with waste and nutrient issues in the stream.

"We believe that we can't clean up the lake [Rotorua] without cleaning up the stream first," one member said.

"As the next generation, [we] are the ones who will have to deal with the consequences and come up with the solutions."

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick commended forum members, saying it was "fantastic that you are taking care of the environment".

Youth worker Maraea Pomana also attended hearings on Thursday, using her time to speak on behalf of Rotorua skateboarder Treston Stokes-Ngatokorua.

She asked councillors to consider an upgrade to the city's skatepark on the corner of Amahou and Ranolf Sts; a new concrete extension would bring in more visitors to the city, Mrs Pomana said, and provide a safe environment for skaters like Treston to develop their skills.

Skaters from around the country often skipped Rotorua because of the outdated facilities, Mrs Pomana said.

She was joined in making the presentation by Treston's grandfather, David, who spoke of the positive effect the sport could have.

"It has been an eye-opener to see what it [skateboarding] has done for these kids."