Editorial: Consensus needed on future of Guardians

The City Guardians are to be given another couple of years' funding with a review to be held in a year.

More than 300 businesspeople signed a petition asking for council funding to establish a group which could deal with anti-social behaviour, crime and intimidation they said was happening on the city's streets.

It was also felt such a group could be a visible point of contact for tourists needing directions or assistance.

The City Guardians are the result but there appears to be a difference of opinion about their role and their effectiveness.

Some people have expressed concern about how these city patrollers operate. Some consider they are not particularly effective and do not necessarily portray the right image for our tourist city.

Meanwhile, some businesspeople consider the Guardians have indeed been a success and have impacted on the behaviour they say was a bad look for Rotorua and bad for their businesses.

Giving the Guardians more time to become part of the central city landscape seems reasonable and there are bound to be improvements that could be made to the way they operate.

One of the issues appears to be confusion about exactly what their role is and that is something that needs to be clarified.

Another thing that could be improved is their "branding", so that they are easy for tourists to spot as people who can help them if they need assistance.

Above all, if the City Guardians are to keep operating, there must be agreement and strict criteria about the image we want them to portray. This is essential to maintaining our standing as one of this country's top tourist destinations.