Lee fell short in challenging Tapsell\u2019s mayorship, but hung on to a council seat as the sixth-placed electee. <\/p>\n
Robert Lee, left, and Tania Tapsell at a candidate forum evening at Waiariki FC clubrooms. Photo \/ Mathew Nash<\/p>\n
But Tapsell said campaign animosity was now behind them. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe acknowledged we\u2019ve had strong disagreements, but shook hands and committed to working together as best as possible,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what Rotorua deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three years ago, putting in motion the wheels to halt Rotorua\u2019s emergency housing crisis was also on the list of her first 100-day priorities. <\/p>\n
That should crystallise soon, with only the two pre-established providers for the most at-risk people projected to be left by the end of 2025, dependent on government agencies relocating people out of motels. <\/p>\n
Despite this, Tapsell admitted the council still had \u201cwork to do\u201d around crime and social issues. <\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough we\u2019ve improved things significantly, we really can\u2019t get complacent,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Rotorua Museum was the long-term project Tapsell wanted to safeguard early on in her second term. Closed since 2016 due to earthquake damage and seismic issues, the project\u2019s construction costs were fully funded, but exhibition costs still had an $8.3 million shortfall. <\/p>\n
Tapsell called it her \u201cnumber-one project\u201d, with a projected opening date for early 2027.<\/p>\n
Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell wants to deliver residents their museum back this term. Photo \/ Laura Smith<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are so determined to keep costs down that this is one we need to manage very carefully,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Last term was about fixing issues, Tapsell said, and she believed now was the time to put the council in a better long-term financial position. <\/p>\n
The council\u2019s 2024 Annual Report detailed current debts of $447 million \u2013 up $151 million since 2022 \u2013 largely due to investment in capital projects and infrastructure. <\/p>\n
While Tapsell wanted to ensure rates remained \u201caffordable\u201d, she said \u201clong-term strategies\u201d were now needed to reduce debt. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve fixed a lot of the problems our city was facing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But she believed the ongoing cost of debt would be \u201csignificant\u201d for the community if not addressed now. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not a burden I want to leave my children or the next ratepayers,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Perhaps the most troubling period of Tapsell\u2019s first term was the controversial Tarawera sewerage scheme. <\/p>\n
Construction to replace septic tanks with a new mains network was completed in May 2025, and properties were now in the process of being connected. <\/p>\n
But the project was fraught with issues, including protests, court proceedings and violent threats aimed at Tapsell. <\/p>\n
A protest h\u012bkoi to Lake Rotok\u0101kahi as part of demonstrations against the Tarawera sewerage scheme.<\/p>\n
She blamed this on \u201conline misinformation\u201d and believed there was plenty to learn from the experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout a doubt, it was the most challenging thing I think I\u2019ve ever been through,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cDealing with misinformation is a big challenge, so how can we communicate well to our community, and how do we listen early on before it becomes an issue is important.\u201d<\/p>\n
The abuse was not isolated to online. After verbal tirades at the coffee shop and car windows being smashed, one question remained: Why do it all again?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very mindful that as the first M\u0101ori female mayor in Rotorua\u2019s history, there are large areas of our community that I didn\u2019t want to let down,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t let petty issues stop you from achieving not only your dreams, but the aspirations that other people have for this place that we live.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.<\/p>\n
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"She wanted to be an \u201cinclusive leader\u201d and setting priorities as a new council would be an important…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90731,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[836,95,3269,5205,537,4731,5399,7797,15974,22217,1888,38020,2082,3273,42,3339,440,10934,3586,8793,43,90,56522,1327,68210,8466,18835,44160,56661,7187,1335,40,38,41,39,24182,14638],"class_list":["post-90730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-836","tag-and","tag-build","tag-council","tag-crisis","tag-days","tag-debt","tag-elections","tag-emergency","tag-finalise","tag-first","tag-focuses","tag-for","tag-future","tag-headlines","tag-housing","tag-local","tag-mayor","tag-museum","tag-museums","tag-news","tag-on","tag-reelected","tag-rotorua","tag-safeguard","tag-second","tag-strong","tag-tania","tag-tapsell","tag-team","tag-term","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-unity","tag-wants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}