'Unintended consequences' - Ministry admits Rotorua MSD motels did spike crime
Friday, 24 March 2023
Housing homeless people in Rotorua’s motels did lead to a rise in crime and anti-social behaviour, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has finally admitted.
The admission was contained in a 39-page report entitled “An evaluation of whānau experiences of living in contracted emergency housing in Rotorua”, a revelation welcomed by those who raised alarms bells about the practice.
The MHUD-commissioned report said the increased use of non-contracted housing “led to a number of unintended consequences”.
“Including an increase in crime and disruptive and intimidating behaviour in and around Fenton St, which the public directly attributed to the increase in emergency housing accommodation”.
**READ MORE:
* 'Golden Mile' to 'MSD Mile': Rotorua's reputation takes a hit amid housing crisis
* Housing Minister acknowledges 'frustration' in Rotorua, says new homes on the way
* Ardern: Motel housing a 'stopgap measure' but no end date in sight for Rotorua
* Govt moves from paying motels to house homeless to buying its own in Rotorua
**
Rotorua National MP Todd McClay said that admission was “the first time they have accepted crime as a result of this”.
McClay also said he believed the risk of a rise in crime, described in a letter from former Mayor Steve Chadwick to Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni as creating “drug use, violent behaviour, vandalism and other anti-social behaviours that they are seeing on a daily basis”, was known at Cabinet level.
“The original advice to Cabinet said there could be a consequence,” McClay said.
“They didn’t do anything to help our police with this.”
McClay said the people of Rotorua were owed an apology from the Government in the wake of the MHUD admission, and also called for a definite date for the end of motel use for homeless people.
He said it was “deeply concerning women with kids have been in these motels for more than a year”, but also conceded that for many “people in a disastrous situation, this [motel living] has been an improvement”.
Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell also said she believed this was the first official recognition of the link between MSD motels and anti-social behaviour in Rotorua.
The chair of lobby group Restore Rotorua, Trevor Newbrook, said he was pleased to finally see “an admission that the substantial increase in crime in Rotorua is directly related to the huge increase in Emergency Housing in Rotorua”
“It has been frustrating that even after the release of Police Crime Maps, showing a large increase in crime around Emergency Housing Properties, it was still described by the government and officials as 'a perception',” he said.
“Restore Rotorua has always maintained that motels are not suitable as long term accommodation and have been concerned about the effect it is having on individuals and families. Especially with so many people being clustered together in such a concentrated area.”
However, the positives were the main thrust of the MHUD report, which found motels provided homeless whānau with a safe, secure and empowering environment.
MHUD did also admit, however, that motel living is “not suited to all whānau and not a long-term living option”.
The report heard from 91 whānau representing 115 adults and 154 children, plus 35 stakeholders and noted that in 2018, a total of 101,123 people were identified as “seriously housing deprived”.
That amounted to two per cent of the population.
The report also noted that between June 2019 and December 2020, demand for emergency housing special needs grants soared by 67 per cent in Rotorua.
Thirteen motels were contracted for use, and between July 2021 and January 2022, they housed 482 whānau.
The study found most found themselves in emergency accommodation due to relationship breakdowns, family harm, drug and alcohol issues and tenancy issues.
“Whānau came into emergency housing as a last resort. Their prior experiences varied but were consistently traumatic to some degree,” the report said.
All have one thing in common: “All whānau interviewed did not want to live in motels”.
For the majority of people however, motel living provided access to wrap-around services and was “vital to circuit breaking the stress, anxiety and trauma parents were experiencing and providing them with a safe, secure place to rest, recover and reset”.
One single father described his experience as feeling “safe and secure”
“I can sleep at night,” he said.
For one single mother, “the added security means its ok to go to sleep at night, someone is literally onsite making sure you are safe”.
MHUD said people were also able to access counselling help, parenting and violence prevention courses, budget work and resume care of children previously removed from custody.
“The whānau who participated were largely positive and told the evaluators that the opportunity for secure accommodation provided their whānau with the time and space to settle and stabilise,” said MHUD deputy chief executive Ben Dalton.
“The wrap-around support helped whānau to reorientate themselves and plan towards a positive future including finding a place they could call home.”
Stuff has also requested comment from Waiariki MP and Rotorua resident Tamati Coffey.
Clarification – This story has been updated to reflect that the report was commissioned by MHUD from independent researchers. Amended 9.50am, March 27, 2023