Housing crisis: Children stuck in emergency housing rises 62pc in a year

The number of children living in emergency housing is soaring, up 62 per cent in the city - with one child saying they are "terrified".

A social agency says some children are internalising emotions, self-harming and are witnessing gang and family violence, and alcohol and drug use.

Parents are desperately trying to leave motels for the sake of their kids, with many losing hope due to no alternative being available.

Last month, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development directly contracted 12 motels for the exclusive use of emergency housing for 200 whānau with kids, with full wrap-around support in 260 units, since increased to 267.

There are 624 children living in emergency housing across the Bay of Plenty, with 381of those in Rotorua according to figures from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) revealed under the Official Information Act.

MSD only started recording the household composition in April last year and declined a previous request from the Rotorua Daily Post for the exact numbers.

In the official response, the ministry stated clients get a dedicated case management service, and they could be referred to a navigator who helped co-ordinate community, health and government services.

It also stated children may have alternative living arrangements and might not be living in motels the whole time.

Family Works Waikato, Rotorua and Taupo area manager Lynne Fairs said the agency had a "huge" increase in the number of clients living in emergency housing, especially families.

Some kids were internalising everything, and some were self-harming. They're confined to their small motel unit, witnessing gang and family violence in the carpark.

"We have some workers where almost every client on their caseload is in emergency housing."

The kids told social workers how scared they felt, with many speaking of the drugs and alcohol use they saw, often in carparks, as well as seeing and hearing family violence.

One child told the team how "terrified" they were in a unit right beside gang members, which the motel was filled with, and the nights were filled with gang fights.

"They are scared.

"It's through no fault of their own that they are in emergency housing, but [parents] often struggle to shield their children from these things that wouldn't be happening if they were in their own home."

Some children also told Family Works they were left alone in the rooms as the parent felt it was okay given other people were around.

School attendance dropped with kids often housed outside their school zones, which meant they needed to either move schools or couldn't get there.

To help, vans were now picking kids up from motels.

"However, there is a stigma attached to this. Everyone knows they are from emergency housing when they get picked up and dropped off by the white van," she said.

These tamariki were "often embarrassed", and the social workers in schools saw poorer performance or behavioural outbursts stemming from a lack of feeling safe and stable.

She said some children lacked a sense of belonging and had displaced attachment.

Rentals were few and far between, reaching "astronomical" prices, and desperate parents were stressed, trying to get out of motels.

According to Trade Me, the median weekly rent was $490 last month.

"Having a home to live in is a very basic need. And for many people, it's just not an affordable option.

"It seems that once someone goes into emergency accommodation, it is almost impossible for them to get out."

Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency chairwoman and Rotorua Lakes councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait said children staying in motels needed specialist services, different to the support services provided for adults.

Schools could be helpful in alerting providers when behaviours that required early intervention began to surface, she said.

She suspected more families would wind up in motels and their stays would be longer, with no quick fix.

MSD figures reported by NZME earlier this year showed the number of emergency housing grants increased from 363 clients in the 2017/18 financial year to 2049 between April last year and March.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) engagement and communications manager Dennis de Reus said about 170 whānau had moved into the 12 motels for families, and getting the rest of the units filled would be through a "staggered approach to ensure sure we get the right people in the right place".

Four Rotorua-based social service providers - with experience in emergency and transitional housing, Corrections clients and families with mental health and drug addiction - were contracted to manage the accommodation.

They were currently co-designing how their services would work and would assess, place and support people in emergency housing, based on a kaupapa Māori approach.

Staff would be on-site at motels, meaning they had a better idea of the needs and could also refer people to other services.

These providers were working with Te Taumata o Ngāti Whakaue to support whānau into housing through a housing hub, Te Pokapū, supported by MSD.

Salvation Army Rotorua Corps manager Kylie Overby said parents often spoke about not letting their kids play outside because it's unsafe, or the thin walls meant conversations could be heard - "sadly people can't unhear what they hear".

The Ministry of Social Development said in the OIA response that it recognised the motels were not a long-term solution, rather they were a short-term solution while better options are explored.

It said the ministry was prioritising a dedicated case management service for all clients in emergency housing, which meant clients could access an integrated service to obtain all the support available to them from the ministry.

Anyone who needed more support beyond this could be referred to a navigator who could be hands-on in helping co-ordinate community, health and government services.

The ministry and navigators are in regular contact with clients.

The Public Housing Plan 2021-2024

Between 430 and 450 extra public homes in the Bay of Plenty were planned for under the Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 - this would total 650 new places since the last housing plan.

Kāinga Ora was also intensifying its efforts in the region to identify opportunities to build new housing to provide more permanent homes.

Addressing decades of under-investment in housing is challenging, won't be achieved overnight, and requires the commitment of many stakeholders – not just the Government.

Addressing the housing supply

Last month, a HUD spokesman said the Government was taking a deliberate, Māori and Iwi Housing Innovation and place-based approach in Rotorua after investment in "critical" collaborative planning with Te Arawa and Rotorua Lakes Council to develop housing solutions.

Intensification and opportunities to build more public housing would be possible through recent district plan changes, supported by an urban growth partnership.

Local authorities and developers in the Bay could also seek funding through the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, announced by the Government this week. Expressions of interest opened on June 30.

Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 - next steps for Rotorua

• $55m shovel-ready investment to unlock land for development

• Work with council to give effect to the National Policy Statement - Urban Development for future growth

• Kāinga Ora has scaled up its build programme and is progressing further opportunities

Cost of living: Tauranga business and home owner needs accommodation supplement to survive

A business owner who owns her own home says she wouldn’t be able to eat or put fuel in her car if she didn’t get the Accommodation Supplement.

She’s not alone, with over $2.62 million spent weekly on thesupplement across Tauranga, Western Bay of Plenty and Rotorua, according to the Ministry of Social Development’s latest figures provided to the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend under the Official Information Act.

The Accommodation Supplement is a weekly payment that helps people with their rent, board or the cost of owning a home.

How much a person gets depends on their income, assets, accommodation costs, family circumstances and where they live.

Just over 12 years ago, Vanessa Edwards opened a hairdressing business and within a year went through a divorce.

She said the business, where she is a sole trader, was not in a position to financially support her and she was scrambling with how to support herself and her children.

A friend suggested she went to the Ministry of Social Development, where she then found out she could get the accommodation supplement and she has been getting it since.

She was renting at the time and ended up buying a home in Te Puke nine and a half years ago.

She said she had always been honest with the ministry and let the staff there know when she bought a home. Despite that, she still qualified for accommodation support.

“I was really surprised, I thought it was something for renters ... to find out I was still eligible was a blessing,” she said.

“The way things are now, I would not be able to use my car or eat if I didn’t get it ... I can meet those basic requirements of life.”

She currently made $550 a week in the hand with her part-time work, and her mortgage is half of this.

The house expenses, including the mortgage, rates, bills, and insurances cost about $450 per week, which left her with $100 which she put into savings to pay for costs such as home repairs, unexpected expenses or a doctor’s bill.

Her supplement is $105.

“I have to then choose, do I get petrol this week or groceries because I can’t do both in the same week,” she said.

Edwards said that without the supplement she would ensure she kept her home but would have little left for food or petrol.

“That becomes quite isolating because you can’t go visit your family ... My health would also probably deteriorate because I wouldn’t be eating properly and then that impacts my ability to do my job.”

She said people had a misconception about what it looks like to struggle.

“I’m a business owner, a sole trader and I’ve got my own home, but people have this misconception that you’ve got a business, you look put together, you must be doing really well,” she said.

“People need to realise [the cost of living crisis] impacts people right across the board, it doesn’t matter what you look like or where you live.”

Edwards joins thousands of other renters, boarders and mortgage holders in the region who desperately need this financial support.

In Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty, in the March 2018 quarter, 7683 renters received the accommodation supplement, which totalled $962,333 per week.

By December 2022 this rose to 10,704 renters in the area, which cost $1,591,761 per week.

People who own their homes also received the supplement to go towards their mortgage.

In March 2018 there were 1320 people who received it for a mortgage, costing $151,269 per week.

This rose to 1710 people by December last year, which cost about $229,955 per week.

In Rotorua, in the March 2018 quarter, 4341 renters received the supplement, which totalled $383,000 per week, rising to 5907 renters in December, which cost $555,638 per week.

In March 2018, there were 576 people who received it for a mortgage costing $43,225 per week, which rose to 660 by December, costing about $53,200 per week.

People living in places deemed Area 1 could qualify for the highest maximum accommodation supplement rate, while those living in Area 4 may qualify for the lowest maximum rate. Rates could vary depending on what other type of support a person is receiving or their income.

Tauranga - alongside Auckland - was in Area 1 where a single person with two children can receive a maximum of $305 a week.

In Area 2, which included Te Puke, Katikati and Waihi Beach, the same person would get a maximum allowance of $220.

In Area 3, which included Rotorua, the same person would get a maximum allowance of $160 a week.

According to Trade Me’s May data, the median weekly rent was $535 in Rotorua, $680 in Tauranga and $650 in the Western Bay of Plenty. This was an increase when compared to May 2019 data, which showed the median weekly rent of $410, $520 and $415 respectively.

Zinny Jones lives in Gate Pa with her five children aged between 11 months and 11 years, all with disabilities.

In September, the rent for her small rental with two bedrooms and a study would increase from $500 to $580 per week.

She received $472 through the sole parent benefit per week, an early learning payment of $161 and a $31 winter energy payment.

The accommodation supplement she received was $254.

She’s lived in her rental for three years and has been getting the accommodation supplement for more than two years.

She said her three boys slept in one room, her eldest daughter slept in the study room and Jones shared a room with her baby.

