Rob Hamlin: The ORFU’s small creditors: If I was one of them…

This post received today from Rob Hamlin was first submitted to the Otago Daily Times for publication at The Analyst blog. The newspaper’s suggested edits are shown in italics.

The conduct of the ORFU over the last couple of years has left a legacy of some 180 small creditors owed some 680,000 dollars. These traders now face a difficult situation, which the recent activities of various well placed worthies have done little to alleviate. These traders now have to make simultaneous decisions on two major matters rather than one. They have to decide whether to pursue their debts. But they also have to make up their minds whether they will continue to trade with the undead but still insolvent ORFU ‘zombie’ organisation that these worthies have rescued from an imminent, thoroughly justifiable and necessary corporate execution and autopsy process. It is most unusual for an organisation of this size, in such an apparently ruinous financial state and with such a poor track record of settling its debts over such an extended period of time to survive a crisis such as this. The fact that this is not a private limited company, but is an incorporated society takes us into completely new and unknown territory.

By a mixture of vague promises and third party support, the ORFU appears to have extricated itself from around three quarters of its multi-million dollar debt on consistent terms of a cash return of zero cents on the dollar. In all cases, except possibly the bank, they also seem to have secured agreements that trade, and presumably credit will continue to be furnished to the ORFU on established or even enhanced terms by these creditor organisations.

A pattern has thus been established and it would be a reasonable presumption on the part of any of the remaining creditors that similar terms in both of these areas will be sought from them on a case by case basis when contact with the ORFU is established by each individual creditor, as the ORFU clearly desires. No general creditor meetings have been called. Only a rather cheeky request via the media appears to have been issued inviting these creditors to get in touch with the ORFU’s accountants individually – presumably if and when they feel that they need to.

Some commentators on the ODT website have noted that I am a specialist in food marketing, and have invited me to consider the supply and demand of pies within the rugby stadia of this town. The food industry is a brutal one, in which not getting paid is an ever present danger, and I therefore spend a good deal of my time teaching and advising on such matters. Their suggestion is therefore an excellent one, and I will discuss the first of these two issues – debt recovery from the ORFU, not from the point of view of an academic, but what the hypothetical owner of ‘The Pied Piemaker™’ Ltd (get it?) might do if they were owed some $12,000 by the ORFU.

DCC refuses to release DVML six-monthly report until “most suitable time and forum” is found

This is the kind of City Council we have.

This is the kind of company the City Council owns.

This is the kind of stadium the City Council has, running at a crippling loss.

These are the kind of losers running this city, deciding your ratepaying destiny care of the selfish pricks that administer Professional Rugby.

—

30.3.12 ODT: Stadium report release date deferred again
A report on the financial position of the Dunedin company running Forsyth Barr Stadium is being held for another month, with little explanation yesterday of why. It means the public will have to wait longer for possible insight about whether the stadium will pay for itself, or end up an annual drain on city finances.

—

WHAT KIND OF MOOD ARE WE IN
There’s never a good time for trying to fool the public.
Not around the LTP and Annual Plan process.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin City Council company sponsors Highlanders

RUGBY is core business for Dunedin City Council

The Council, via Delta, says “up you” if citizens don’t like it.

—

### ODT Online Thu, 29 Mar 2012
Delta partners Highlanders for 2012
By David Loughrey
Dunedin City Council-owned infrastructure specialist Delta Utility Services has expanded its rugby sponsorship, taking on the Highlanders rugby team for 2012. The company will be “executive partner” of the Highlanders, with the sponsorship including the Delta logo on the back of the team playing shorts, where it has been from the start of the season.

Delta has a corporate suite at the Forsyth Barr Stadium, has had jersey sponsorship of the Otago rugby team, and has sponsored Otago junior rugby. A spokesman said the company was in discussions with the ORFU for the future of that sponsorship, following the union’s near liquidation.

Read more

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

ORFU position

### ODT Online Fri, 23 Mar 2012
Opinion: Blog: The Analyst
ORFU bailout – the big sausage and mug wash-up
By Rob Hamlin
As the last sausage sizzles itself into silence, it is now possible to examine the merits, if any, of the ORFU rescue extravaganza. As soon as the ORFU started extending its own life just over two weeks ago, it was pretty easy to see that there was about as much chance of the ORFU actually falling off the back of the gravy train as there was of Kate Winslet falling off the back of the Titanic only thirty minutes into the film.

The ORFU’s fiscal position has not been significantly changed by this rescue. It is still insolvent. It still owes more than $680,000 to small creditors. Its ongoing annual deficit to this point is in excess of $600,000, and the only savings that have been identified (maybe) are less than $300,000 in players’ wages. A return to positive cash flow can thus not reasonably be even expected, let alone guaranteed without some major and as yet unannounced development.

Read more
{The ODT link is no longer available. We are seeking advice. -Eds 3.4.12}

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DScene reflects on DCC’s unholy mess

### D Scene 21 Mar 2012
Butler lifts lid on ‘deception’ (page 2)
By Wilma McCorkindale
Stadium opponent Bev Butler has handed confidential project papers to council commissioned auditors in her bid for a major inquiry into Dunedin’s stadium project. Butler has passed previously withheld information to a PricewaterhouseCoopers forensic auditing team reviewing variances in stadium completion costs identified by the Dunedin City Council (DCC) earlier this month.
{continues} #bookmark

****

Fury over bail-out of ORFU (page 3)
By Mike Houlahan
The Otago Rugby Football Union ‘‘desperately’’ needed to be put in to liquidation so it could be properly audited, Cr Lee Vandervis says. Vandervis was one of five Dunedin City councillors who voted against approving a bail-out of the cash-strapped ORFU in an extraordinary council meeting last Wednesday. […] The DCC’S decision came after a marathon night meeting and sparked immediate outcry. Council offices were flooded with angry calls and emails, and D Scene understands councillors who voted in favour have received abusive messages.
{continues} #bookmark

****

We’re rugby-mad but not in a good way (page 7)
By Mike Houlahan – Editor
As the Otago Rugby Football Union faced liquidation, a lot of rhetoric was heard about a ‘‘proud rugby province’’ and the depth of feeling Otago had for the game. Otago, people said, could not be left in the lurch. Otago rugby administrators got caught up in the spirit. ORFU president Wayne Graham – a man who had looked aghast on February 27 when revealing the union’s plight – seemed stunned last Wednesday when interviewed on Campbell Live at 7pm. He thought the rescue package Dunedin City Council was weighing up at that moment was so good that they would sign the deal in half an hour, and seemed perplexed they were still thinking about it.
{continues} #bookmark

****

Opinion (page 8)
The truth, the whole truth . . .
By Bev Butler
It is expected that every large project undertaken by a council will require extensive consultation with all ratepayers but the crucial element missing from consultation in this case [the stadium] was the requirement to adhere to the principles of good faith – openness and transparency – during the consultative process. It was that failure by the DCC to truly listen and act to placate the genuine concerns held by so many that draws the inevitable conclusion that the DCC totally failed to act in accordance with the Local Government Act 2002.
{continues} #bookmark

Register to read D Scene online at
http://fairfaxmedia.newspaperdirect.com/

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Christ Church, Cathedral Square

### ODT Monday 19 March 2012
Precedents exist for rebuilding cathedral
By Peter Entwisle – Art Beat
OPINION Reactions to the damage to Christchurch’s Anglican cathedral say much about some individuals and potentially more about ourselves as a nation. It’s partly an arts issue but also more than that.
Built between 1864 and 1904 to the design of the British architect George Gilbert Scott – supervised and modified by New Zealand’s Benjamin Mountfort – it may not be the very finest Victorian church in the country. But it is still a notable artistic success.

Christ Church, Cathedral Square (learn more)

Canterbury was a specifically Anglican settlement. The cathedral signifies that but because of its size and prominence now also represents the city and the province. In New Zealand only the First Church of Otago has a comparable symbolism. If the Christchurch cathedral is lost we’ll be down to only one in a nation unusually lacking in enduring, built, symbols. What would we do if the Treaty House burnt down?
The Christchurch cathedral had been earthquake-damaged before the shocks which started in September 2010. After the February 22, 2011, event Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee, no friend of heritage, included it on a short list of buildings which should be restored or rebuilt. An overseas donor stumped up $4 million. Further earthquakes did more damage.
The Anglican Bishop of Christchurch, Victoria Matthews, was ambivalent about the old building from the start. She wondered aloud if a new cathedral should be constructed somewhere else? Recently she announced the old building will be ‘deconstructed’ – she means ‘dismantled’ – to a height of 2-3 metres, and not rebuilt.
She said building a replica would face the Diocese with a $100 million shortfall while a new building incorporating some of the old would leave it up to $50 million out of pocket. Other people have different figures. The Mayor, Bob Parker, acknowledging the wider public interest, offered to take the building into public ownership to provide a broader funding base.
The Bishop refused, now insisting the site must remain in Anglican hands. She also declined to reveal the information on which her decision was based.

How do people handle these things elsewhere?

In England the 14th-century cathedral at Coventry was badly damaged by air raids on May 14, 1940. Later the ruins were stabilised and became part of a new complex designed by Sir Basil Spence and opened in 1962 to critical acclaim.

Coventry Cathedral

In Dresden in Germany the Baroque cathedral (1726-1743) was almost entirely destroyed in an Allied bombing attack on the February 14, 1945. Later a replica was built, incorporating a few surviving fragments and consecrated in 2005, also to great acclaim. (Images show the few original stones as darker, evocative amongst the lighter new.)

Incorporating a few surving fragments…Dresden’s Frauenkirche

These were responses to man-made disasters but what about earthquake-damaged buildings?

The Basilica of St Francis of Assisi in Italy was hurt by numerous earthquakes in the centuries after construction began in 1228. But never so badly as by two which struck on the September 26, 1997. Several people died in the second, members of a party inspecting the wreckage caused by the first. (This was memorably captured by Italian television and endlessly repeated.) The large complex was closed for two years, restored and strengthened. Now it hosts worshippers and visitors again.

Basilica of St Francis of Assisi

Similarly, the church of San Francisco in Santiago in Chile had been regularly quake damaged and restored since construction began on an elaborate replacement of an earlier church in 1558. But a particularly severe quake caused great destruction on March 3, 1985. It was restored again and now houses a museum as well as being a place of worship – and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Church of San Francisco in Santiago

What should happen in Christchurch? In each of the cases mentioned, the church, often with the help of a wider community, endeavoured to keep part of the old while restoring or building anew. Where destruction was most complete – Dresden – a faithful replica was built, incorporating the sadly few remnants, in what might be described as a typically Teutonic exercise of vigorous communal will.
We are not faced with anything so challenging. But obviously some of us are daunted or perhaps just unwilling.
The old false dichotomy of whether we should value people or buildings has been paraded again. It’s a fallacy because, if you care about people you should care for the things they care about – and they care a lot about buildings which are symbols. This is not ‘reverence for bricks and mortar’ but reverence for the things they mean.
Christchurch cathedral is not only a place of worship. It already was a symbol of Canterbury. Rebuilt, keeping and evoking as much of the old as possible, funded by and useful to the wider community, it would symbolise national endurance. “Look”, it would say, “We are human and vulnerable. But we recover and overcome adversity.”
What price do you put on that?

• Peter Entwisle is a Dunedin curator, historian and writer.

The article was published in the Otago Daily Times on 19 March 2012.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Local government reform

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 09:24 19/03/2012
Local government reform to be announced
By Danya Levy
The Government is expected to announce details of its local government reforms today which aim to reduce rates increases and curb council debt. Prime Minister John Key said this morning the Government believed the 7 per cent average rates increase since 2003 was too much for the community to shoulder. “We accept there are lots of arguments around infrastructure deficit and the cost of bitumen but overall we want to see that number lower,” he told Newstalk ZB.
Read more

****

### scoop.co.nz Monday, 19 March 2012, 10:50 am
Government must give ratepayers greater protection
Press Release: NoMoreRates.Com
[Statement from David Thornton]
Government must give ratepayers greater protection from free-spending councils. Ratepayers around the country are looking for some solid changes to local councils when the Government makes its promised announcements on local government reform later today. While controls on rates and debt are the main issues there is also the question of limiting those council activities which lead to high debt and ever-increasing rates. This could need inserting new clauses in the Local Government Act clearly defining the services and facilities which councils can and cannot be involved in.
Read more

****

Ms Sage hasn’t quite got it right, see Dunedin City Council’s unmanaged debt.

### scoop.co.nz Monday, 19 March 2012, 12:00 pm
Local Govt Reforms Driven By Ideology, Not Good Governance
Press Release: Green Party
A manufactured crisis is being used as an excuse to drive ideological changes to local government, the Green Party says. “Central government proposals to cap rates, limit council spending, and force amalgamations would further undermine local democracy,” Green Party local government spokesperson Eugenie Sage said. “The key challenges local authorities face are a backlog of infrastructure investment where populations are growing and their reliance on rates as their major funding source.”
Read more

****

### scoop.co.nz Monday, 19 March 2012, 10:50 am
Government must give ratepayers greater protection
Press Release: NoMoreRates.Com
[Statement from David Thornton]
Government must give ratepayers greater protection from free-spending councils. Ratepayers around the country are looking for some solid changes to local councils when the Government makes its promised announcements on local government reform later today. While controls on rates and debt are the main issues there is also the question of limiting those council activities which lead to high debt and ever-increasing rates. This could need inserting new clauses in the Local Government Act clearly defining the services and facilities which councils can and cannot be involved in.
Read more

****

### radionz.co.nz Updated at 6:15 am today
News
Cabinet to consider local government reforms
The Cabinet is to consider a range of proposals aimed at controlling growing costs in the local government sector. Local Government Minister Nick Smith has said his main concern is council spending and the financial burden of rates on households and businesses.
Read more

