Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Vital Signs report takes Taupō District pulse

By Laurilee McMichael
Taupo & Turangi Weekender·
27 Jun, 2018 05:02 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The natural environment, climate and recreation opportunities are some of the things people love about living in the Taupō District. Photo / Graeme Hamilton

The natural environment, climate and recreation opportunities are some of the things people love about living in the Taupō District. Photo / Graeme Hamilton

Taupō district residents love the area's natural environment and climate. They value the parks, reserves and sport and recreation opportunities and they mostly feel connected to friends, whanau and their community.

But they worry about jobs, they're concerned about how the area is growing and how to plan for it, the cost of living is a problem and drug and alcohol abuse and environmental concerns are also a worry.

All that and more is detailed in the 2018 Vital Signs research project in the Taupō District, which was released at Wairakei Resort this week.

Commissioned by the Geyser Community Foundation, Acorn Foundation and Eastern Bay Community Foundation and produced by Key Research, the report looked at the social, environmental, cultural and economic wellbeing of the Taupō district's communities, identifying strengths, and areas for improvement according to local people.

It surveyed 639 Taupō district residents across four key 'wellbeing' areas - social and cultural, health and wellbeing, economic and environmental - and asked them for their perceptions of 14 indicators.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Geyser's chairman Pat Brown said this is the first time the research has been carried out in the Taupō district.

"It provides us with an independent understanding of our local community's challenges and priorities, and will be refreshed every three years."

Mr Brown said the report showed growing confidence across a range of sectors.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"These are exciting times for the Taupō District but at the same time there are some significant challenges.

"We live in a beautiful part of the country so it's no surprise that the things we love most about living here are the natural environment, climate and air quality. Local residents believe we are performing best in the areas of sports, recreation, arts and culture.

"The top five things people loved about living here (in order) are natural environment, climate and air quality; recreation, parks and reserves; connectedness - friends, whanau, community, support; personal safety - feeling safe; and walkability and cycling infrastructure.

"In contrast, the areas the community think are being performed least well are reducing inequity, housing, supporting young adults and ensuring the Taupō district is a safe place for all residents to live (as distinct from residents feeling safe themselves). The main priorities for improving safety are addressing alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence and child abuse."

Mr Brown said the population of Taupō district is growing, leading to concerns about employment availability, and increases in housing and rent prices.

"Residents are also thinking about what further growth means for the area and for the environment, and how to best plan for that growth. At the same time, social issues, such as drug abuse, continue to impact communities in the district."

One of the four areas that scored lowest was safety. Respondents saw the top priorities as reducing drug and alcohol abuse, reducing domestic violence and reducing child abuse.
On the positive side, arts and culture and sports and recreation both ranked highest.

Overall, the Taupō district was evaluated as "performing modestly or slightly better across most topics explored".

Community Foundation executive officer Annette Burgess said the information in the Vital Signs report would be used by local organisations to identify priorities and decide where funding was most needed.

Vital Signs 2018 for the Taupō District was a collaborative project between the Geyser Community Foundation, BayTrust, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Taupō District Council.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Geyser Community Foundation is a philanthropic foundation covering Rotorua and Taupo. Donations and bequests are invested in perpetuity and the investment income distributed to local causes and charities. It currently has $4.5 million invested and another $12.5m pledged in bequests. Last year it distributed $1.2m.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Road closed: Pedestrian hit in central Rotorua

01 Jul 06:48 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua land once earmarked for bypass set for new development

01 Jul 06:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

NZ Super Fund-backed Kaingaroa Timberlands expands with Waikato land purchase

01 Jul 05:43 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Road closed: Pedestrian hit in central Rotorua

Road closed: Pedestrian hit in central Rotorua

01 Jul 06:48 PM

Police were called to the scene around 6am today.

Rotorua land once earmarked for bypass set for new development

Rotorua land once earmarked for bypass set for new development

01 Jul 06:00 PM
NZ Super Fund-backed Kaingaroa Timberlands expands with Waikato land purchase

NZ Super Fund-backed Kaingaroa Timberlands expands with Waikato land purchase

01 Jul 05:43 AM
Zespri teams up with Dame Lisa Carrington

Zespri teams up with Dame Lisa Carrington

01 Jul 03:30 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP