Matua Kahurangi
Just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes.
Rotorua is throwing a week-long party for Matariki, branded Matawiki, in a bid to rebrand itself as the place to be for the Māori New Year. There’s a dawn ceremony, a drone show, and live music on the schedule. It’s a slick PR job, rolled out like a welcome mat over a town that’s spent the last few years falling to bits.
Rotorua is no longer the glistening geothermal gem where Kiwis brought their families to ride the luge, soak in the hot pools, catch trout and take in the natural beauty. It’s now a textbook case of what happens when political shortsightedness collides with social neglect.
The city has become one of the country’s most visible examples of decline. Drugs, public drunkenness, rough sleepers, shoplifting, and street crime have taken hold. This isn’t media spin or online exaggeration. The Thieves of Rotorua Facebook page has over 127,000 followers. That speaks volumes about how far things have slid.
You can still smell Rotorua, but these days it’s not just the sulphur. The unmistakable scent of the earth is now laced with something sadder – the smell of waste, of neglect, of hopelessness.
Motels that once catered to families and tourists are now packed with people in emergency housing. This transformation was bankrolled by the last government, where Labour handed over millions in taxpayer cash to local moteliers and hotels to house the country’s most troubled individuals. In return, those operators charged full nightly rates, making a killing while the social fabric of the town was ripped apart.
The outcome has been devastating. Videos of liquor store raids go viral. People are kicked out of emergency accommodation only to pitch tents on city footpaths. Businesses struggle and shopfronts sit empty. Rotorua’s CBD has become a place many locals and visitors alike now try to avoid.
A long-time retailer summed it up last year. With all the millions supposedly poured into solutions, why are people still living in tents in doorways?
So now, along comes Matawiki. A week of events hoping to spruce up the town’s image and distract from the mess. Let’s not pretend a few lights in the sky will wash away the stench in the streets.
Rotorua has every right to celebrate Matariki, but it must also confront the reality on the ground. No amount of fireworks or festivities will undo years of poor decision making and neglect.
Until real change happens, Rotorua will remain what it’s sadly become – a cautionary tale wrapped in cultural glitter.
This article was originally published on the author’s Substack.