She said after rent was paid, there was enough for fuel and some food.

A non-negotiable was driving her children to Pyes Pa daily for their special education, and she limited her food to make sure her children didn’t go hungry.

Without the supplement, she said her children would not be able to go to school every day and there would be even less food.

“I’d probably be going into debt.”

SociaLink general manager Liz Davies said the increase in recipients shows “the financial constraints people are living under and ongoing cost of living issues”.

She believed that for people to get to the stage of applying for the supplement “likely means some desperation”, given the process of getting the supplement requires providing a lot of personal information on income and assets.

She said it was a “much-needed tool” to support people with housing costs.

She said accommodation costs made up more than 50 per cent of many people’s income, making food, power and clothes a struggle.

Rotorua Budget Advisory Service manager Pakanui Tuhura said household incomes “are not keeping pace with the increases in accommodation costs”.

Over the last year, about 22 per cent of the budget service’s clients received the accommodation supplement.

He said the cost of accommodation was still the largest cost that most clients incurred, with others getting around this by living in shared accommodation, accommodation that was fixed to the value of their income, with one person paying for their accommodation by doing work around the house.

“I think personally that 25 to 30 per cent of a household income [on accommodation] is doable but once you go past 50 per cent, the stress starts setting in.”

He said the supplement was “a great tool to help people keep a roof over their heads when their income dollar is stretched” - which applies to anyone, not just those on a benefit.

It was also available to retired people, so it was a way for eligible people to stretch their superannuation a bit further.

Bay Financial Mentors manager Shirley McCombe said for some people, the supplement “can be the difference between being able to afford to keep their rental or own home”.

As the supplement was asset-tested, she said some of their clients were ineligible due to their income being too high, however, this income wasn’t enough to cover basic expenses with the increased cost of living.

She said accommodation costs were “enormous” and a “profound problem” in the city.

“The rising costs of rent, poor rental availability and growing population mean that if you are lucky enough to get a rental in the first place you tend to be paying very highly for it.”

She said rising interest rates caused trickle-down to tenants, landlords were selling their rentals and decreasing the rental pool, and a growing population added to accommodation competition.

Ministry of Social Development (MSD) client service delivery group general manager Jayne Russell said the number of people getting the accommodation supplement rose over time, reflecting a rise in accommodation costs.

MSD currently provided the supplement to more than 340,000, with the purpose being to help beneficiaries and low-middle income families and individuals with their rent, board or the cost of owning a home, she said.

In April 2018, the rate increased as part of the Government’s Families Package. She said maximum rates were increased everywhere, and more places qualified as areas with higher maximum rates.

People needed to meet the criteria of an income and asset test, and people who aren’t beneficiaries could also qualify.

She urged those struggling with costs to check their entitlement to see what support MSD could provide at https://check.msd.govt.nz/.

Rotorua’s Lake Ōkataina closing for a month as iwi hires security after threats to drop gold clams into waterway

Environmental terrorism fears have led an iwi trust to hire security for a Rotorua lake after online threats to introduce invasive clams that could “obliterate” its “delicate ecosystem”.

It comes as Biosecurity New Zealand announces Lake Ōkataina, a culturally significant and popular trout fishing spot, will be closed to boating and fishing for a month to install protections against the freshwater gold clams.

The announcement was made just days before the trout fishing season was set to open on Sunday. Fish & Game issued a media statement calling the decision a “blow to anglers”.

The decision was in response to Ngāti Tarāwhai Iwi Trust’s urgent bid to protect the lake, fearing if the clams reached its waters they would cause “irreparable and irreversible damage” to native flora and fauna.

Gold clams, also known as Asian clams, were found in the Waikato River in May and have multiplied to cover a 99km stretch. Surveillance had not found them anywhere else.

The clams can reproduce 400 fully formed clams a day. They feed on plankton — what most native species survive on — and can clog infrastructure in the water.

Eradication overseas has never been achieved.

Prior to the closure decision, iwi trust chairman Cyrus Hingston said that as the lake’s traditional owners and kaitiaki (guardians), it asked the Ministry for Primary Industries to publish a Controlled Area Notice (CAN) to temporarily close the lake to boats.

This was the first line of defence against the “hard-to-eradicate monster” that would “obliterate the delicate ecosystem” in the lake.

“We can no longer wait for the invasive species … to hitch a ride on a boat that has come from the Waikato River and enter our precious lake.”

The trust was developing a prevention and control strategy with MPI, environmental specialists and Te Arawa Lakes Trust to try to stop the spread of the clams to the lake.

Hingston told the Rotorua Daily Post the trust had hired a private security guard after threats were made online to drop clams into the lake.

“We take every threat seriously.”

He agreed the threats could be described as environmental terrorism. The trust was assessing them and getting regular updates.

“If these golden clams get into our taonga, they’ll have a “long-term destructive impact on fishing and everything else we hold dear about Lake Ōkataina”.

He said the iwi took its guardianship responsibilities seriously. It had focused on Lake Ōkataina because the surrounding land was owned by Ngāti Tarāwhai people or the Crown.

“Even if we have interests in other lakes and waterways that are shared by other iwi, we cannot speak for them.”

Te Arawa Lakes Strategy Group, which includes the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Rotorua Lakes Council, Te Arawa Lakes Trust and local community groups supported the closure request in principle.

Te Arawa Lakes Trust biosecurity manager William Anaru said the clams were a risk to all Te Arawa lakes and rivers and must be contained to Waikato.

“If we leave the lakes open for all to come through without proper procedures, we will get [the clams] unfortunately.”

Lakes Trust chief executive Daryn Bean said it supported Ngāti Tarāwhai’s efforts and was exploring further protective measures, including establishing a customary rāhui.

Rāhui are temporary prohibitions and are customary, not legally enforced.

Prior to the closure being confirmed, Fish & Game chief executive Corina Jordan said it was “deeply concerned about discussions to close the lake”, particularly given the Waikato River system and Lake Karapiro had “next to no restrictions”.

She said clams were mainly spread by boats with a ballast system. Anglers and other Lake Ōkataina users who posed little risk were “worried about the situation” ahead of the angling season.

She said “stronger measures” should be taken to prevent the clams from spreading to other regions and the organisation was “disappointed” there had not been more investment in isolating the clams to the Waikato River.

Steps such as boat-ramp wash stations should have been installed as soon as the clams were discovered, she said.

“We are now in a race against time to stop the spread.”

Jordan said Fish & Game was working with mana whenua, Te Arawa Lakes Trust and MPI to understand the risks and looking at the science to better understand the implications. She urged anglers to continue with biosecurity practices.

She said Rotorua lakes attracted 120,000-150,000 angler days per season. Lake Ōkataina, renowned for “trophy” rainbow trout, recorded 6000 to 7000 angler days each season in Fish & Game’s National Angler Survey.

Biosecurity New Zealand deputy director general Stuart Anderson said in Thursday’s media statement the lake would be closed to boating and fishing from October 1 to 31 under the Biosecurity Act to reduce the risk of an “incursion”.

The temporary biosecurity rules were “part of a precautionary and balanced approach” to reduce the risk of the clams spreading.

“Lake Ōkataina holds special cultural significance to Ngāti Tarāwhai because it contains a drowned pa site and other submerged Māori archaeological features.

“It is also a popular trout fishing lake and its popularity with fishers, many who travel from Waikato, makes it vulnerable.”

During the closure period, boat cleaning facilities would be installed to ensure boats entering Lake Ōkataina were clam-free.

“We appreciate people want to get on Lake Ōkataina at the start of the trout fishing season, but a small sacrifice this month goes a long way towards preserving it for generations to come.”

Cleaning stations would also be installed in Waikato to help users meet “check, clean and dry” requirements already in place for moving between waterways. The first station would be at Lake Karāpiro and it was exploring having them at all major boat ramps.

Anderson said the agency planned to expand its national surveillance programme to 80 sites and run trials to see if suppressing the clams to the Waikato River was feasible.

Prior to the closure decision, he told the Rotorua Daily Post scientists had advised elimination was “extremely unlikely” and had not been achieved overseas but a containment and suppression strategy was possible.

The “complex response” was progressing urgently. In Waikato, it was working to contain the clams while allowing continued public use and believed it had struck the right balance.

As well as check, clean, and dry requirements, it had awareness campaigns, signage by Waikato and Bay of Plenty waterways and was providing washdown equipment for events such as regattas. It was exploring further measures.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council biosecurity manager Greg Corbett said juvenile clams drifted on the current, pulled along by a sticky mucous thread that can attach to boats and gear, which was why check, clean and dry procedures were crucial.

Corbett said the Regional Pest Management Plan (RPMP) 2020-2030 could require all boat ramp users to certify their vessel, craft and trailer were clean.

Te Arawa Lakes Trust and Biosecurity NZ hosted an open-forum discussion about gold clams at the Millenium Hotel on Wednesday night and about 150 people attended.

More than $100 million paid in claims for senior falls in the Bay of Plenty in five years

Thousands of Tauranga seniors are falling every year, promoting payments of more than $57 million to the city in claims to help them recover.

And the impacts can be "catastrophic" with lasting effects on overall wellbeing, a local physio says.

Across the Bay of Plenty, 79,671 falls-related claims were made to ACC by people 65 years and over in the last five years.

This totalled $102,816,078 of active payments, which could be for claims lodged in any year as some have ongoing costs.

The money goes towards medical treatment, compensation for loss of income, rehabilitation, and support services while the person is recovering.

In Tauranga, there were 43,893 fall-related claims over that same time adding up to $57,865,313 for active claims.

About one in four Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty residents - 42,400 people - are 65 and older, according to Stats NZ estimations.

Last year, there were 9492 new claims across the city, with $14.8m in active costs.

The number of new claims related to falls dropped last year due to the Covid-19 lockdown, after increasing year-on-year since 2016.

On top of that, ACC paid $744,000 for funeral grants related to falls over five years, and there were 152 active claims across the region.

In that same time, there were at least 73 funeral grants totalling $364,054.

ACC provide a funeral grant of up to $6471.17 towards funeral and memorial costs. It can pay the funeral director and those who had already paid for the funeral can be paid back.

Hip fractures are common in older people and can lead to significant disability and death, according to a report by a 2018 Health Quality and Safety Commission.

About 8 per cent of people who fracture their hip die within a month of their injury and 20 per cent within a year. About 50 per cent of survivors have a mobility-related disability one year later.

A separate report by the commission found that malnourishment and orthostatic hypotension (sudden drop in blood pressure) were significant risk factors for falling.

Beanie Joyes is a physiotherapist at Bureta Physiotherapy and Wellness and said falls can be "catastrophic" for older people.

"When a young person falls, you fall over and you're fine ... a small incident in someone younger can have pretty catastrophic effects on an older person."

She said this was down to the higher risks of fractures as a result of osteoporosis - a decrease in bone density.

When a hip or femur is broken, they're immobilised, she said, and getting them back to their pre-fall ability was "really challenging".

The injuries unable to move in ways they were used to affect the client's general health, she said, with people less likely to leave the house, and being less active meant their strength fell too.

She said if something like a broken hip wasn't diagnosed properly, there was a potential for the injury to kill them a few months down the track as a result of the toll a fall can take.

Joyes explained that the ears play a big part in balance, and over time, the fluid in the ear can begin to crystalise.

Less fluid meant that changing positions took longer to adapt to, she explained, so the balance is thrown out.

"If something happens quickly and you don't have the time to level out and change, you're more likely to have a big fall rather than stumble and catch yourself."

Age Concern Tauranga general manager Tanya Smith said falls left seniors "incapacitated", which in turn affected their mental health.

Isolation became an issue as they lost their confidence to do day-to-day life, which she said was concerning, and they had a volunteer-buddy system to visit people in their homes who might not otherwise leave.

She said they offered the Steady As You Go programme at 28 weekly falls-prevention classes from Waihi Beach to Ōpōtiki.

The hour-long classes include simple exercises, seated in a chair, standing and walking, proven to improve balance, spatial awareness, flexibility and leg strength.

Smith said there had been a "huge impact" on people who took the classes.

She said it was good that there more open conversations about falls were happening, and staying active was, fortunately, easier with clubs and groups around the city.

ACC injury prevention leader Kirsten Malpas said the agency's core purpose was to prevent injuries and help people get back to normal life after an accident.

The amount paid to help anyone recover had no impact on their ability to help anyone else, she said.

The Tauranga City Council Age-Friendly City Strategy 2013-2023 sets out what the council planned to do to make the city more age-friendly.

To encourage seniors to get active, stay healthy, socialise and encourage strength and balance exercises, the plan included increasing the variety of recreational and physical activities at community centres and parks.

To make sure seniors felt safe in public and reduce falls and injury, they planned to have better-defined edges and good visibility, especially at entrance points.

Fall prevention was also included in the Tauranga Western Bay Safer Communities 2020 to 2025.

To help seniors stay steady on their feet, ACC is funding the trial of a balance training app, Nymbl, which combines simple body movements with easy brain games, like trivia.

ACC also provides a programme - Live Stronger for Longer - which is available at different centres across the country and includes a range of activities for varying abilities.

Coffins as large as bookshelves needed in Bay of Plenty obesity crisis

Coffins as large as bookshelves and bodies unable to fit in a crematorium are part of a new reality for funeral directors adapting to rising obesity rates.

And bereaved families are being left embarrassed and distressed at not always being able to honour their loved one's wishes.

More than two-thirds of the Bay of Plenty population is overweight or obese.

Ministry of Health (MoH) data showed in 2016/17, one in three adult New Zealanders over 15 years is classed as obese, and one in 10 children. By comparison, the data (the most recent available) showed 70 per cent of the Bay was overweight or obese, 6 per cent more than five years earlier.

The obesity rates result in a greater risk of acute and long-term health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, several common cancers, osteoarthritis, sleep apnoea and reproductive abnormalities.

Such rates have prompted the World Health Organisation to describe the global prevalence of obesity as an epidemic.

Health organisations are not alone in adapting to increasing obesity rates.

Osborne's Funeral Directors director and embalmer Sam Osborne said coffins sizes had changed over the past eight years to accommodate larger bodies.

"Manufacturers are making them deeper, as a standard," he said.

The most frequently used coffin size was 35cm deep and 67.5cm wide at the widest point, which was bigger than a "standard" coffin.

The next sizes up are called second and third oversized, which are both also used.

The widths are 760mm and 825mm at the widest point and 4170mm and 4670mm deep.

