An irregular mess has been found at several Far North toilets over the holiday period – and is estimated by the local council to have caused $2000 worth of damage to ratepayers.
The Far North District Council said toilets at Te Tii Beach in Paihia were vandalised over the weekend when all the toilets and urinals were filled with soil or potting mix.
Two contractors were then engaged by the council to clean up the dirty loo.
However, the damage had been done – the council confirmed it soiled the plans of cruise ship visitors and other tourists hoping to use the bathroom at the holiday hotspot while it was being cleaned.
“The facilities couldn’t be used by the hundreds of cruise ship visitors and other tourists,” it said.
The council also shared two other recent occasions the toilets were treated like dirt.
Over the Christmas period, public toilets at Ahipara and Centennial Park in Kaitāia had the locks broken on two occasions.
Both were sprayed with graffiti using racist language, with clean-up costs in each case being met by the ratepayer, the council said.
Trent Blakeman, the council’s group manager of delivery and operations, said it is “incredibly disappointing for our communities to see our public facilities treated like this”.
“It’s a particularly bad look when we are at the height of our tourist season, with thousands of extra visitors in our district who need to use these important facilities.”
The council asked anyone with information on these or any other incidents of vandalism to get in touch with the council on 0800 920 029 or contact police.