—

Related Posts:
12.3.12 DCC debt
7.3.12 D Scene: Call for full inquiry into stadium project
27.2.12 Bringing DCC councillors, staff, related entities and individuals to account
21.2.12 Kaipara this time
3.2.12 Local government
17.1.12 DCC living beyond its means [all spending and debt not declared]
4.7.11 Local government finances
16.6.11 “Dunedin” – we introduce Transparency International UK

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC says more transparency less massage

How colloquial –

“We’re in the process of re-establishing the strength of the public service ethic and what that means around transparency, honesty and all of that stuff.”
-Sue Bidrose, DCC strategy and development general manager

### ODT Online Mon, 19 Mar 2012
Council centralises PR team at head office
By Chris Morris
The Dunedin City Council has created a new central communications unit with a potential multimillion-dollar budget, and appointed a new manager to head the team, in a drive to sharpen its public image. Former Dunedin-based journalist Graham McKerracher has been appointed as the council’s new communications and marketing manager.
Read more

—

Related Post and Comments:
17.1.12 DCC living beyond its means [all spending and debt not declared]

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Call for photographs or building plans – Standard Building, 201 Princes St

During a previous ownership, the historic Standard Insurance Building in the Exchange had its street elevation stripped of all decorative plaster detail. Fortunately for the city the current building owner, Exchange Renaissance Ltd, has honoured to reinstate the lost ornament.

Plaster craft specialist Daniel Pollard of Historic Building Conservation has been engaged to render the work.

The Standard Building at 201 Princes St is located between the old National Bank and the old Bank of New Zealand. A call for historical photographs of the original Standard Insurance Building facade has gone out to inform the facade reinstatement project.

—

A small number of historical photographs have been located, including the two images published here with the building owner’s permission. However, the photographs obtained provide an insufficient level of detail to successfully design and render the capitals of the arched windows.

—

The style of the building and the historical photographs together suggest a Corinthian-style capital was used orginally; the pilasters being square further define the shape. However, many different styles of Corinthian capitals are apparent on buildings of this era, therefore photographs of the Standard Building prior to 1969 are needed.

• Someone may have taken photographs of the old BNZ and National banks that include a view of the Standard Building’s capitals.

• Someone may hold original plans or records of the building, or know someone who was commissioned to remove the capitals in 1969.

If so, please contact Daniel Pollard, Historic Building Conservation, with your information.
Email: info@buildingconservation.co.nz
Phone: 03 489 0930
Mobile: 021 047 4007

Related Post:
24.10.11 Former Standard Insurance building, 201 Princes St, Dunedin

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC Draft Long Term Plan 2012/13 -2021/22 and Annual Plan 2012/13

The draft plan was signed off on Wednesday not long before midnight, following the drama of the bail-out debate.

### ODT Online Sat, 17 Mar 2012
Ratepayers get chance to have say
By David Loughrey
With debate across Dunedin at fever pitch on rugby meltdowns, debt, the stadium and rates, the public will soon be able to join the cacophony, as the Dunedin City Council’s annual plan consultation begins. The recent blaze of publicity the council has faced with the Otago Rugby Football Union bail-out is bound to boost the number of irate ratepayers itching to tell the council just what they think. The consultation period starts today.

The summaries, along with the council’s latest City Talk magazine, would arrive in mailboxes across the city soon, communications co-ordinator Rodney Bryant said. The documents were also expected to be available on the council website from today.
Read more

****

Dunedin City Council information:
Draft Long Term Plan 2012/13 -2021/22 and Annual Plan 2012/13

The Draft Long Term Plan 2012/13 -2021/22 sets out the Council’s financial strategy of the next ten years and contains information on the changes the Council plans to make to achieve this strategy, the projects that the Council intends to complete and financial information including draft budgets, funding sources and changes to rates. The Draft Long term Plan 2012/13 -2021/22 also contains the annual plan for the 2012/13 year with information on fees and charges and council grants that are planned for the 2012/13 year.

The consultation period is your opportunity to “Have Your Say” about what you want to see included in the Council’s plans. This year the submission form includes a questionnaire about the choices the Council has made to reduce overall rates increases. Have we made the right choices?

Submissions close at 5pm, 17 April 2012.
Read more

Draft Long Term Plan Documents
This year The Draft Annual Plan related documents are made available in several file formats including PDF, HTML, E-book and Screen Reader.
http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/your-council/draft-annual-plan/draft-annual-plan-documents

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Message To ORFU Creditors, if you want to see your money

Comment received.

