{"id":491815,"date":"2026-06-23T16:44:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T16:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/491815\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T16:44:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T16:44:16","slug":"sunlive-bomb-threat-sparks-council-evacuation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/491815\/","title":{"rendered":"SunLive – Bomb threat sparks council evacuation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Council headquarters in Rotorua and Tauranga have been evacuated because of a bomb threat.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve spoken to police.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got our teams looking at CCTV footage … to try to understand. It\u2019s most likely a hoax, however, we\u2019ve got to protect our staff and keep everyone safe as much as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

He said the plan was to evacuate the building.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a sensible thing to do, so we can go through and have a check as to whether there\u2019s anything untoward.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

The evacuation happened during the lunch break of a council meeting. The meeting has since resumed.<\/p>\n


\n
\nRotorua Lakes Council posted on its Facebook about 1.45pm that its Civic Centre would be closed for the rest of the day.
\n <\/p>\n

This was as a precaution following a similar security threat to others nationwide.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the risk is considered low, staff safety is our priority,\u201d the post said.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Limited customer services were temporarily operating from the Rotorua Library. Other council facilities and open spaces remained open.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell said it was \u201csurprising and sad\u201d that people were\u00a0left to feel unsafe in workplaces and schools<\/a>\u00a0today.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u201cBomb threats are not something that we expect or tolerate in our country or communities, and we\u2019re really feeling for those who were impacted or felt scared for themselves or loved ones,\u201d Tapsell said.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u201cThreats of violence are unacceptable, especially towards our schools and children.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

She praised the swift response from the police and hoped those behind the threat would be held to account.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Rotorua Lakes Council chief executive Andrew Moraes said staff had been asked to work from home.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

He said that even if the threat proved \u201cunfounded or vexatious\u201d, it was not harmless and caused real disruption.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said police believed the threats to be low risk.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u201cThe cybercrime team, supported by staff in other police districts, have initiated an investigation and are working to determine the source of the emails.\u201d<\/p>\n

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