First, the suits killed the city with a stadium and built up massive council debt. Now, they want your gold fillings —and your water.
The Dunedin Economic Development Strategy is a 10-year blueprint for increasing incomes and job opportunities for Dunedin residents. It was created from a partnership between the Dunedin City Council, the Otago Chamber of Commerce, the Otago Southland Employers Association, the Otago Polytechnic, the University of Otago and Ngāi Tahu.
The Strategy was adopted in September last year, and it will be showcased at an invitation-only event this evening at Otago Settlers Museum.
The showcase provides an opportunity to update local businesses and other organisations on what has happened since the Strategy was adopted and how they can play a part.
Speakers at the showcase event will include Minister for Economic Development Steven Joyce, MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year 2008 Dr Rebecca McLeod and DCC Chief Executive Paul Orders.
The Strategy sets out five themes: business vitality, alliances for innovation, a hub of skills and talent, linkages beyond our borders and a compelling destination.
Project teams are busy working on actions to support these themes. The work includes better support for exporting, Project Shanghai and further developing innovative and internationally-competitive industries and clusters.
Further details about the Strategy can be found at www.dunedineconomy.co.nz
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Dunedin’s Economic Development Strategy: key points
1. Dunedin aims to be one of the world’s great small cities, which attracts investment and new business, and where businesses thrive in a collaborative environment.
2. Strong business growth is needed to create a future for Dunedin’s economic development.
3. Sustainable long-term economic growth doesn’t rely on any one business – there are no easy answers to stimulating growth and employment; no-one else to do it for us but us.
4. Dunedin’s Economic Development Strategy is a 10-year blueprint for increasing incomes and job opportunities for Dunedin people.
5. The vision for Dunedin’s economic future is a shared vision. The Strategy was developed in partnership between the Dunedin City Council, the Otago Chamber of Commerce, the Otago Southland Employers Association, the Otago Polytechnic, the University of Otago and Ngāi Tahu.
6. Dunedin’s size, supportive business environment and the lifestyle it offers make it an ideal city to work, live and do business in.
7. Dunedin is a creative place that already fosters innovation, but needs to extend its creative capabilities.
8. The Strategy has got the ball rolling on economic development; after six months progress has been made on:
○ Identifying the challenges and opportunities for our city
○ Selecting the most likely drivers of growth
○ Developing actions to create opportunities from these drivers
9. The five Economic Development Strategy themes are:
○ Business vitality
○ Alliances for innovation
○ A hub of skills and talent
○ Linkages beyond our borders
○ A compelling destination
10. Dunedin has an effective and established network of support which businesses can use to build and expand skills and opportunities.
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Related Post and Comments:
19.6.12 DRAFT Dunedin Economic Development Strategy
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
What if? Dunedin... 
Doesn’t anyone do any real tangible work any more? Teams formed to think up ideas and create bullet point lists. It seems like every day genuine, loyal and hardworking employees are being laid off and replaced with ‘project managers’. This is not going to end well.
There’s a miserable history of failed DCC-driven strategic plans and strategies. But we got a stadium. And now we’re being told Tourism Dunedin is to take charge of all city marketing. There’s a hotel innit somewhere, tied to JKey’s convention centre under-table gambling contrivance. It’s playschool for suits. The stuff we don’t know about will kill us.
Well, with all these ‘business geniuses’ being behind the stadium fiscal debacle, I don’t have too much faith that the Chamber of Commerce or the university can do anything but keep on sending the city to penury. The COC and Uni have shown they can be happy little ratefund bludgers when those in power let them. Interesting that the plebs are not invited and these so-called geniuses are left to make decisions on our economic future. Next thing? They will think it a spiffing idea to sell off our assets to pay for their mistakes. Water asset? Gone.
amanda, I’ve seen a sign. I’ve bought the tanks, barrels and buckets – and a decent mechanical excavator or three, to build private dams up all my rivers and creeks (without ORC permission, destroy ecosystems! micro-power stations! sell water!
(climate change, the end to irrigation and dairying, get the jump on DCC and its arms-length privatisation of water – just don’t join the suits)
Thinking I need some water diviners and rain dancers too.
How about a 5-year moratorium on planning?
Replace with a reactive service, with additional limited pro-active function. Their task, to find out what’s rooted and fix it, find out what’s damn-near rooted and fix it before it breaks completely, then when all that’s down to manageable levels go to the next stage, look at what’s still working but not all that well by today’s standards. Necessities, I mean, not adding a revolving surface to the stadium so it gets even wear.
Oh hush mah mouth, what if someone prone to Visions reads that and it becomes the next MUST have? Satire is dangerous. The Kremlin was right.
Studying the ten points, nowhere do I see suggested cures for indigestion, of the economic kind. So Sue, with the best will in the world, there is little chance of getting your venture off the ground because of the financial constraints. After all the “talking heads” have said their pieces this evening to the “selected audience”, the drinkies and nibbles are exhausted, the exchange of “rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb” is completed, they will all melt into the night. We’ve seen it all before. “I am Dunedin”, “Choices 2001”, “Spatial Plan” ad infinitum. I guess it is only the promise of the nibbles and drinkies that entices them to feign interest at all. Steven Joyce, of course, has no ‘skin in the game’ whatsoever.
Dunedin Economic Development Strategy. No. Dunedin Uneconomic Development Strategy, DUDS.
Tell is like it is ffs.
There’s a time for bullet “points” and there’s a time for firing.
‘Noble’ Prize to Hype, for anagrammatical lettering.
Elizabeth, check Mayor Dave’s facebook for hissy response re precinct.
Confess a facebook DM arrived by email, from his daveness; not one to let facebook wreck my days I deleted it without reading. Suppose I’d better crawl over to his page to sample the hussy, woops I mean hissy (predictive text).
http://www.facebook.com/DunedinMayor?fref=ts&filter=1
Re tangible work – 185 production jobs were lost nationally today after printing firm Geon was sold to rival printer Blue Star Group. Only 50 positions, including senior management, would be kept.
What are they going to manage? Sick.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8431708/Dark-day-as-185-jobs-axed
Telecom plans to cut 1500 jobs – Labour
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/250327/telecom-plans-cut-1500-jobs-labour
Dunedin plans to create 10,000 more jobs…
100 DOC staff face the axe
More than 100 staff at the Department of Conservation are expected to lose their jobs this week.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/250733/100-doc-staff-face-axe
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100 staff at QLDC in limbo
More than 100 employees face an uncertain future after the Queenstown Lakes District Council yesterday decided to disestablish Lakes Leisure Ltd and Lakes Environmental Ltd.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/queenstown-lakes/250255/100-staff-qldc-limbo
Personal email Elizabeth, that’s posh. I only got a pointer from someone who’s a more assiduous facebookster than I. I feel duly 2nd class :)
There should have been a report produced by the University of Otago as part of the Short Term Implementation Plan in February 2013. Where is it? Who is working on it? What will be different from the 5 or so last failed attempts at innovation from the University of Otago?
### ODT Online Sat, 16 Mar 2013
Praise for city’s economic strategy
By Debbie Porteous on
Minister for Economic Development Steven Joyce has praised Dunedin’s economic development strategy and cannot see any reason why its goals cannot be achieved.
It aims to do that by improving business vitality and innovative alliances, creating a hub of skills and talent, improving links beyond the city’s borders and making Dunedin a compelling destination.
Mr Joyce was a speaker at a presentation of the strategy, which was adopted last September, held for local business people and organisations at Otago Settlers Museum in Dunedin last night.[…]”It’s one of the sharper regional economic strategies I have seen. There is always potential to be waffly, but you’ve got targets, actions and things that are achievable for the city.”
Read more
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Sidebar: Mr Fix-it Joyce is floundering with Novopay.
I would be skeptical about the 10,000 jobs but the increase in wages by $10,000 over ten years is probably not too far fetched when you think about it spread over that period, rather than the first impression of the number. Most companies would offer some sort of marginal increase in wages each year, whether it is a fraction or 1, 2 or 3 percent for the lucky few (except CEOs who range between 30 and 300 percent). Over ten years that’s probably about right for ‘average’ income. But the cost of living has been increasing rapidly, easily 5% per annum or what feels like at least another five-dollars-added-to-every-single-thing.
So even if the average wage earner received another $10,000 on their annual salary in ten years – assuming there are still jobs available – the cost of living will have probably multiplied to three or five times that now.
This is not meant to be necessarily pessimistic, particularly if you’ve been following your income and expenses closely in the last decade and recognise it can’t end well at this rate.
Groups like the Chamber of Commerce, Tourism and Council are full of crap. The executive side of those groups are just looking after their own cherry pies, while the staff are hoping they won’t be replaced by ‘project managers’ any time soon.
### ch9.co.nz March 18, 2013 – 7:12pm
Event hears of gap between potential and performance
An event to showcase the ten year economic development strategy for Dunedin heard there was a gap between the city’s potential and the city’s performance. The strategy’s goals are to add 10,000 jobs in Dunedin and increase wages by $10,000 in ten years. And the Minister for Economic Development says he can’t see any reason why its goals cannot be achieved.
Video
How much bull**** does it take, DCC ?
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### ch9.co.nz May 27, 2013 – 6:37pm
Economic development strategy in the running for a national award
Dunedin’s economic development strategy is in the running for a national award. The strategy has been put together by the DCC’s economic development unit, and is a finalist in the Auckland University of Technology business awards. The strategy is designed to unite stakeholders and provide a single, shared vision for Dunedin. The council is one of 11 finalists chosen from 70 applicants. Finalists now have until the 14th of June to submit a final application.
Ch39 Link [no video available]
(my emphasis – steakholders, Eion’s crowd ?)
Wow, I see how it works. There are going to be 10,000 more jobs, so DOC and QLDC etc etc redundant workers will flock here, ensuring there is high demand for apartments. So this is how Dave is rolling out the red carpet for the apartment-hotel Fugly Tower. He’s so onto it.
Hahaha, you may credit him with too much – have to build business capacity first. Of that, he and COC-chieftains are far less convincing [Cargo Cult predations].
How about this thinly veiled restructuring article:
You want to fudge up a company – send in a former Telecom executive. You want to get rid of people – send in a former Telecom executive. You want to maximise short term profit by replacing skilled New Zealanders with low-cost, outsourced international call centre staff – send in a former Telecom executive.
But you don’t want to call it job losses? Call it “seeking someone to reshape the company” instead.
It’s bad enough in media as it is without losing more experienced journalists and credibility to corporate ideologies. What’s next? Media services that masquerade press releases as news?
### Stuffed Last updated 09:40 25/03/2013
Ex-Telecom boss up for APN role – report
By Fairfax NZ News (*)
Former Telecom Wholesale boss Matt Crockett is said to be in the running to replace ousted APN News & Media chief executive Brett Chenoweth.
Read more
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8468585/Ex-Telecom-boss-up-for-APN-role-report
* Probably a press release.
Build it and they will come.
It’s worked splendidly in the past. We’re pallid & slender-walleted with civic pride, aren’t we.
House them and it (work) will come.
Why doubt that this will work splendidly too?
Ironic that brainstorming is also outsourced to an international advertising firm:
The images were reportedly produced by an Indian advertising firm during one of its brainstorming sessions for Ford, but weren’t supposed to be uploaded online.
This example captures the insanity of outsourcing perfectly.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/8469790/Ford-apologises-over-inappropriate-ads
Cushy trips for all the lovely Boys, with shiny backsides to their suits.
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Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Busy Schedule For Shanghai Delegation
This item was published on 08 Apr 2013.
The signing of an updated sister city agreement will be a key event for the Dunedin delegation that leaves for Shanghai on Wednesday.
Most of 13-strong Dunedin Shanghai Sister City Delegation will be in Shanghai from 12 to 19 April. The delegation comprises representatives from the Dunedin City Council, the Otago Chamber of Commerce, the Dunedin Shanghai Association, the Otago Museum, the Otago Polytechnic and Tourism Dunedin. Representatives from five Dunedin high schools are also travelling with the delegation.
The DCC representatives are Mayor of Dunedin Dave Cull, Deputy Mayor Cr Chris Staynes, Chief Executive Paul Orders and Shanghai Business Development Manager Ying Qin.
Major delegation events will include the signing of an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two cities, the signing of an MoU between the Otago Chamber and its Shanghai counterpart, and meetings with the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Bureau.
Some members will travel to the nearby city of Qingdao to meet executives from the Haier Group, which owns the controlling interest in Fisher & Paykel. Other events include meetings at the Shanghai Museum and at the Yu Garden, which is holding a Dunedin Chinese Garden photographic exhibition with images from the Garden and of the city. There will also be a tour of the Jinshan District, which is the area surrounding Shanghai.
Mr Cull says the trip is a great opportunity to build on the existing sister city relationship. There will be a big focus on developing further co-operation in the areas of business, education and tourism.
