Motels booked by or for the homeless via third parties must be forbidden. Come on council, come on MSD (Ministry of Social Development), get tough, stop talking, and accept that what has happened in Rotorua has to be reversed, facilitated by you, as soon as possible.
Take the problem out of the too-hard basket before Rotorua's reputation is further damaged.
Potential guests shouldn't have to ask motels if they have MSD clients.
Paddi Hodgkiss
Rotorua
Applaud the owner
The plan to use the Ambassador Thermal Motel for emergency housing is a contentious one. In my view, for decades, tourism has been prioritised in this city over human rights.
I applaud the owner of the Ambassador Thermal Motel for excluding single men and prioritising women and children, who remain the most vulnerable among the homeless people in Rotorua.
I also believe that Work and Income should not permit homeless people from outside Rotorua to access emergency housing.
Every city should, surely, be responsible for housing its own homeless people.
(Abridged)
Jackie Evans
Pukehangi
Desperate situation
The headlines and the article (News, May 8) are, indeed, heart-breaking.
I have written many times about the simple cure to the housing problem. I have also pointed out many times that the cure is confounded by the simple fact that greed on the part of the Government is the sole problem.
We must have compulsory purchase to free up the empty properties. The number of these varies but is expected to be in the neighbourhood of 20,000 nationwide.
It is also clear to me that a great many of them are owned by overseas investors, who bought them many years ago. We also need, urgently, a law to prohibit the use of homes as commodities. This will free up thousands of houses for sale.
We must also stop MPs owning property other than that needed for their families to live in. This is the crux of the matter.
It has to happen, there is no other way, with the pitiful number of houses being built and the price of the finished articles being beyond the reach of most, it is a desperate situation that may only be addressed by desperate measures.
(Abridged)
Jim Adams
Rotorua
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