Anonymous
Submitted on 2012/03/15 at 10:58 pm
My advice to creditors was, and is, file a statutory notice for all undisputed invoices. File it now. The ORFU has 15 days to pay in full, or face a compulsory winding-up order. Defined in Companies Act, no exceptions.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Wednesday: Meetings of Council and FSD Committee, read DEBT

UPDATED 16.3.12

The week when everything blows. Tens and tens of millions of dollars lost like so many fluttering autumn leaves. Councillors, the worst of times. You are liable for wrath and accountable for so much more.

—

Comment received.

BlueBottle
Submitted on 2012/03/14 at 12:19 am

Tomorrow (Wednesday) there are meetings of Council and the FSD. The Council meeting is the one that was postponed from Friday because the draft long term plan failed its audit. It is still not good enough and should not be approved.

The meeting starts off with a secret session to decide how generous the ratepayers will be towards the ORFU. The terms “bail-out” and “blood-sucking leeches” definitely won’t be mentioned in the press release.

The new draft long term plan tells us that there is a report to be presented to a committee about the governance arrangements of DVL and DVML (see LTP page 5).

It turns out that negotiations to sign the stadium “venue hire agreements with major event owners” have failed, but we are told the LTP is written as if the agreements are signed.

The Private Sector Funding is now called (p5) Private Sector Debt. It isn’t “private” but it is “debt”, so that’s an improvement. Thanks to Audit NZ for that.

—

How they voted
After eight hours of deliberation and with no changes to the ORFU bail-out package put before them, Dunedin City councillors voted in this way:

Aye: Cull, Bezett, Collins, Hudson, Staynes, Thomson, Brown, Noone (8)

No: Butcher, MacTavish, Stevenson, Vandervis, Wilson (5)

Apologies: Acklin, Weatherall (both say they would have supported the package)

(via ODT Online 16.3.12)

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC debt

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 05:00 11/03/2012
Politics
Councils borrowing billions
By Lois Cairns
Local councils have clocked up $1606 in debt for every man, woman and child in New Zealand at a time when the amount they expect people to pay in property taxes is rising steeply. Government figures released to the Sunday Star-Times show local councils are charging, per capita, an average of $951 in rates and that nationally, rates have risen an average of 7 per cent a year for the past decade. Over the same period council debt has ballooned from $1.8b to $7b.

Local Government Minister Nick Smith is worried councils are stretching themselves too far and has signalled changes to the sector. He is set to deliver policies in the next two months so local government can control costs and keep rate rises in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which has risen by around 2.2 per cent per annum over the past decade.

Read more

****

The SST cites Council debt per capita eg Kaipara District $4142; Dunedin City $1920 (Source: Statistics New Zealand)… making DCC almost look good by comparison.

The problem with this is it’s not showing up Dunedin’s average debt per ratepayer at a massive $11,056 to 30 June 2011, compared to Kaipara at $4,395 – also derived from councils’ audited annual reports. See Russell Garbutt’s comment https://dunedinstadium.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/kaipara-this-time/#comment-22152

Lois Cairns for SST has gone off message for Dunedin’s debt crisis by using the alternative set of stats.

Dunedin City’s average debt per ratepayer currently sits at est. $16,000. Note the escalation from 30 June.

—

Related Posts:
9.3.12 DCC considers writing off ORFU’s $400,000 debt
4.3.12 The Press: fresh doubt on economic viability of stadium
27.2.12 DCC Statement of Public Debt Summary as at 31 December 2011
21.2.12 Kaipara this time
26.1.12 Stadium debt goes to 40-year term
17.1.12 DCC living beyond its means [all spending and debt not declared]

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Directorships and council-owned companies

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 05:00 10/03/2012
Business
So you want to be a director?
By Tom Pullar-Strecker
Harsh light of day: Finance company directors in court have provided a “wake-up call” to all board members, with some wondering if the work is worth it.
At the Institute of Directors’ offices in Featherston Street, 20 high-fliers have gathered for a day-long course that is designed to help prepare them to take a seat as a director at a boardroom table. Contrary to stereotypes, there is little grey hair, nine are female and none are in handcuffs. Their reasons for attending the course are similarly quite varied.

The institute has 5500 members and, among them, the median fee for a directorship is about $35,000, chief executive Ralph Chivers says. For positions on boards of companies with a turnover of more than $500 million a year, that rises to about $70,000. However, there are probably no more than 500-600 people sitting on boards of the top-100 listed and private companies and they are by and large people “at the top of their game”.

Read more

****

### ODT Online Sun, 11 Mar 2012
Magazine
Keeping it all above board
By Mark Price
With Dunedin City Council-owned companies undergoing a restructuring, and question marks over who will fill more than a dozen directors’ seats, what is required of an effective company director.
J. Denham Shale was appointed by the council after the “Larsen review” delivered the council a list of recommendations to improve the running of its companies – city councillors being barred from the company boardrooms the most radical of them.

