Cr Bill Faulkner Faulkners Corner www.sunlive.co.nz

The issue of the homeless in Tauranga was raised in a staff report at the projects and monitoring committee this week.
Elected members fully discussed the situation and what council/ratepayers would/could do about it. Staff said there were about 30 permanently homeless in the Tauranga city area.

There are none over at the Mount because they have effectively been banned from downtown over there. Elected members were told about 20 per cent were there through no fault of their own – consequent to central government withdrawing mental health services and care, which leaves about 80 per cent homeless by choice. Mayor Stuart Crosby said that council was inextricably involved whether it wanted to be or not as staff were regularly dealing with issues created by homeless.

Shelter in the night
Council administers the Stewart's Trust, money bequeathed donkeys years ago to alleviate poverty in the city and $118,000 from the Trust was earmarked for a night shelter to be run by the Tauranga Moana Night Shelter Trust. This would be a night shelter with access to services to break the cycle of homelessness. We were told that to get in, homeless had to be there by 7pm and remain until 6am, no alcohol etc. Along with staff I recently attended a breakfast for homeless provided by the Salvation Army. The homeless I spoke to were all there by choice. They were articulate and very ‘street savvy'. One asked me for a quarter acre in a central situation where he could grow food. There is already such an opportunity at Matua, but no homeless took up the opportunity.

Who's responsible?
Other matters raised were that of a few homeless creating problems for innocent members of our community such as harassment, assaults, theft and other more unsavoury activities. Like the rest of our criminal activity there was only a percentage that created these problems. The committee decided to continue with the current policy of working with police and delegating authority for the CEO to trespass homeless from council administered properties and reserves. Council will meet with the Tauranga Moana Night Shelter Trust and have a broader discussion with other agencies on addressing homelessness. My resolution to stop ratepayer funding going towards meeting the cost of homelessness failed spectacularly 10-1. My intention was to limit ratepayer exposure to what has the potential to be an expensive exercise of running a night shelter. Plus, it makes it attractive for more homeless to move to Tauranga. Council could facilitate the Night Shelter Trust by making existing suitable council assets available, but I draw the line at ratepayer cash. Not so my colleagues and I must be missing something here. I cannot accept that your ownership of a property makes you responsible for helping someone who hasn't got somewhere to live, mostly by choice. What next? Rents subsidy by ratepayers?

On balance…
Later in the meeting some elected members tried to get a vacant space adjacent to the new Willow Street bus stop made available for lease whilst the mayor wanted it kept available for an indoor bus waiting room come coffee shop. I mused that this would at best bring in a few thousand dollars (if it were able to be let at all) whereas the potential for ratepayer funding for homeless could run into the tens of thousands. C'est la vie!
Capturing cruise clientele
An upbeat report from Mount Mainstreet manager Leanne Brown. The Mount is suffering from the downturn too, but the holiday season was good for business she said. Leanne highlighted incorrect information being handed out to cruise ship passengers on board the ships about the Mount and Tauranga. Some of the examples were laughable if they weren't so wrong. A pamphlet for Tauranga showed a photo of a boiling mud pool.
Correct pamphlets are handed out at the gate, but by then many tourists are on the bus heading to Rotorua. But there is hope and the good word is getting around and more and more of the 120,000 tourists over the season are staying in our city for the day. Mayor Stuart Crosby detailed help Tauranga City/ratepayers are providing to Christchurch. It entails staff logistical support to get the infrastructure going. This may mean some re-prioritising our local work.

Slippery slopes
The Bay Times hit a new low in creative news reporting recently. It went like this. I reported in this column that repairs to the recent slips on the Mount would take a bit longer due to their severity and Maori requirements. Maurice O'Reilly asked me what these were. I replied that the earth on the Mount was sacred to Maori and wasn't allowed to be removed. He then reported this to the Bay Times. No one from the Times contacted me. Surprise, surprise. This Bay Times story prompted a letter to the Bay Times editor from someone labelling me a racist, amongst other things. From what Maurice reported to the Times this would not be a conclusion most people would make. I'm not concerned about the contents of the letter – everyone is entitled to their opinion – but to print such a letter based on someone else reporting what I replied to in a personal email is the pits. Sure I could go the press council or other remedies but instead I'll cover it here and let you make up your own mind on the quality of the Times' effort. Mischief making at its worst in my view.