“The civic relationship between the two cities is an important overarching relationship. Under this umbrella relationship, specific benefits to Dunedin will come through the links developed and enhanced by groups such as the Otago Chamber of Commerce, individual businesses, tertiary institutions and Tourism Dunedin.”
The aim of the sister city MoU was to highlight areas of importance to both cities. It would be a high-level document and action plans would be established to sit beneath it. This would tie in with the Dunedin Economic Development Strategy, adopted last year, which includes a specific focus on Shanghai.
The sister city agreement was first signed in 1994.
Contact the Mayor of Dunedin on 477 4000.
DCC Link
Remember to take lots of photos of the air pollution and traffic congestion, boys.
Will they be flying, or paddling in a ‘trough’?
### ch9.co.nz May 24, 2013 – 7:20pm
Finance Minister responds to local criticism
The man behind New Zealand’s latest budget brought his version of the economy to Dunedin today, arguing his steady-as-she-goes approach was working. But Finance Minister Bill English accepted times were tough for retailers. And he responded to some pointed local criticism.
Video
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### ODT Online Sat, 25 May 2013
Quake work to ‘benefit’ Otago
By Rosie Manins
The rebuilding of Christchurch is ”bigger than Ben-Hur” and will line the pockets of Dunedin contractors for up to eight years, Finance Minister Bill English says. He was in Dunedin yesterday speaking to about 70 members of the Otago Chamber of Commerce. Mr English presented a summary of the Government’s recently-announced budget for the 2013-14 financial year. He said the $40 billion rebuilding programme would prop-up New Zealand’s construction industry, and Otago would certainly benefit.
Read more
Shades of utterly PATHETIC, from handyman/Mayor Cull.
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### ODT Online Sun, 10 Nov 2013
Mayor defends council’s post-Christchurch quake stance
By Dan Hutchinson – The Star
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull is defending the council’s decision not to take an aggressive approach towards attracting Christchurch people and businesses south after the earthquakes.
Read more
Dunedin… soon to be eclipsed by new Christchurch stadium, new Christchurch business and IT hubs, and well, new everything.
Under Mayor Cull’s shabby greenwash leadership the city council has forgotten to clip HOW MANY tickets?
Has the city council any accurate measurement of how many Dunedin-based businesses currently profit from their business with Christchurch?
Not bloody likely. But do the COC boys?
And why aren’t they working together in the public eye to accurately account for this new business? (surely, a component part of Dunedin’s economic development strategy…)
All we get is handwringing from the city fathers (spit) – and an uninformed, dispirited Dunedin public, when the reality is a little different.
OH OH OH! DCC Senior Planner Paul Freeland was “mildly surprised” when the latest census showed Dunedin’s population had only grown 1.3% since the 2006 census. What? He’d be about the only one then. If he had done a modicum of research (what the prat is paid for) he would have known that there is no growth. 1.3% in six years is in the margin of error for God’s sake. But no, these ‘twinkle toes’ are all about growth like they can wave a little wand and it will happen on command. It is this sort of derilection that has conned the ‘dopey’ councillors into taking the city to a $620 million debt position. And it is them again who are beavering away at proposing Economic Development programmes, and Spatial Plans and Transport Strategies, all requiring prodigious amounts of additional debt to bring to fruition. Watch ‘Development chair ‘Bendin’ Grope’ push these in front of the agenda in the name of growth. No wonder people would rather stay in earthquake ravaged Christchurch than come to Dunedin. It’s a crazy house.
It’s time Vandervis adapted to Cull’s oppositional/phobic attitude towards him…
He should begin advocating the removal of all parking spaces between the Gardens and the Oval, and rates relief for everyone who can prove they own a bicycle.
Cull wouldn’t see the steam train coming.
According to a tradie this arvo there’s nothing happening, damn-all work around. His isn’t the only company though he says there’s a bit of brave talk from some about how well they’re doing – maybe genuine contracts, or as we said almost in unison, empty boasts hiding the truth (from themselves as much as from anyone else). He’s long enough established to ride it out, though there won’t be any overtime for anyone, and probably rather a lot of tidying up the workshop. Pity help anyone who’s invested in improving plant and premises recently.
See Dene Mackenzie’s article on the Otago regional economy compared to Dunedin’s…. Dunedin is dead.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/258441/dunedin-economy-lags-behind-regions
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Bush Road will close (except for onions…) with loss of yet more jobs from Cr Sydney Brown’s ward.