Shale’s arrival, along with that of deputy Bill Bayliss, of Queenstown, coincided with the resignation of some members of the old holding company board and the sacking of the others, including chairman and city councillor Paul Hudson. Shale and Bayliss are just the interim board – given 12 months to restructure the holding company and its subsidiaries. Recruiting new directors is part of that job.

Read more

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC considers writing off ORFU’s $400,000 debt

Comment received.

MichaelA
Submitted on 2012/03/09 at 2:49 pm
The following appeared in stuff.co.nz this morning:

“It’s understood, that after intensive lobbying, the Dunedin City Council is considering writing off $400,000 in debt owed in rentals for use of the Carisbrook rugby ground.”

How come I see no mention of this important little paragraph in the ODT? Perhaps the ODT dare conduct an investigation and find out who/when/why/how etc. Your audience would love to know.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/provincial/6547500/Otago-rugby-buys-more-time-for-rescue

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC: Nontrading Council-controlled organisations – exemption

An exemption is sought under section 7(3) of the Local Government Act 2002 for nontrading Council-controlled organisations from the requirement to fulfil reporting and other requirements imposed by the Local Government Act 2002.

It is recommended that the Council grant an exemption under section 7 of the Local Government Act 2002 to each of the companies named below, whilst they are not being used for any trading.
• Tourism Dunedin Limited
• Dunedin Events Limited
• Dunedin Visitor Centre Limited

—

UPDATED: DCC has announced today’s council meeting on the LTP has been postponed. See media release.

Council meeting – Friday 9 March 2012, at 1.00 PM
Council Chamber, Municipal Chambers

Agenda – Council – 09/03/2012 (PDF, 25.2 KB)

Report – Council – 09/03/2012 (PDF, 170.0 KB)
Statement of Proposal for Draft Long Term Plan 2012/13 – 2021/22, Incorporating the Draft Annual Plan 2012/13

Report – Council – 09/03/2012 (PDF, 4.5 MB)
Statement of Proposal for Draft Long Term Plan 2012/13 – 2021/22, Incorporating the Draft Annual Plan 2012/13 – Attachment

Report – Council – 09/03/2012 (PDF, 73.9 KB)
Non-Trading Council-Controlled Organisations – Application for Exemption.
This will need to be added to the agenda under “Confirmation of Agenda”.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DScene: Call for full inquiry into stadium project

Register to read DScene online at
http://fairfaxmedia.newspaperdirect.com/

### DScene 7.3.12
Open the books (front page)
Anti-stadium campaigner Bev Butler says an audit into the Forsyth Barr Stadium cost should just be the start; she is calling on Dunedin City Council to hold a full inquiry into the project. See page 3. #bookmark

—

Stadium inquiry demanded (page 3)
By Wilma McCorkindale
Stadium opponent Bev Butler has urged Local Government Minister Nick Smith to initiate a full inquiry into the project. Butler believed an inquiry would prove it simply too expensive to maintain empty and unused. Confidential documents obtained through the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) solidify Butler’s determination. She was heartened by the Dunedin City Council decision two weeks ago to commission a review of stadium completion figures by a PricewaterhouseCoopers forensic auditing team. But that wasn’t enough, she said.
{continues} #bookmark

****

UPDATED 7.3.12 at 7:20 pm
Smell the Delta rat…

{storyline as published today at DScene is under review -Eds}
Delta pursues damages from councillor (page 5)
By Wilma McCorkindale #bookmark

—

Refer to the following news stories at ODT Online:
14.9.10 Swings hoping to sway voters
16.9.10 Candidate’s advertising sign sparks power cut
18.9.10 Candidates’ sign sites pose risks

—

UPDATED 8.3.12 at 7:05 pm
—— Forwarded Message
From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:29:15 +1300
To: EditorDscene , “Wilma McCorkindale (STL)”
Conversation: Delta pursues damages from Councillor – misinformation
Subject: Delta pursues damages from Councillor – misinformation

Dear Mike and Wilma,

“Delta pursues damages from Councillor – misinformation
I was very disappointed in your 7/3/12 article ‘Delta pursues damages from Councillor’, because of its judgemental presentation of untruths.
The damage done to a power cable by me is only alleged at this point, and did not happen last September as claimed but 18 months ago prior to the last local body election.
The claims that I personally hit a steel peg that pierced the cable and that it exploded are false, as the more accurate ODT articles on the issue in 2010 made clear.
The claim that Delta had heard nothing from me is false as I have verbally invited Delta to produce their evidence when they have rung.
Also false is the claim that my election sign was erected about 20 metres south of the Council designated site, as 2010 ODT photographs show.
If DScene staff had read relevant 2010 ODT reports, or told me what was claimed in this article, this belated misinformation could have been avoided.”