Osborne said the work of an embalmer was more frequently needing to be at least a two-person job despite having "better lifting devices" these days.

Often, extra handles were placed on caskets so more people could help carry it, he said.

"There's definitely more of these being sold everywhere."

The price difference would only be up to $200 but options became limited with bigger sizes with only one style. Such coffins could not be personalised.

Funeral director Richard Fullard said some bodies were too big to fit in the crematorium and families were forced to bury their loved ones, which cost more and distressed or embarrassed families unable to honour their loved one's funeral wishes.

"Cremators are bigger, getting people on the mortuary table is more difficult, all these things are changing; not overnight, but over time."

Fullard said the job always had required a level of manual labour but now needed more manpower and extra use of equipment to help.

"We see the size increase across the board in society ... everybody's getting bigger, children are getting bigger."

At times, the service had to call the fire service to help remove people from homes, he said.

Like Osborne, Fullard said more handles on coffins were not unusual and in some cases, a solid bar was used instead to allow up to six people each side to help carry.

Lakes DHB mortuary technician Jason Sayers said in the past 10 years, space in the mortuary specifically for obese patients had to be created to meet demand.

"From a Lakes DHB point of view, we have good systems in place in the morgue and equipment capable of moving patients up to 500kg in weight.

"On several occasions, funeral homes have used the hospital facility equipment to place a bariatric person directly into a casket as they don't have the appropriate equipment or staff available."

Hospital chief executive Nick Saville-Wood said power-driven beds, hoist systems, and stronger beds and wheelchairs were in rooms specifically built for larger patients when the new hospital was built.

A Rotorua Lakes Council spokesperson said a new, larger cremator was being installed which would replace the previous machine that had been used for nearly 60 years.

"The new cremator will accommodate all coffin sizes."

For people who created their own coffins with the Kiwi Coffin Club, they did not always fit it by the time the died.

The charitable trust, based in Rotorua, helped people around the Bay of Plenty and New Zealand design and create their own coffins.

Club treasurer Ron Wattam said coffin sizes had increased by about 5 per cent in his seven years working for the trust, and the standard depth has gone from 300mm to 350mm.

"Their puku, their tummies, have gotten bigger and bigger."

The average shoulder width was now between 570mm and 600mm.

Wattam said it was "safe to say" many of the overweight people they helped create coffins were dying because of health complications.

"They're not dying of old age because none of those people are anywhere near 70," he said.

Lakes DHB lifestyle medicine consultant Hayden McRobbie said about 600 more people had developed Type-2 diabetes in the past five years in Lakes DHB alone.

"This is a consequence of obesity, and as obesity rates rise, we can expect diabetes rates to rise, too."

The epidemic was environmental: advertising, high sugar and fast-food consumption, and as well as physical health issues, there were social and cultural issues including low self-esteem and participation, employment discrimination, bullying and exclusion of children.

"It's not just the physical, but the emotional and mental wellbeing we have to think about," he said.

KFitness NZ nutritionist Kate Irvine said over the past four years, there had been a rise in the number of people referred or coming to her with obesity.

Education about nutrition and labels, financial struggles and a can't-be-bothered mindset escalated the obesity crisis.

She said a key thing was for people to move toward eating more whole food.

"If a human made it, don't eat it," she said.

Rotorua family violence: Meth-fuelled abusers beating women in the streets as reports rise

More heinous, more sick, and more twisted.

That's how Rotorua family lawyer and refuge chairwoman Mihi James describes the drug-fuelled and increasingly "blatant" abuse of women in Rotorua, some beaten in broad daylight.

It comes as data shows police were called every 35 minutes on average to family violence in the Bay of Plenty in the last five years.

Official Information Act figures from police revealed there were 68,150 domestic violence callouts in the region between January 2017 and August last year.

In Rotorua, the numbers climbed over this time.

There were 18,837 callouts, with the worst year being 2020 when police were called 4446 times.

James, legal director for Mihi James Legal and chairwoman of the Waiariki Women's Refuge board, said the violence was becoming "more blatant".

On top of that, the many support services available were inundated and there were long waiting lists for victims and perpetrators to get help.

"Historically, people hid that behind closed doors but offenders now are becoming a lot more bold and blatant ... these guys don't care, they're doing it anywhere, anytime."

"They're beating their partners up in the street in broad daylight."

James said the biggest contributor to this was drugs, which changed the level of violence.

"They're more heinous, they're more sick, they're more twisted. They're entirely irrational, there's no reasoning with them ... they're completely out of control with no remorse and no self-control."

She said abusers high on meth had "no issue" beating up victims in front of everyone.

James recently had a woman come in who was beaten unconscious by her partner in the street. The offender got someone who lived in the area to pick her up out of the gutter.

"The neighbour came out, took her into their house, wiped her down, but never called the police."

She said she did not want to see a culture forming where people ignored domestic violence as it would make room for more blatant violence.

