When being passionately Rotorua may just not be enough

http://themud.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/when-being-passionately-rotorua-may-just-not-be-enough/

You wouldn’t think Laurie Durand and Ron Finn would have much in common Laurie is the Manager of the Rotorua Youth Centre and Ron owns Finns Fashions Ltd. The one thing they have in common in spite of their diverse interests is a burning desire to see Rotorua become a better place to live and work.

They also share a real interest in seeing candidates in the forthcoming local body elections bring policies which will make a real difference to the Rotorua economy.

Over the past fornight, The Mud has talked to leaders in the sectors around youth issues and business – two disparate sectors but with common goals.

Youth unemployment is at the heart of many of the social issues dogging the city; the inability of business to get traction is behind much of the malaise in the economic and population growth.

Both sectors made a direct line between what the Rotorua District Council has or hasn’t done this past decade and the city’s lagging fortunes. Comparisons are odious goes the saying, but the comparison to the growth of Tauranga is a constant niggle.

On the basis that Rotorua has had a stagnant population for decades and that we have had the same catchcry for decades that something has to be done to encourage businesses to Rotorua to increase to increase jobs, to increase population.

ECHO SIGNALS DISCONNECT
What we are hearing now – from the social and the business sectors – is that this has plain not happened.

What business leaders are calling for now is an echo of what they’ve been calling for not just for this year or last year but for a long time. The disconnect is that whatever the council (and the councillors) has done it hasn’t made any difference in regards to this focus on population and jobs.

What is astounding is that on the face of it, Rotorua has a sound economic base – we have farming, tourism and forestry all at our back door, all at a greater or lesser degree operating out of Rotorua.

But we the town doesn’t seem to improve as a result, we don’t seem to be able to be growing, healthy and even booming.

And yet, all those industries have been around for a long time and are still doing relatively well given current economic conditions.

The upshot is an apparent disconnect between how the city goes and everything else. We’ve had a council ostensibly running the place, making statements and doing things to improve the town and make it grow with business and jobs, but it hasn’t happened.

Over-riding what business people and youth leaders have said to The Mud regarding their specific interests, the town is still stagnant. Elsewhere, particularly on the other side of the Kaimais, there is great expansion in population and business – seemingly.

PASSIONATELY ROTORUA
So what has gone wrong? What isn’t happening? One of the difficulties is that people standing for the council are seen as solely promoting their own interests.

This impression is very much at odds with the real concerns raised during The Mud’s interviews with Ron Finn, Bryan Hughes and Roger Gordon, and on the other hand those from the social sector – Laurie Durand and Dr Tania Pinfold.

However, neither sector has expressed such views. Our interviewees have shown a clear passion for development and employment in Rotorua and a desire for the council managers and councillors to communicate clearly with them.

Unfortunately communication also equals listening, and these people want candidates in the forthcoming elections who will not only talk to them but also listen.
A good example is provided by Barbara Stewart of the Rotorua Young Parents School, who talks about a case where someone, somewhere in the depths of the council has listened AND acted on a need for young people in the Eastern Suburbs.

The outcome has been FreeParking, which provides free sport and recreation opportunities and activities on parks and reserves for young people.

Nice but…a business colleague recently purchased a house in the area just across the other side of Ranolf Street adjacent to the main CBD. Like others, he uses the the former home for his business.

The council has allowed this once-residential area be converted into a commercial precinct, robbing the CBD retailers of walk in traffic.

However, having encouraged this business to make an investment in this area, the council then insisted that they install an extra toilet and a ramp into the building. This is even though the business isn’t actively encouraging visitors as such. Cost: $20,000 give or take.

Mayor Kevin Winters made some play of how the council is on top of the time it takes to provide consents. That’s good but it is not just about the time, it is about making business more viable.

THE CONNECTION WITH THE ELECTIONS
What can we do about it? Is this the time that voters in Rotorua make a decision that however long people have been around or who they are, the results speak for themselves.

The council hasn’t been able to achieve its goal no matter how well-intentioned councillors and managers might be. Can it make a difference if different councillors are elected or can they do any worse?

If The Mud can help people to take a genuine interest in the Rotorua elections – whether they stand for the council or the district health board – that would be a good outcome.

ENDS

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