There is no doubt the $40 billion dollars “will line the pockets” of some. A number of large deals will certainly be directed to the appropriate companies. There will be the continuation of the $500 per hour for doing as little as possible. And the $1000 per hour for the documentation and consultancy fees. And plenty of high paying jobs for family members. Even if the majority of it is laundered by the white collar criminals there would still be a few billion left to build a rugby stadium and fix up a home or two more.
Before the quakes, there was symbiosis between Dunedin City Council and Christchurch City Council in how their chief executives and immoral councillors worked in the best interests of their stakeholders to rort the cities of millions. Now we have got the government in there doing the same, but on a much grader scale that John’s corporate mongers overseas will be very proud of him.
Why don’t I trust them? They have ignored and dismissed the various warnings and calls for accountability and actions that would make it harder for fraudulent behaviour to occur. Something that has been well understood and addressed in other places which have suffered such loss.
Somehow I struggle to believe that level of checking would be wanted. What was the line? There’s so much money involved it would take too much time to investigate where each and every dollar is spent. And that other one? It’s a lot of money so some fraudulent behaviour is to expected. We don’t have the time to track every penny lost.
What’s a few million missing in a billion, aye?
Well personally I think every dollar lost or wasted is another kick in the guts for the people of Christchurch who still live in conditions no National puppet would willing suffer, unless it was a publicity stunt and the likes of Hekia had her $400 per day beauty regime available.
### stuff.co.nz Last updated 05:00 26/05/2013
Oram: The best and worst of times
By Rod Oram
It’s the best of times and the worst of times for New Zealand, to borrow a phrase from Dickens. Many positive developments in the economy also carry some significant negatives. That observation in last week’s column about the economy and the budget’s role in it triggered a bigger, and far more polarised, response from readers than usual. Some welcomed the analysis; others criticised it as negative and politicised. So this column will explore the issues some more, in the hope of contributing to a wider debate.
We exported $2.3 billion of goods and services to China in the first three months of this year, equal to 20 per cent of all our exports. They had risen by 32 per cent from a year earlier, when China’s share of our exports was only 15 per cent. Meanwhile, our exports to Australia fell 7 per cent to $2.17b.
The surge was extraordinary, even though we’ve become used to fast trade growth with China since we signed a free trade agreement with it in 2008. It suggests we’re getting the hang of selling to the Chinese.
But our total exports to the world rose by only 0.8 per cent in the first three months of the year. This tells us we’re struggling to increase the volume or value of our exports. We’re merely selling to the Chinese what we had been selling to others in the world. Is this a push from better marketing by us or pull from a voracious Chinese economy?
Tourism is a very good example of this switch. The growth of arrivals from China has significantly offset falls from other countries, notably in Europe and North America. But the Chinese stay for fewer days and spend less than people from well-established markets. So we’re worse off.
Read more
### ODT Online Fri, 26 Jul 2013
Businesses urged to visit new Dunedin website
By Chris Morris
A website designed to get people talking certainly had the desired effect last night. About 140 people – including Mayor Dave Cull, councillors and business leaders – were at the launch of the Growing Dunedin’s Economy website at the Sargood Centre at Logan Park. The website, http://www.dunedineconomy.co.nz, was one of the projects and initiatives to come from Dunedin’s economic development strategy, launched last year.
The website was a joint project involving strategy partners Ngai Tahu, the Otago Southland Employers Association, the Dunedin City Council, University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic and the Otago Chamber of Commerce.
Read more
Dunedin Economic Development Strategy
Why is DCC thinking of spending more on marketing the city (the annual residents’ survey? give us a break!), all we want is for the council to provide affordable infrastructure and core services. The Chamber of Commerce can do the promotion using its resources and (joke) its independence! Sometimes passing the buck is a reasonable idea – let they and their business members, um get on with the business, as it were.