The majority of the women she saw did not call the police, relying on others calling for help, she said.

A common thing she heard from women was that their neighbours got used to hearing the fighting and beatings and stopped calling the police.

In her view, "significant delays" in police showing up deterred people from calling and put victims off taking further action as things calmed down by the time enforcement arrived.

In addition, in her experience, the many support services available were inundated and capacity was falling short.

"Even the offenders, at one stage they're genuinely wanting help, they've hit an all-time low and keen to do the services and programmes," she said.

She said it could be months before people could get into a particular programme they needed.

"You've got to catch them when they're motivated to change."

She said she had five Without-Notice Protection Order applications when she arrived at the office after the holidays.

"Five, for my first day back is ridiculous ... You'd be lucky to get that in a month."

The majority of cases she saw of women seeking protection orders involved intimate partner relationships.

James said there were many factors that contributed to the rise in violence in the community: income, job loss, living costs, meth, and the housing crisis.

"We have a lot more struggling families and a lot more homelessness [in Rotorua]."

In her view, the city had a "stigma" from a large homeless population, which was putting people who may benefit the community off moving to Rotorua.

Bay of Plenty District youth, community and family harm manager Inspector Phil Gillbanks said police saw more incidents where children and youth lashed out against parents or caregivers.

This was often due to the young people suffering from substance trauma relating to parents' long-standing use of meth, he said.

Methamphetamine was the greatest contributor to harm across the region, alongside mental health, gambling, alcohol and other drug abuse.

He said there was also an increase in controlling and coercive behaviour that was often a result of jealousy manifested through the many online platforms.

He said population growth and two years with periods of Covid restrictions put "considerable" strain on some families.

Gillbanks said domestic violence was typically under reported. A rise in reports could reflect a number of things, including an increased willingness by victims, whānau and witnesses.

Tauranga Living Without Violence practice leader Glynette Gainfort did not believe there was more family violence, just more reporting.

"The numbers are awful ... there's always been this family violence, it was just very much a culture of closed doors."

She said the campaigns, services and publicity had been useful.

"More people are saying 'I don't have to live like this' ... neighbours are saying 'this isn't alright.'"

"It's okay to [report violence] or it's expected."

She said child abuse was heavily linked to family violence in the home and social media helped raise awareness of the number of children being "battered and killed".

Gainfort said there was "not nearly enough" support as specialist agencies were "under the pump".

"It's scary."

She said more men than she'd seen in her six years at the service were contacting it to get help for their behaviour.

She said perpetrators would tell them about their "horrific" childhoods.

Gainfort said from her perspective, there were delays in police response to domestic violence due to the quantity of issues police were dealing with, including the pandemic.

"Our family violence police team here are often deployed to do Covid and border stuff, that means the family violence stuff can't be dealt with."

"We absolutely need more services, we need more police, we just need more of everything to actually deal with this.

"All the korero is out there, but there's not enough resourcing for the follow-through."

She said things like meth and alcohol may fuel the violence, but were not the root cause, which she believed was linked to things like gendered roles and colonisation.

Bay of Plenty District Prevention manager Inspector Steve Bullock said there was an increase in calls and some of the Family Harm team staff had been tasked to work on the national police Covid-19 response.

He said calls were prioritised in terms of risk and those at greater risk were attended as soon as possible.

Lower risk calls were attended later, sometimes the next day, he said.

He said the region invested in family harm resourcing over the past few years by creating prevention teams, part of a coordinated multi-agency approach.

Gillbanks said five joint agency Family Harm Teams across the region worked "tirelessly" and could intervene and make sure people were safe when called to events.

He said not all family harm situations involved violence or injuries, and police attendance and response varied.

Sometimes officers needed to remove someone being physically aggressive or abusive, other times they spend time talking to people, making sure they have appropriate referrals to other agencies, he said.

He said their focus was making sure everyone involved was safe and well.

Fifteen Rotorua motels paid over $1 million for emergency housing

Fifteen Rotorua motels were each paid more than $1 million for emergency housing over two years.

Figures released by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) under the Official Information Act show $62.9m was spent on emergency housing in the Bay of Plenty between July 2019 and June this year.

This included suppliers from outside of the region and payments in arrears for previous or future accommodation for clients who have moved but not yet updated their addresses.

Fifteen Rotorua motels accounted for more than $24.7m of the total.

Moteliers said emergency housing was a lifeline and provided an income now international tourism had declined.

The top earner was the Grand Treasure Hotel, which was paid $3.44m by MSD for emergency housing special needs grants for 267 clients.

Spa Lodge followed with a total of 1665 grants worth $2.59m for 225 clients. Both were approached for comment.

Seventh-highest earner Alpin Motel & Conference Centre was paid $1.56m from 1005 grants for 228 clients.

A spokesman said the base rate was about $150 per person per night and lower than the $230 per night motel rates.

He said MSD grants kept the 40-room motel going and it became solely emergency housing in the March 2020 lockdown.

The motel screened all potential clients coming in for an MSD quote.

"We run it like a military camp, we're pretty strict here."

The motel was previously announced as one of 12 to be contracted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for exclusive emergency housing use.

Astray Motel & Backpackers earned $1.37m from 822 grants for 132 clients.

Owner Tim Gao said taking on emergency housing clients was about survival and the motel would do it until international tourists returned.

"If you are starving, you don't really have a choice. We are starving," he said.

"We have to have them, otherwise we die."

The rooms were rented at market rate - between $60 and $150 per night.

He felt for accommodation providers that didn't have the option of emergency housing while the borders were shut and domestic tourism was slow.

"We feel lucky enough to have emergency housing [even though] it gives us headaches."

Gao said it was common for rooms to be out of use for a week after a client left because of smoke odour or other bad smells and "all the damage".

On one occasion clients triggered the fire sprinklers, flooding rooms.

Three rooms needed carpets replaced at a total cost of $10,000, taking them off the market for six months.

Ongoing costs included replacing stolen items and fixing regularly broken door frames and holes in walls.

In a year, the motel also paid more than $100,000 in rent, $10,800 in power, and spent $6000 on cleaning products, and $4800 on cleaners.

Gao said the motel sacrificed its reputation and Booking.com ratings had dropped from eight to six since taking on clients in half of their rooms.

The other 12 motels that earned more than $1m in the timeframe were Manhattan Motel ($1.71m), Kuirau Park Motor Lodge ($1.69m), Union Victoria Motel ($1.64m), Fenton Court Motel ($1.59m), Geneva Motor Lodge ($1.4m), Rotovegas Motel ($1.4m), Golden Glow Motel ($1.3m), Cactus Jacks ($1.56m), Brylin Motel ($1.18m), Pure Motel & Guest House ($1.13m) and Ashleigh Court Motel ($1.07m).

The motels were approached for comment. Union Victoria Motel, Cactus Jacks, Brylin Motel, Pure Motel & Guest House and Ashleigh Court Motel could not be reached.

Restore Rotorua chairman Trevor Newbrook said many residents were concerned about the emergency housing crisis and the safety issues around it.

He said the payment figures "shocked" him and seemed, in his view, like a "huge waste of resources".

"People, especially families, deserve a proper house and not a one-room motel [unit]."

Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi said, in his view, the money spent was not justified if it continued to keep people on a "never-ending hamster wheel" at the "bottom of the heap".

Rotorua National MP Todd McClay said he believed it was "irresponsible spending" of a "huge" amount of money and the Government needed to start building houses.

In his view: "It's obvious that the problem is getting worse and it's obvious the Government doesn't actually have a solution."

"They could build hundreds and hundreds of houses instead of leaving people in motels."

McClay said increasing houses would be fairer to those left to "languish" in motels as well as the Rotorua residents who he believed were "sick and tired of excuses".

In the OIA response, the Ministry of Social Development said special needs grants were paid for commercial accommodation for those in urgent need.

It was initially intended to be for seven days, but, given the high level of need, subsequent grants could be paid for up to 21 days at a time, it said.

Under the grant model, accommodation suppliers were not contracted by MSD and could stop providing emergency housing services. Any agreements or conditions of stay were between supplier and client.

MSD acting regional commissioner Brent MacDonald said while the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MHUD) and Kāinga Ora worked to increase housing stock, it was focused on giving people in urgent need somewhere to stay.

Clients were expected to get the same quality of service as a guest and MSD talked to clients regularly about their accommodation options and raised concerns directly with suppliers.

When those could not be suitably resolved, the ministry tried to find alternative accommodation. Clients could reject a suggested accommodation option.

He said clients agreed to pay for damages they were responsible for and the ministry provided one week's worth of accommodation as a safeguard for owners.

MHUD external engagement and communications manager Dennis de Reus said it worked closely with Kāinga Ora, which was working to deliver at least 190 public homes in Rotorua by 2024 under the Public Housing Plan.

Kāinga Ora has delivered 63 public homes in Rotorua in the past three years, 35 more are under way and planned.

Thirty-seven public homes are planned for the site on the corner of Ranolf St and Malfroy Rd.

Last week Kainga Ora announced it had bought land on Collie Drive in Pukehangi and planned to build 60 homes for people on the housing register by the end of next year.

A Fenton St property was being upgraded to create transitional housing for more than 80 people by mid-next year. It may later be used for mixed housing.

He said the high housing deprivation was a result of generations of under-investment in housing, a shortage of available land, rising rents and house prices and growing population that added to the demand for emergency housing.

"It won't be fixed overnight."

The Government committed a $55m shovel-ready investment in stormwater and transport infrastructure to enable future development by Ngāti Whakaue, he said, along with other funding for Māori-led housing initiatives.

"The Government has a duty to ensure vulnerable people have a roof over their heads tonight while also investing in and supporting new housing. This isn't an either/or thing."