Rotorua councillor questions seriousness of bus-stop bashings in meeting, later says he conflated incidents

A 13-year-old girl was left bloodied after being assaulted at an Arawa St bus stop in August.

Recent bus-stop bashings of young people in Rotorua were simply school “rumbles” and not serious, a councillor has said.

Robert Lee made the comments at a committee meeting on Wednesday, when elected members were updated on what the Rotorua Lakes Council was doing in the wake of two attacks on teenagers.

He later told Local Democracy Reporting he was confused between two attacks and believed only one was serious.

Two attacks in the Jean Batten Square area, near Rotorua Library, were reported by the Rotorua Daily Post in August.

In the first, a mum spoke out after her 13-year-old daughter was concussed after being repeatedly punched by a stranger while waiting for a bus on Arawa St. Photos showed the girl’s face and hands covered in blood.

Rotorua mother Tashita Morey spoke to media after her daughter, 13, was beaten at a Rotorua bus stop outside the library. Photo / Supplied

Within a week, a 15-year-old girl was beaten by three girls in the same area outside the library. She reportedly collapsed and required medical treatment.

A council staff report to Wednesday’s Community and District Development Committee meeting said: “As a result of recent serious assaults of young persons in the surrounds of Jean Batten Square, our CCTV operators, Safe City Guardians and VR Security have maintained a preventative presence in partnership with police. There have been no further such incidents.”

It also noted a security firm contract had been extended to February.

Lee commented on the report’s wording.

“I took the opportunity to watch the [CCTV] video … words have meanings and a serious assault in my mind conjures up grievous bodily harm or something like that.”

He said photos “splashed around in the media looked dramatic”.

“I personally wouldn’t categorise the assault as particularly serious but more in line with what we all experienced, or what I certainly experienced at high school.”

Students had “rumbles“ from time to time, he said.

“Would you call it a serious assault, with the benefit of hindsight?” he asked community and district development group manager Jean-Paul Gaston.

Councillor Robert Lee at a meeting earlier this year. Photo / Laura Smith

Committee chairwoman Sandra Kai Fong responded that it was inappropriate for staff to answer.

“It was serious from the perspective of the young person … I think we will leave it there.”

Asked about his comments by Local Democracy Reporting after the meeting, Lee referred to Rotorua’s reputation.

”We want to see Rotorua being covered favourably in the media … the photo of the girl is quite dramatic and attracted nationwide attention that wasn’t particularly desirable.”

He said he was trying to distinguish between a “blood nose” and someone dying from a king hit.

Told the 13-year-old was concussed, he said: “That’s different from dying of course. I don’t know if that would be classed as grievous bodily harm.”

He said if he was the victim’s parent he too would be concerned and “jumping up and down”.

“There [are] difficult issues, there’s no doubt about it.”

He said the issue was front and centre at the council.

”Steps are being taken with setting up of the [community safety] hub in town. We are trying to deal with these problems, these problems are real.

“To get our reputation back in town we need to stop this stuff from happening and when it stops happening it will stop turning up in the media.”

In a following interview, he said he had conflated the two incidents and the CCTV video he saw was of the second attack, not of the 13-year-old victim from the first attack.

He said he did not have that victim‘s concussion in mind when he made his comments and said it was indeed serious. He did not believe the second incident was, however.

Asked about Lee’s comments in the meeting, Tashita Morey, mother of the 13-year-old from the first assault, said the attack was serious.

She said it “wasn’t just a school rumble”, which she said was evidenced by her daughter not knowing her attacker.

“It was for no reason. She was just an innocent girl, waiting for her bus home.”

Tashita Morey’s daughter was attacked at the bus stop on Arawa St. Photo / Andrew Warner

She said bullying was bullying, no matter where it happened.

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Rotorua Principals’ Association president Hinei Taute said incidents such as these were not generally part of the school experience.

“No, I don’t think so at all.”

She said while some students may face “personalised experiences”, schools investigated as instances happened.

“No principals in Rotorua condone violent attacks and aggressive behaviour.”

Mayor Tania Tapsell said she appreciated Lee had a personal view on the matter.

”But it is without a doubt a serious matter when someone chooses to undertake an act of violence on another person.”

She said an innocent member of the public had been hurt by another.

”That will always be unacceptable.”

As it happened in a public space she said the council had looked for solutions.

Police referred three young people to Youth Aid in relation to the two August attacks.

Laura Smith is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. She previously reported general news for the Otago Daily Times and Southland Express, and has been a journalist for four years.

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