In the interests of accuracy and on-going good relations, I would appreciate you running this letter with similar prominence to the offending article in next week’s Dscene.

Regards,
Cr. Lee Vandervis

—— End of Forwarded Message

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Stadium caterers’ no show

The corporate suites had to wait for service and there were lengthy queues at some food and beverage outlets.

### ODT Online Tue, 6 Mar 2012
Catering staff no-shows annoy stadium boss
By Steve Hepburn
More than a third of the catering staff did not turn up for Saturday night’s Highlanders game, leaving Forsyth Barr Stadium boss David Davies disappointed. The Highlanders beat the Crusaders 27-24 at the stadium, the first time it hosted a Super 15 match, but Davies, the chief executive of Dunedin Venues Management Ltd, said he was not happy with the way the stadium had performed.
Read more

****

A little too late from the clock man…

### ODT Online Tue, 6 Mar 2012
Opinion
Pursuing stadium’s promise means hard work
By Ian Taylor
Oh, what a night! If anyone needed evidence of the importance that rugby and the stadium have to the future of this city then you need look no further than Saturday night and the wonderful occasion that was The Highlanders v The Crusaders.

We also deserve better than being treated as a captive audience who will pay whatever prices are set for a beer, a pie, a sandwich. The experience needs to extend beyond the rugby field. Families need to be able to enjoy a night at the stadium as a great night out. Send them home feeling ripped off and you have lost them forever. Customer service 101.

Read more

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

The Press: fresh doubt on economic viability of stadium

The city’s flash stadium and soaring debt highlight growing unease at local authority borrowing.

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 10:14 04/03/2012
A new house of pain for Dunedin
City’s spending in the spotlight
By Lois Cairns – The Press
Dunedin city’s finances are in the spotlight as the collapse of the Otago rugby union throws fresh doubt on the economic viability of its swanky stadium – which ratepayers will spend the next 40 years paying for. Dunedin’s overall debt has increased 1700 per cent to $586 million since 2000 and frustrated ratepayers say the debt carried by the council is too high for a city of Dunedin’s size and that unchecked spending, in particular on the controversial stadium, has saddled them with an unfair financial burden. The Dunedin City Council has ordered an independent review of the final cost of the Forsyth Barr Stadium in response to a report which raised serious questions over the amount it spent on the venue. Forensic accountants from PricewaterhouseCoopers are now combing through all the contracts and bills for the stadium to determine exactly how much money has been spent above the $198m budget. Russell Garbutt, the former chairman of Sport Otago, has been an outspoken critic of the council’s decision to fund the stadium, and said it was clear from day one the venture would be a financial disaster.
Read more

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

University Lodge

The University of Otago Vice-Chancellor’s residence is University Lodge at 50 St Leonards Drive, Dunedin. The house is recognised as a Category II Historic Place (see links to The List below). Designed by architects McDowell Smith; the original construction dates to 1930.

Image: Bensill. 18 August 2009.

—

Don’t ask Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne for colour advice, not for heritage buildings.

Recently, the main wall colour has been changed to a grey (battleship or lighter). The window sills are cream, and a dark slate colour has been selected for the window joinery. The jury’s out… one educated source says the new paint scheme “clashes violently” with the terracotta roof tiles.

Why wasn’t a section of paint on the building scraped back to reveal the original colours? Why was there no research? Why wasn’t professional advice heeded? It may only be paint but the VC should be leading by example, and that means promoting best practice in heritage conservation and care (responsible stewardship).

http://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details?id=2223 [Lodge] http://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details?id=2224 [Glasshouse]

—

Read more about University Lodge in a book written by Ian Church (Friends of the Hocken Collections): Haven at St Leonards: Story of University Lodge, Its Background and Occupants (2011). ISBN: 9780473186814.
52 pages. Illustrated.

—

A light google search for ‘University Lodge’ brought up the following company information:

MCMILLAN NOMINEES LIMITED
Company number: 464348
Incorporation Date: 07 Mar 1990
Company Status: Registered
Entity type: Limited Liability Company

Directors:
John Burman ADAMS (since 15 Jul 2004) – 9 Pioneer Crescent, Dunedin
Andrew John ANDERSON (since 16 Jul 2008) – 55 Cannington Road, Dunedin
David Charles CULL (since 03 Dec 2010) – Portobello, Rd 2, Dunedin
Vada Harlene HAYNE (since 23 Aug 2011) – University Lodge, St Leonards, Dunedin

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Tartan Mafia

Last year, the Otago Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 150th anniversary. The Chamber has commissioned a book to remind the province, and the rest of New Zealand, how important Otago has been to commerce in the country.