Sugar coating Dunedin is a waste of time, and the lack of success the council has previously shown in supporting ‘industry’ with ratepayer dollars, measurably, has been a grand and abysmal failure. Add to that the stadium vision… and you know city leadership is at rock bottom, a place no skirted little greenie will ever get oxygen or should.
http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/your-council/latest-news/september-2013/2013-residents-opinion-survey-results-released
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[The old angled survey trick…]
### ODT Online Wed, 4 Sept 2013
Growth seen as a priority
DCC residents’ survey released
The economic development of Dunedin is far and away the top priority for its residents, a survey has found.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/271606/growth-seen-priority-dunedin
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What the hell is ‘growth’ anyway – Dunedin has a stable population (this is a good thing for a city this size), albeit with transients (student numbers going up and down), people in between, and those of us aging are increasing proportionally. We would like significant opportunity for new work and employment for those being left behind the fat boys (the same who ruck for rugby through pokie rorts et al, lovely people really, fine and upstanding is the phrase – if they weren’t shafting everybody else and including through the vehicle of the Dunedin City Council and its companies…).
Ah yep, more to sort than just creating jobs – inequalities built on ‘Dunedin-Queenstown’ greed and culpability have to be rooted out, quashed and prosecuted in the next years – THAT is how sustainability and a resilient community can be returned and advanced. However, the greater ugliness is New Zealand’s bad economy and lack of performance through lack of (export) business diversity. What we can tidy up in our own backyard is important – Kaipara Community at a lesser scale shows people’s conviction to tackle their local authority can get traction… still sleepy in Dunedin, the rural service town !!
### dunedintv.co.nz October 15, 2013 – 7:06pm
Dunedin’s population risen little
Census figures released today show Dunedin’s population has risen by a little over 1500 in the last seven years. That figure is just a 1.3% rise since the last census in 2006. And it leaves the city locked in an increasingly close tussle with Tauranga for the status of New Zealand’s fifth biggest city.
Video
“Economic Prosperity going forward: are you in favour of (A) growth, (B) stagnation, (C) decline?”
“Gosh Muriel, I wonder what the survey will show.”
“Indeed Teddy, putting this together has been the most marvellous adventure.”
“I say, let’s celebrate with raspberry pop and cream buns!”
You’re Terrible, Muriel! ‘Growth’ is population growth. This is usually seen as A Good Thing. In Australia.
ODT: Detailed 2013 Census figures – Dunedin
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### ODT Online Wed, 16 Oct 2013
Editorial: The wider benefits
Here we go again. More centralisation in the three biggest cities, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. More jobs lost in Dunedin and other centres.
This time it is the plans of crown-owned entity Health Benefits Ltd to relocate finance, procurement and supply-chain jobs. Health Benefits Ltd, it is claimed, will save $500 million over a decade with bulk buying on behalf of all district health boards and the sharing of supplies.
Read more
A bit of a perusal of the survey outcomes is a bit of an upturn in almost all categories since 2012. Excuse the cynicism but could this possibly be due to it being election year? I did notice one category which hasn’t been mentioned in the media, or anywhere else for that matter. But it is there in the summary and it is the fact that ‘satisfaction with the elected council and mayor’ is way down on last year. Funny that.
Heavens! Calvin, you’ve empowered the subject of a new post for tomorrow.
### ODT Online Sat, 7 Sep 2013
Qingdao top-level visit
By Chris Morris
Dunedin’s burgeoning economic relationship with China will be taken another step forward when a top-level delegation from Qingdao visits the city next week. The 15-strong delegation headed by Vice-mayor of Qingdao, Liu Mingjun, will be in Dunedin on Wednesday to sign a new economic partnership agreement with the council’s economic development unit. The memorandum of understanding is to promote the growth of trade, mutual investment and business co-operation between the two cities.
Qingdao is a major centre in Eastern China’s Shandong province, with a population of more than 8.7 million people, and is home to the Haier Group, which owns Fisher and Paykel.
Read more
### ch9.co.nz September 12, 2013 – 6:54pm
Chinese delegation visit finally took place
Their arrival hung in the balance, but a visit by a Chinese delegation finally took place today. A group of 15 from Qingdao [Kingdow] in China spent the day in Dunedin, meeting Mayor Dave Cull and other councillors, and signing a memorandum of understanding set to benefit both cities.
Video
### ODT Online Fri, 13 Sep 2013
Economic partnership signed with Qingdao
By Debbie Porteous
Members of a Chinese delegation in Dunedin to sign the city’s first economic partnership arrangement with another city, say they are looking forward to improving the two cities’ investment and trade relationships.
Vice-mayor of the city of Qingdao in China’s east, Mingyin Liu, told those gathered for the signing it was an ”extraordinary” day for two cities that had much in common in terms of their focus on tourism and education.
Read more
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What’s in the agreement? (via ODT)
The two parties aim to:
● Provide economic and trade assistance to establish an economic partnership between Qingdao and Dunedin.
● Exchange trade and investment information every three months.
● Promote trade exchanges and expand the scale of imports and exports.
● Attend mutual trade exhibitions.
● Establish co-operative training and exchanges.
● Promote co-operation in sectors such as finance, tourism, trade and innovation.
● Establish a regular forum to develop an economic partnership.
Who is paying for the Dunedin part?
Robo
Spot the disparities – mind you, we must be poor if we think a $100,000 annual salary before tax is “big” or affluent… can’t reconcile the Vice-chancellor’s pay though, she’s not that remarkable.
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### ODT Online on Sat, 28 Dec 2013
Big incomes helping Dunedin
By Vaughan Elder and Eileen Goodwin
The importance of the health and education sectors to Dunedin has been highlighted by figures showing more than 1100 University of Otago and Southern District Health Board staff are each paid more than $100,000 a year. Figures released to the Otago Daily Times under the Official Information Act showed 547 academic staff and 87 general staff at the university earned more than $100,000 in the 2012-13 financial year.
Read more
You will have noticed from the diminishing number of ‘Dunedin rants’ in the ODT that Peter McIntyre (Craigs Investment Partners) has removed the mantle of ‘Chairman, Otago Chamber of Commerce’, or COC as it’s affectionately known.
But you mightn’t have clicked to his replacement: the loudly [didn’t do her sums] pro-stadium—Ali Copeman. She stood for Greater Dunedin in the 2011 DCC elections, and lost. A friend of Daaave’s, who’ll want to keep flames of the deeply flawed Dunedin economic development strategy sputtering. Throw the lifebuoys.
### ODT Online Fri, 7 Feb 2014
Opinion
Dunedin must seize its chances
After nine years on the board of the Otago Chamber of Commerce, the final three as chairman, Peter McIntyre has stood down, having served his three terms in office. As he leaves, he considers the economic future of Dunedin and Otago.
Read more
My message to Peter McIntyre re “It’s the easier option to look back and critique decisions that were made and can’t be undone” is he is WRONG. It’s one hell of a lot of work in extracting papertrails of what went wrong and how. For full accountability.
Mention of two junkets
### ODT Online Thu, 27 Feb 2014
Delegation leaves for Shanghai and Qingdao
By Chris Morris
A Dunedin delegation is heading to China as the relationship with the country continues to grow. The group, headed by Dunedin City Council chief executive Dr Sue Bidrose, deputy mayor Chris Staynes and Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie, left last night for a week in Shanghai and Qingdao. The delegation would take part in civic, business and educational activities, including visiting the Haier Group – owners of Fisher and Paykel Appliances, which retains an office in Dunedin – in Qingdao.
They would also lay the groundwork for a follow-up trip to be led by Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull in July, as well as planned celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the Dunedin-Shanghai sister-city relationship.
Read more
Who could resist this? Not Chris Staynes, nor John Christie. Sue Bidrose of course, is the brains (perhaps the only one) of the party so she can offer balance. I guess laying the groundwork for Dave’s visit later on in July is the most important duty. A 20th anniversary will no doubt require the same plus more to revisit. Dave excels at these sort of ‘gigs’. He will be a source of wonderment to his hosts.
Cities often have several sister city relationships at once. I don’t know for sure, but it must be challenging to keep up with profile.
Is it possible for Shaghai, for example, to play off their ‘special’ relationship with Dunedin with another ‘special’ city friend? l suspect so.
A better friend, a better way…with the readies (through her group of Chinese investors). How many tax breaks can you work for them, Stevie babe?
Elizabeth: There must be BETTERWAYS to get attention from the Chinese without crawling, and groveling on hands and knees with a rag tag bunch of has beens from Dunners
Of course there are. The ragtag soldiers are just plain embarrassing. As thick as it gets, the planksters they dribble and have the worst haircuts. Did I mention the threadbare shiny backsides to their suits.
Hands up. Who wrote today’s ODT editorial puffery? Ghost writer Murray Kirkness or the enterprising (sneeze) John Christie, over a plastic cup or three of cheap cask wine.
http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/editorial/293190/co-operation-key-success
Jennifer Connolly of Wanaka has the better grip on Dunedin’s smear-on glue to meet the lack of network enterprise.
http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/opinion/293169/staying-dunedin-piques-curiosity