Tales of the Tartan Mafia: Celebrating 150 Years of Commerce in Otago, written by Clive Copeman, will be launched officially on Tuesday.

—

Chamber president Peter McIntyre said Otago had a rich history of business, with companies that had started in Dunedin going on to gain a national presence.

Chamber chief executive John Christie believed the book showed how strongly the chamber had advocated on behalf of its members and how its members had advocated on behalf of regional businesses.

### ODT Online Sat, 3 Mar 2012
In business of backing business
By Dene Mackenzie – Business Editor
One of the long-standing traditions in New Zealand business is using the term “Tartan Mafia” to denote any business person from Otago. As part of the Otago Chamber of Commerce celebrations of 150 years of commerce in Otago, president Peter McIntyre and chief executive John Christie urge all Otago residents to lend their support to a new wave of entrepreneurship in the region.

• The chamber remained frustrated the wishes of the majority were often overridden by the minority, [Mr McIntyre] said. When more than 80% of the population favoured a measure, it should not be stopped by a small minority. The minority should be listened to but not be able to stop the wishes of the majority.

• Over the years, the chamber has often had a testy relationship with the Dunedin City Council but Mr McIntyre was full of praise for the work being carried out by new chief executive Paul Orders.

Read more

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

University of Otago staff forum: earthquake prone buildings on campus

### ODT Online Sun, 4 Mar 2012
University to hear quake-test update
By Matthew Haggart
University of Otago staff will learn next week how the institution’s historic buildings, including the landmark clock tower and registry buildings, are likely to fare in the event of a major earthquake. A private forum – off-limits to students, the general public and media – will be held in the College of Education auditorium at noon on Tuesday to update staff on the earthquake evaluation assessments of the university’s buildings. Hosted by Otago vice-chancellor Prof Harlene Hayne, the forum will include an explanation of several engineering reports commissioned to assess a “first group” of buildings.
Read more

—

Earthquake evaluations (via ODT)
University of Otago Buildings which required secondary assessment:
– Registry and clock tower building, 364 Leith Walk
– Geology building (registry complex), 360 Leith Walk
– Staff Club building, 80 Union Pl West
– Lindo Ferguson Building (School of Medicine), 270 Great King St
– Scott Building (School of Medicine), 260 Great King St
– Cumberland College, 250 Castle St
– Arts Building, 95 Albany St
– St David 2 Building, 75 St David St

[For better or worse, is Norris the right man…]
• The forum is scheduled to open with a short talk by Prof Richard Norris, of the geology department, about earthquake hazard in Dunedin and the likelihood of such an event.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Demand a full independent forensic audit of ORFU

That is the BEST message you can all put out there, right now.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Facebook page for fubar

The impoverishing tale of the rugby stadium that is, at Dunedin. Not Dunnaz. Not try-ing (forgive the rugby pun).

The story goes, via ODT… “Radiohead confirmed for NZ show”
(Monday 27.2.12) Internationally acclaimed band Radiohead is coming to New Zealand for one show at Auckland’s Vector Arena.

Next, at the Facebook page:

Jamie Shaw Monday at 11:42pm
Is there any chance of getting Radiohead down here as well when they come to NZ in November?

· Lynsey Selcraig, Damian Foster, Doug Rodgers and 2 others like this.

Forsyth Barr Stadium Tuesday at 11:52am
Hi Jamie- again, similar to Lady Gaga, Radiohead are touring with a show designed for indoor, smaller venues. If you look at the other venues they are performing in they are all smaller, indoor venues eg. Vector, Rod Laver and the Entertainment Centre in Sydney. This means their show- lighting, sound etc is customised for venues of this nature and not a Stadium. If they tour with a bigger venue/Stadium tour at a later date, we will try our very best to get them down to Dunnaz!

People, stadium has a capital ‘S’.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Home insulation scheme

### ODT Online Thu, 1 Mar 2012
Insulation subsidy for 100 homes
By Rebecca Fox
Low-income Dunedin residents struggling to afford to insulate their homes may soon get the chance, thanks to a new subsidy. The subsidy, which could cover up to 75% of the cost of insulating a home, will be available to 100 Dunedin homes from March to June. It is an extension of the Otago Regional Council’s Clean Air Clean Heat programme in Central Otago. The Dunedin project, Clean Heat Healthy Homes, has funding from Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), Dunedin City Council, Aurora Energy and Otago Community Trust.

To qualify for the scheme, applicants must own their own home within greater Dunedin city, and have a Community Services Card. Priority will be given to high users of the health system. Application forms are available from both council offices.

Read more

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr