Sinkhole

Friday, 31 May 2013 4:34 p.m.

St Clair esplanade, Dunedin [image supplied – click to view enlarged]

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Related Posts and Comments:
26.5.13 [bad news] St Clair seawall #FAIL
28.11.11 St Clair seawall and beach access
31.3.11 St Clair esplanade, Dunedin

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

University of Otago development plans

When previously . . .

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### ODT Online Thu, 30 May 2013
$358m vote of confidence
By Vaughan Elder
The figure the university has earmarked for construction, from last year until 2020, was revealed in the university’s priority development plan, obtained by the Otago Daily Times under the Official Information Act. The plan includes 22 projects, 20 of which are in Dunedin. The university declined to reveal the budgets for individual projects, citing commercial sensitivity, but put the total budget for the work at $357.8 million.

University chief operating officer John Patrick said the projects were included in the plan for a number of reasons, including to accommodate growth, to improve building layout and efficiency and health and safety.

Asked how the university could afford such a large amount of work, given what it had previously described as a “difficult” funding environment, Mr Patrick said: “The University of Otago has a fiscal strategy that is designed to provide funding for capital development.”
Read more

30.5.13 ODT: University updates staff on quake work

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images: (top) physics.otago.ac.nz – University of Otago Registry and Clocktower; otago.ac.nz – Building at University Plaza

Warm Dunedin: assistance to homeowners for installing insulation and clean heating

Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Warm Dunedin Trial Extended

This item was published on 31 May 2013.

The popular Warm Dunedin pilot programme has been extended for up to three months.

The Warm Dunedin targeted rate programme helps increase household warmth, health and comfort by providing a rates advance to help with the upfront costs of installing insulation and/or clean heating.

Warm Dunedin works alongside the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme, which offers Energywise funding for installing insulation. Other funding and assistance programmes are also available.

Dunedin City Council Energy Manager Neville Auton says applications open again on 1 June and are due to close on 31 August. If funding runs out before applications close, the programme will stop earlier.
Read more

Full information on the programme is available at www.dunedin.govt.nz/warmdunedin or phone Customer Services on 477 4000.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: EECA [energywise.govt.nz]

Carisbrook: Auditor-General #fails Dunedin residents and ratepayers

Dunedin residents Bev Butler and Russell Garbutt each sought an inquiry into the Carisbrook deals.

(see my comment and other comments received)

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### ODT Online Tue, 28 May 2013
No Carisbrook inquiry, auditor says
By Chris Morris
The Dunedin City Council’s possible multimillion-dollar loss from the sale of Carisbrook does not warrant an investigation, the Office of the Auditor-general says.

”We do not regard the purchase and disposal as raising issues that relate to our Delta inquiry, which is focused on the property investment actions of a council subsidiary.”

OAG staff have confirmed that there will be no investigation of the council’s purchase, and pending sale, of Carisbrook properties, which could end up costing the council more than $4 million. That followed two separate requests received by the office in February, asking for the Carisbrook deal to be added to a wider OAG investigation of land purchases by council-owned company Delta. An OAG statement yesterday said the decision not to proceed came after reviewing council documents, which showed the issue ”does not warrant further inquiry”.
Read more

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Related Post and Comments:
15.2.13 Carisbrook: Call for OAG investigation into DCC / ORFU deals

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Carisbrook and Leith flood protection

Received from Rob Hamlin.
Monday, 27 May 2013 1:03 p.m.

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Carisbrook on Sunday (26.5.13)

A picture of doomed dereliction – Innit? I tried to take photos of this last week, but the weather wasn’t good enough. I seem to recall that the comb lines in the manicured grass were going in a different direction then, indicating that further ratepayer-funded pampering has occurred this last week. What earthly reason can there be for the DCC to be spending money doing this on a structure that they claim they have a) sold and b) issued a demo permit for? Some seats are missing (but could be inside). The lights are gone, but Delta bought the last set anyway so why not ‘play it again Sam’?

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Otago Regional Council – Leith Flood Protection Scheme

001 ‘Sad Sacking’
The results of the equally seawall-like doomed attempts by the ORC and their representatives to establish a million dollar[?] lawn in the middle of winter in the bottom of a drainage channel occupied by a major flood prone waterway (the Leith). An act of simply heroic lunacy. This is the aftermath of the minor flood last week. The proto-lawn is covered in sacking further up the river, except for the bit next to the water – that’s now wrapped around the post in the foreground. Luckily it did not end up in the harbour – although many tons of silt presumably did. No doubt the ORC will be able to issue itself with a retrospective resource consent for this uncontrolled discharge into the environment.

002, 004 ‘Washed away’
For weeks now and presumably at great expense to the ORC, the contractors (Lund if the site signs are to be believed) have been laying down what looks like micropore mat, hexagon reinforcement, and what looks like a very expensive chicken wire plastic mesh combo – stitched together. They then planted grass on it. This can be seen growing feebly on the slope in 002. Alas, the minor flood that dislodged the sacking also gently sluiced out the soil and grass from the expensively-laid reinforcements on the level parts of the lawn laid (lunacy) right up to the edge of the river.

000 gives a higher angle shot showing the artistry of this now exposed and empty (of soil) soil stabilisation system, along with the feeble grass above it. I am not sure how they will reposition the soil into this stuff short of ripping it up and starting again. Presumably if all this expensive stuff was intended to stop soil coming out, it will be equally good at resisting attempts to put it back in again by mechanical means. Oh dear!

003 ‘Mighty defences’
Here we have what is actually supposed to keep the Leith in the straight and narrow from now on. This is the concrete shuttering for an incomplete part of the bank (this shuttering is now filled with shyte from the flood). The wall when poured (one hopes after clearing out said shyte) will be a worthy successor to the St Clair seawall – it is about 12 inches tall and 8 inches thick. It is plastered onto the top of (rather than onto the front of as with the seawall) the remains of its more substantial predecessor. The lawn (in the areas where it used to be there) starts directly behind it…

005 ‘Classy concrete placing’
The mighty foot-high defences take an interesting course in the photograph taken looking up the left-hand bank from the Forth Street Bridge. I do not know if this feature-bulge in the mighty wall is the outcome of a molar-like architectural design feature to increase the organic appearance of the site or if it’s simply a concrete shuttering quality control issue. It’s your rates money – you decide.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Photos: Rob Hamlin (May 2013)

[bad news] St Clair seawall #FAIL

Comment received from Stu.
2013/05/26 at 7:29 pm

St Clair sea wall compromised? Webcam image refreshes every 1 minute.

http://media.wickednetworks.co.nz/current-stclair.jpg

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Tweet to @whatifdunedin from @lowercasewriter.

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Related Post and Comments:
28.11.11 St Clair seawall and beach access

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

[good news] McKinlays shoes

Dunedin desert boots, made under the fashion radar

The first McKinlays factory was set up in Dunedin in 1879; the patriarch, William Robert, came from Kilmarnock in Scotland. McKinlays kept it going until the Depression of the 1930s, when the business, along with so many others, went bankrupt. They started up again in 1939, and now they’ve outlasted almost every New Zealand shoe factory that was going back then.

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 05:00 26/05/2013
Based on a shoe story
By Rosemary McLeod – Sunday Star-Times
I bought the first pair – black – a couple of years ago, and went back straight away for the mauve ones. How comfortable. How cheap. How clever I was to make this discovery. This year I bought the deep yellow pair, but what I’d really like is all the colours, lined up neatly in my wardrobe. […] McKinlays have been making them steadily for years, and they’ll probably be making them for many more years yet, just under the fashion radar. This year there’s purple, as opposed to my mauve, for example. There used to be a bolder green. The wonder of it is, they’re made in Dunedin. The only other hands-on shoemakers left in this country since deregulation are Last Rite (workboots), Minnie Cooper (trendy, cute ads), Sole Shoes (cheap) and Paraflex (industrial work boots).

All McKinlays shoes are made from cowhide. They’re turned out on old-style factory equipment which is now irreplaceable; the new equivalents, Italian-made, inevitably, are only good for huge production runs for huge markets. That’s no good for a business that, beside its usual production runs, makes shoes for people with problem feet, one pair at a time – as well as shoes for hobbits, on request.

It’s not a big factory; nor is it flash, but McKinlays turns out 40-50,000 pairs of shoes a year here, Graham McKinlay tells me, some of them green blokey boots for the Australian defense force. The biggest sellers are a jodhpur boot called Hunter. They’ve been making 3000 pairs of those every year for the past 25 years.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Photo: stuff.co.nz
This story makes me smile. From my apartment I can see McKinlays shoe store on George Street, through the trees of Knox Garden.

Paul Orders: Dunedin or Cardiff ???

IS IT EVEN A QUESTION . . .
### ODT Online Sat, 25 May 2013
Council chief declines 10% pay increase
By Chris Morris
Dunedin City Council chief executive Paul Orders has turned down a $35,000-a-year pay rise, saying the increase cannot be justified when the organisation is in savings mode. The decision came after the council’s performance appraisal committee – headed by Mayor Dave Cull – concluded Mr Orders’ $350,000-a-year salary was 10% below that of others in his role.
Read more

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[via Sayonara]
2013/05/25 at 4:35 pm

Paul Orders being suggested as replacement for outgoing CEO of Cardiff City Council:

### walesonline.co.uk 24 May 2013 11:56
Business
Jon House on his new role with PwC, city regions and his relationship with Russell Goodway
By Sion Barry
In his first in-depth interview since announcing his decision to stand down as chief executive of Cardiff council, Jon House talks to Sion Barry on his reasons for joining PwC, his relationship with Russell Goodway and his views on how city regions should evolve.
Jon House looks particularly relaxed in the pleasant private sector surroundings at the headquarters of business advisory firm PwC at the No 1 Kingsway office block in the centre of Cardiff. Last week he confirmed he will quit his role as chief executive of Cardiff council this summer after three years at the helm. The truth is that he would have announced his decision earlier, if it wasn’t for the recent leadership challenges in the administration’s ruling Labour Party – which he described anyway as being a healthy part of democracy.

The search is now on to find a replacement for Mr House.

Former corporate director for Cardiff council, Paul Order [sic], who two years ago was appointed chief executive of Dunedin City Council in New Zealand, is being suggested a potential candidate.
Mr House said: “I think there will be a number of people interested as it is the best job in Wales.”
Read more

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Related Post and Comments:
11.5.13 Stadium: Truth, usual whitewash or prosecution ?
21.3.13 DCC: Opportunity created by Stephens’ departure
15.3.13 DCC: Stephens gone. It took way too long.
3.11.12 Stadium: DCC caught in headlights
24.9.12 DCC against imposition of local government reforms
22.8.12 Mr Orders, sir! About your staff expertise…
16.7.12 DCC salaries and retention payments
29.5.12 Asset sales (remember the days)
11.5.12 SUNK Stadium: TOO MUCH ratepayer money going west STOP
24.2.12 ‘The final cost of the stadium is … unknown.’
19.11.11 DCC gifts and hospitality
9.11.11 Paul Orders for change!
17.9.11 Paul Orders starts Monday
25.3.11 DCC Chief Executive, please not a footstep follower . . .
29.10.10 DCC Chief Executive resigns – timing is everything!
9.2.09 A pleasant afternoon with Council

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

41 Wharf Street —consent renewed, with HOTEL decision pending

[via Anon]

The following non-notified consent decision appeared at the DCC website on 23 May 2013:

41 Wharf Street Dunedin (LUC-2007-775/A)

This consent was an application to/for A 3 storied building for commercial office and residential use within an Industrial 1 Zone at 41 Wharf Street Dunedin.

This was considered by the Council’s Senior Planner (Consents) on 16 May 2013.

The typos are ‘Council-supplied’.

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The back story, note highlighted comment below the image:

### ODT Online Fri, 16 Dec 2011
Dunedin developer finally gets the nod
By David Loughrey
Two Environment Court documents released in the past week spell the end of a lengthy attempt by Dunedin developer Tim Barnett to fight restrictions on his ability to build on a long-empty piece of harbourside land. The documents relate to his appeal against the Dunedin City Council’s plan change 7, or harbourside rezoning which, they said, was “nugatory”, or no longer valid. That meant no restrictions remain for the land at 41 Wharf St, on which he has resource consent to build a planned three-storey office and residential building beside the Steamer Basin at Otago Harbour.

The future of the site, next to the overhead bridge from the harbour to Jetty St, was unclear, as Mr Barnett this week said commercial developments, which he could not discuss, were under way.

But he is still clearly unhappy with the process he has been forced to go through. The site is highly visible to thousands of passing motorists travelling to or from Portsmouth Dr and southern suburbs. In December 2007, Mr Barnett, of Arthur Barnett Properties, applied for consent to build the 3105sq m building on windswept empty land that was once part of rail shunting yards. Two months later, the site was identified by the council as a possible road linking Wharf St with a new on-ramp to the nearby overbridge, and the council has a notice of requirement over the whole site. In May 2008, Mr Barnett was granted consent for the development, but with the council’s plans creating uncertainty, it did not proceed.
Read more

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Related Post and Comments:
18.5.13 Waterfront hotel investigation II

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image by Design Consultancy

Carisbrook: Calder Stewart to demo Dunedin’s historic stadium

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 05:00 22/05/2013
Carisbrook ground demolition plans under way
By Wilma McCorkindale – D Scene
Plans are afoot to demolish Dunedin’s historic rugby ground, Carisbrook, tender documents show. The company that has signed up to buy Carisbrook – Otago construction company Calder Stewart – has issued tender documents inviting demolition companies to register their interest in clearing the site this year. Calder Stewart co-managing director Peter Stewart declined to confirm the tender or give details. The company was still under a conditional contract for Carisbrook with the Dunedin City Council, therefore he would not comment on the project, Stewart said.
Read more

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### ODT Online Thu, 23 May 2013
Plans to demolish Carisbrook
By Chris Morris
Calder Stewart has plans to demolish almost all of Carisbrook. The company bought the old stadium from the Dunedin City Council in a conditional deal in February for $3.3 million. Confirmation of the purchase appears to be due next month. Documents released to the Otago Daily Times yesterday confirmed the company planned to clear almost every structure from the former home of Otago rugby for future development.

The consent documentation also showed the demolition work was expected to cost the company $350,000.

Only the Neville St turnstile building would be spared, at least for now, as the Dunedin City Council and the New Zealand Historic Places Trust continue to discuss a covenant to protect the category one-listed structure. However, the Speight’s, Neville St, Rose and Railway stands would be demolished, as would the terrace hospitality complex, built for $4 million in 1994.
The details were spelled out in two building consents issued by council staff to Calder Stewart last month, and released to the ODT yesterday.
Read more

Related Post and Comments:
20.2.13 Carisbrook: DScene suggests joint venture Calder Stewart / DCC

For more, enter “carisbrook” in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Images (from top):
Carisbrook Stadium, two models by totara (sketchup.google.com)
Rugby at Carisbrook (3news.co.nz)
Carisbrook seating plan (ticketseating.com)
Carisbrook, Neville St turnstile building (historic.org.nz) [Jonathan Howard]
Carisbrook (teara.govt.nz) [file: p-22728-odt]

Dunedin mayoralty and the Q-town heavies

Update 16.8.13
The full nominations list is published today at
DCC nominations —All the mops, brooms and feather dusters

Sir and Friends brought you the stadium and DCC’s MASSIVE consolidated debt.

How much more control do you want to give them ???

### ODT Online Wed, 22 May 2013
Mayoral contest heats up
By Chris Morris
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull faces a political challenge – possibly from all sides – as the race for the city’s robe and chains later this year begins to heat up.
Queenstown businessman and philanthropist Sir Eion Edgar yesterday confirmed he was behind a push to resurrect a Citizens Association-style group that could support candidates in October’s local body elections.
The idea had been raised with potential backers in Dunedin and, if confirmed, could see the group’s mayoral or council candidates offered financial support by the group, including from interested businessmen, he said. Sir Eion said he was prepared to help finance the right candidates’ campaigns himself, saying the city needed ”good leadership”.
Read more

[ODT Graphic]

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Waterfront hotel investigation II

Received from Hype O’Thermia
Saturday, 18 May 2013 4:41 p.m.

External cladding and glazing treatment (Dunedin study)

For related posts and comments, enter “hotel” in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Photos: Red Carpet Fashion (via stuff)

Front page NEWS @!&^#$%

Received from Grahame Sydney
Friday, 17 May 2013 5:35 p.m.

Just in case you were nursing some warm notions that our proudly independent local newspaper slaved to keep a balanced, objective approach to the day’s news and its presentation, a glance at today’s dominating front page story by Dene Mackenzie on yesterday’s National Party Budget might prove instructive.

Under the banner headline “It’s a Win for the South”, Mackenzie begins the story as follows:

“Budget 2013 provides plenty for the South” (my italics) then goes on to state “Most attention was directed towards the Budget’s focus on the lack of housing in Auckland and on the rebuilding of Canterbury – but there was certainly something for those in business south of the Waitaki.”

Given the statement that “most attention” was directed at Auckland housing and the rebuilding of Canterbury – by which single stroke Christchurch now becomes Canterbury – it’s hard to see where the “Win for the South” emerges triumphant, unless of course you’re in business south of the Waitaki.

Tough bikkies if you’re not in business…

The article then goes on to state that “Mr English’s Budget was reasonably exciting for the South”, listing at the top of its illustrations the allocation over the next four years of money for an additional 20 places at Otago Medical School, though not necessarily in Dunedin. Exciting indeed !

Further evidence of the “Win for the South” apparently lies in the additional money for aged care and dementia services, because “the South has an ageing population (and) regional medical services should be in line for some of that money.” Hmmmmmm.

I suppose Mackenzie would also claim a significant win for the lower latitudes in the $19 million taken from the general education allocation to fund John Banks’ charter schools project. That’s what you get with cynical coalitions.

However the best comes mid-way in the lead story, Mackenzie plainly stating the ODT’s biased position as follows:

“The major disappointment of the day was the failure of the Opposition to land a significant blow on what was Mr English’s fifth Budget.”

and
“Labour leader David Shearer resorted to cliches, calling it a “blackjack Budget””

and
“Green Party co-leaser Russel Norman demonstrated again his inability to read a balance sheet.”

and
“Apart from the three leaders saying National was, in various ways, catering for its “fat-cat developer mates” there was nothing for the Government to worry about from yesterday’s Opposition statements and speeches.”

Hey, here’s a bold idea:
Why not try keeping the front page news stories to reporting the facts, with some effort at balance, and let readers make their own decisions on matters of interpretation ? The Op Ed columns are the place for heavily-weighted opinion like this.

Grahame Sydney
Cambrian Valley, Central Otago

{ODT Online says —Editor: The article was clearly marked ‘Budget Comment’ in the ODT print edition. That it was not marked as such online was an error which was rectified.}

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin: city marketing @@@

### ODT Online on Fri, 17 May 2013
City planning single marketing arm
By Debbie Porteous
Total responsibility for marketing Dunedin to the outside world will not be transferred to Tourism Dunedin, after a series of concerns were raised about a proposal to do so.
Dunedin city councillors have decided the city’s marketing functions should still be brought into a single agency, as proposed in the council’s draft annual plan for 2013-14, but not one run by Tourism Dunedin, after concerns that would not meet the main aim of having a consistent city marketing message.
In the meantime, the status quo would remain while a steering group considered options for setting up the agency, including establishing a council-owned organisation (CCO) or the council delivering all marketing functions in-house.

Investigating a single marketing agency is one of the projects outlined in the city’s economic development strategy.

The proposal outlined in the draft annual plan was to merge city-wide marketing activities into a single marketing agency that would co-ordinate tourism, events, investment, skills and migrant promotion and attraction efforts, as well as be responsible for city branding and operate Dunedin’s i-Site. The aim was more efficient and effective marketing activity.
Read more

Report – Council – 15/05/2013 (PDF, 512.2 KB)
Marketing Agency Proposal Consultation

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Remember when . . .

I am Dunedin launch, January 2001
Grainy image, just like the campaign, with ‘famous’ faces (detail from a photo by Jane Dawber, ODT)

Ben Fahy, at Idealog (October 19, 2010 @ 10:25 am): “Previous branding had been done in-house by the council, including the classic slogans ‘It’s all right here’ (often exchanged for the more comical ‘It’s alright here’) and ‘I am Dunedin’. Wisely, a slogan was avoided and Dunedin is the brand (the logo, a trendy, more contemporary gothic script that embraces the town’s Scottish heritage, is inspired by Nom-D’s now famous ‘Dunedin’ t-shirts). At the same time, the campaign is also confronting some of the engrained—and perhaps negative—perceptions of the city head on…”

Similar talking-through-a hole-in-the-neck has been rebounding ever since DCC tried to brand the city without branding the city. Confused?

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Related Post and Comments:
3.3.13 Tourism Dunedin —city councillors not convinced

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin’s loss — “Mr Daffodil” Les Cleveland

Les Cleveland, the engaging, songful, and extremely personable senior businessman and retired company director, experienced in the transport sector, a multimillionaire and philanthropist, long-serving Dunedin Opera Company president, Rotarian, former Otago Regional councillor, and former chairman of the Otago Conservation Board was not the sort of man to seek recognition for his efforts.

Sadly, the self-titled “Mr Daffodil” left us yesterday, after a short illness.

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Named as the Otago Gardener of the Year in 2010, Les Cleveland was the man responsible for donating more than two million daffodil bulbs and 8000 rhododendrons that grace many of Dunedin’s public spaces.

In an interview by Debbie Porteous, Les said he inherited his father’s passion for the daffodil, but also confessed to a love of every plant on this good earth, even the gorse.

“When you look at plants and work with plants, it gives you a sense of joy.”

He grew plants because he wanted to make sure something that was slowly being lost from the world in other places – vegetation – would at least remain in his patch.

On their 100ha Saddle Hill property the Clevelands have an extensive garden around their home, as well as blocks of daffodils and smaller native plantings interspersed with blocks containing families of trees, including at least one of every type of New Zealand beech, eucalyptus, kauri, maple, rata and protea.

The blocks were registered under the QEII National Trust, so there was a covenant on them, meaning they would exist in perpetuity, even if the property was sold.

When they arrived there 26 years ago, the whole place was covered in gorse, Mr Cleveland said. He was driven by a desire to future-proof plants.

“I watch people slowly but surely raping and destroying the vegetation of the world and I realise that humans need to have a long-term vision of what we are doing to the planet.” ODT 27.9.10

. . . Snippets

(1967) The Dunedin Opera Company, led by Les Cleveland, purchased the (now Westpac) Mayfair Theatre at 100 King Edward St, South Dunedin. The opera company converted the original cinema, reducing the seating capacity from 862 to 413 by removing the ground floor stalls and advancing the proscenium into the auditorium to achieve a greater stage depth. It has since been operated as a live theatre, particularly for opera.

(August 2008) Operation Citrus. Trevor Croot, Peter Jackson, Les Green, Andrew McKinlay and Les Cleveland. Rotary Club of Dunedin delivered nine tonnes of fresh produce to foodbanks, charitable societies and pensioner accommodation around the city. ODT 18.8.08 Photo: Craig Baxter

(February 2010) Cleveland family siblings Les, Bernie, Ian, Sherwyn and Doug in Dunedin for the last of 57 family reunions, which started with a promise made to their dying mother Agnes. More than 100 members of the Cleveland family travelled from throughout the world – some from as far away as Egypt, England and Scotland – to attend a family gathering at the Saddle Hill home of Les Cleveland (79). ODT 8.2.10 Photo: Gerard O’Brien (re-imaged by What if?)

(May 2011) Gale-force winds hit parts of the forest canopy at Woodhaugh Gardens. The gardens received massive damage, but thanks to Les Cleveland and the Dunedin Amenities Society thousands of dollars worth of new native trees [more than 7000 trees] were planted to restore and enhance this section of the Town Belt reserve. ODT 6.7.11 Photo: Peter McIntosh

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### ODT Online Thu, 16 May 2013
Les Cleveland dies at 82
Dunedin philanthropist and businessman Les Cleveland has died, aged 82. Mr Cleveland, an Otago Regional councillor and 1998 Dunedin Citizen of the Year, died at Ross Home yesterday morning after a short illness. His funeral will be held on Monday. An obituary will follow.
ODT Link

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Stadium: Truth, usual whitewash or prosecution ?

Waiting for the watery blue ink . . .

This is the test of DCC chief executive Paul Orders, firstly.
The rotten council (politicians and staff), secondly.
Conniving DCTL and DCHL, thirdly.

The following item is reproduced in full, in the public interest.

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### ODT Online Sat, 11 May 2013
Council report to cover stadium review issues
By Chris Morris
One year to the day since a multimillion-dollar overspend on the Forsyth Barr Stadium was confirmed, the Dunedin City Council is preparing to reveal the lessons learned from the project. Council chief executive Paul Orders yesterday told the Otago Daily Times issues arising from the PricewaterhouseCoopers review of stadium spending would soon form part of a pre-election report to councillors.

The report – a requirement since changes to the Local Government Act in 2010 – would consider the impact of major projects dealt with by the council in recent years, and any lessons learned, he said. That would include the controversial stadium project, given the significance of the PWC report’s findings, he said. ”The PWC report was one of the milestone reports published by the council over recent years, so clearly, its significance will need to be reflected in my pre-election report.”

Mr Orders’ report would be given to councillors by August 2, and made public before the local body elections in October.

His comments came after PWC staff concluded a major study into stadium costs on May 11 last year by revealing an $8.4 million overspend, together with $18 million in interest not previously included in construction costs. The overruns, unauthorised spending and interest together pushed the total cost of the stadium up from $198 million to $224.4 million.

PWC director Stephen Drain said at the time responsibility for authorising the overspend lay with the council’s ”management executive”. Mr Orders – then only months into his new role – was asked at the time if heads should roll, but said he needed time to study the findings ”coolly and calmly”. There has been no public comment on the report’s findings since then.
ODT Link

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Portobello Road Consultation —Public Meeting | Monday 13 May

Here is the latest web update for the Portobello Community.

This week we look at the road widening project and the proposed changes that the City Council has made to the initial plan. The City Council will be giving the community another opportunity to have your say on the proposal and the changes they have made to the plan since the consultation period in March 2013. This is an important issue for our township and community and the meeting is to be held at 7:00 pm on Monday, 13 May 2013 at the Coronation Hall. Pass this message onto your friends, neighbours, colleagues and whanau.

Regards
Paul Pope – Chairman, Portobello Incorporated

● The meeting will be attended by council staff, Cr Jinty MacTavish, and Otago Peninsula Community Board members.

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Related Post and Comments:
28.3.13 | Updated 29.3.13
DCC Draft Annual Plan 2013/14: Portobello Harington Point Road Improvements Project

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Where House ? Adaptive reuse in the warehouse precinct | Open Lecture Tuesday 14 May

Where House ?
Adaptive reuse of buildings in Dunedin’s warehouse precinct

A presentation by Michael Findlay –professional practice fellow in Applied Sciences, University of Otago

When: Tuesday 14 May 2013 at 7:00 pm
Where: Burns Hall, First Church, Moray Place, Dunedin

All welcome

Hosted by Southern Heritage Trust –enquiries 03 471 8265

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The Otago Branch of New Zealand Historic Places Trust recently merged with Southern Heritage Trust.

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Images and Post by Elizabeth Kerr

DScene, staying power . . .

[screenshot]

THE CONUNDRUM
DScene could fall victim to the disease rabidly attacking the Fairfax Media conglomerate. How to deal with the local monopoly, should the war have been fought online, not on paper.

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### ODT Online Fri, 10 May 2013
D-Scene newspaper may close
Dunedin community newspaper D-Scene may be ceasing publication after five years. The Fairfax Media-owned The Press reported yesterday a proposal to close the weekly publication, a subsidiary of The Southland Times.
Read more

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### 3news.co.nz Fri, 10 May 2013 11:03a.m.
Dunedin’s D-Scene paper tipped to close
By Thomas Mead, Online Reporter
Fairfax Media is considering ending the popular Dunedin community newspaper D-Scene, putting eight jobs at risk. The media conglomerate has put a proposal to staff and is now deciding the fate of the weekly publication in a two-week consultation period with those affected. Southland Times general manager Sue Gregory is declining to comment until the consultation period is over, but confirmed the initiative was underway. D-Scene was purchased by Fairfax Media in September 2008, but is in a competitive environment, up against the well-read Otago Daily Times and weekly The Star.
3news Link

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[This too, gives pause . . .]

### NZ Herald Online 5:30 AM Friday May 3, 2013
John Drinnan: Local history shipped out
History has a price and New Zealand’s photographic history is being shipped to Little Rock, Arkansas. Veteran sports photographer Peter Bush is shocked by Fairfax Media’s decision to sell its newspaper photo archive to an American firm. Fairfax has told Auckland staff it will be shipping photo archives for most of its Australian and New Zealand newspapers to the Rogers Photo Archive, a company based in Little Rock. The company will send back digital versions of the photos, but will keep the original prints, including photos of Sir Edmund Hillary.
Read more

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[2008, remember the Smiths back then . . .]

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 13:59 09/09/2008
Fairfax buying Dunedin community paper D-Scene
Dunedin community newspaper D-Scene looks set to join the Fairfax stable with the media giant announcing it is in the final stages of buying it. A spin-off from Queenstown’s Mountain Scene, the paper was set up earlier this year in a market dominated by long-time incumbent, the Otago Daily Times.
Read more

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### nbr.co.nz Tuesday September 09, 2008
Fairfax buys a lemon
By Mitchell Hall
Fairfax media’s decision to buy Dunedin’s struggling free weekly newspaper D Scene has one competitor sniffing that there’s no business case for the purchase – given how much money it is said to have been losing. The Otago Daily Times is the oldest newspaper in the country – and one of the last independent newspapers not owned by APN or Fairfax. The ODT’s business manager (and Allied Press director), Nick Smith, says a large editorial team designed D Scene with the Otago Daily Times in their sights. “The Otago Daily Times was seen (by them) to be an old and staid paper circulating in a one horse town. “They decided that the ODT was something that – according to their sales people – was a relic from the past, and they were smart boys who’d done all this research and they can take the town over.”
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Debate over new stadium

CHRISTCHURCH —This means to see the All Blacks play at home against the best opposition, we have to build a stadium that is almost double the size of what we really need just for one event per annum.

Christchurch Stadium concept by architect Thom Craig of AMO Design

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The former chief executive of the council-owned VBase events management operation, now working in the private sector, offers his perspective on the debate about a new stadium for Christchurch.

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 08:39 10/05/2013
Opinion
‘Boutique’ stadium a better option
By Bryan Pearson
I follow the various discussions around stadiums and venues with interest, and thought that the following might help inform that debate. The most recent issue to surface in this debate is about co-location versus integration. If we are simply co-locating other facilities like offices, hotels, and so on, adjacent to the stadium (as shown in the design where there are standalone buildings at each end of the stadium itself) then, while it will add life and activity to the stadium precinct, it will have little if any impact on the stadium business case.

If we are talking about integrated facilities and design which reduce the cost of building the stadium and/or deliver non-event regular income streams for the same cost/investment, then it will improve the stadium business case.

The latter sounds attractive until you start to consider the operational challenges of fully integrated facilities where the 24/7 tenants are effectively displaced on event days. Of course, then there is the issue of supply and demand for commercial office space and accommodation. Already we are seeing large city fringe commercial developments (Victoria St, Lincoln Rd). Then there is the central city where some developments are under way but many developers are already struggling to build the business case due to high costs of construction and soft demand once you get beyond about $400 per square metre.
So where will office space adjacent to the stadium fit in a market which is already showing signs of weakness and over-supply? The reality is the only thing that truly impacts on stadium viability is commercial event days.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC: Outsourcing water and wastewater network maintenance

Updated Post 3:45pm – The Dunedin City Council is consulting with staff over a proposal to outsource its water and wastewater network maintenance. Read media release here.

City operations general manager Tony Avery confirmed a proposal was delivered to staff on Thursday. He declined to elaborate until a public release today, although he was swift to clarify it was ”definitely not” privatisation.

THEN WHAT IS IT, IF NOT PRIVATISATION, MR AVERY ?

The council decided last year not to proceed with creating a council-controlled organisation (CCO) to run the city’s entire water and waste service, following a recommendation from a councillor working party that deliberated for more than 18 months. An external financial consultant had recommended creating a CCO.

WHICH COUNCILLORS ARE PUSHING THIS ? NOONE ? BROWN ?

The working party chairman, Cr Andrew Noone, said on Friday he understood the review focused largely on operations and maintenance, as recommended.

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### ODT Online Mon, 6 May 2013
DCC may outsource water and waste
By Debbie Porteous
Proposals to outsource Dunedin City Council water and waste maintenance and operations are expected to be announced today, potentially affecting dozens of jobs. In 2011, 71 staff worked in maintenance and operations, which is part of the council’s water and waste services business unit. The service costs $19.5 million a year.

A member of the public contacted the Otago Daily Times on Friday after council staff repairing a leaking pipe near his property told him their work was being privatised from November.

City operations general manager Tony Avery confirmed a proposal was delivered to staff on Thursday. He declined to elaborate until a public release today, although he was swift to clarify it was ”definitely not” privatisation.
Read more

● The council is to release the results of the water and waste services review at 12.30pm.

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Related Posts and Comments:
24.8.12 Dunedin’s 3 waters, no CCO
16.8.12 Dunedin water assets
30.12.11 DCC Water and Waste Services
20.8.11 Your City What Future $$$$$$$$$$ ? (broke Council means corporatising OUR water doesn’t it)
22.1.11 Our water assets
19.1.11 Dunedin: your water
26.12.10 DCC – will there be a “corporate grab” of water infrastructure!?
30.1.10 ODT on “fiscal creep” + the 3 Waters bonanza

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Imported steel —New Zealand, “sleepy corner of the world”

The question that is increasingly being asked here is whether New Zealand engineers can be absolutely certain they have been supplied the quality of steel they ordered and whether we have systems in place to ensure standards are adhered to. The industry appears to believe the answers to both of those questions is “no”.

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 05:00 05/05/2013
Engineers flag concern over imported steel
By Rob Stock – Sunday Star-Times
The Institute of Professional Engineers (IPENZ) has secretly alerted the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment of concerns about the quality of imported structural steel used in New Zealand buildings. The Institute admitted concerns about the quality of “materials and equipment including steel used in various industries – construction, engineering, and machinery” were relayed to MBIE just weeks ago, after being raised at the Institute’s annual forum in March. The Institute cautioned that the information received was “anecdotal” and “raised in a private members’ area”, adding “at this stage IPENZ is unaware of the scale of the issue, or whether they were one-off instances”.

Steel importers could easily find Chinese manufacturers willing to falsify certificates to pass off cheaper steel as high quality.

Less private, though, were two papers given at the Steel Innovations Conference in Christchurch in February, just before that March meeting, papers which for the first time publicly alluded to the issue. One paper delivered by three staffers of Australian steel company OneSteel called for the construction industry to only accept steel from manufacturers accredited by independent third parties. “In Australia, there have been some significant structural failures which have been due, either wholly or in part, to the lack of conformance of the product to the standard and the identification of its source. Unfortunately legal restrictions on the reporting of these failures means they cannot be readily identified or discussed in this paper,” the paper said. In other words, the steel was not what was ordered. Some might call it counterfeit. Evidence from the UK, the paper said, “undeniably confirms that the lack of product conformity and traceability is contributing to structural failures”.

“Engineers from quite different parts of the engineering family have realised that we all have this issue to some extent.” –John Hare, Structural Engineers Society

The second paper on the damage done by the Canterbury earthquakes to the 22-storey Pacific Tower in Christchurch, which has now been fully repaired, brings things closer to home. As one engineer familiar with the paper put it, there were instances of failure in some imported structural steel in the tower which should not have happened. “Some of the parts were damaged more than what was expected,” he said. The steel in question was imported from Singapore, and was found not to perform as well at lower temparature as New Zealand or Australian-made steel. The authors of the paper called for “rigorous traceability between mill certificates and the material used in the fabrication” for structural steel used in certain circumstances. “Steels of origins other than NZ/AU may not have the required toughness… to comply with the current New Zealand steel structures standards,” it said.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Mayoral apology . . . [a bit late]

Received.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Employment matters —the BAD stuff

For anyone needing help, advice or mediation on employment and work-related matters anywhere in New Zealand . . .

Contact the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MoBIE) – formerly the Department of Labour.
█ http://www.dol.govt.nz/er/solvingproblems/resolving/mediation.asp

More information on mediation and how to access the service is available at http://www.dol.govt.nz/er/services/mediators/index.asp
or contact the centre on Freephone 0800 20 90 20

You can also contact your union representative, a lawyer or your local Community Law Centre for advice.

█ Don’t hesitate to call Police on 111 if you feel threatened.

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We note the following news items with some distress and revulsion.

### ODT Online Wed, 1 May 2013
Queenstown driver paid $63,000 after sexual harrassment
By Abby Gillies
A female truck driver working in Queenstown has been awarded more than $63,000 for being sexually harassed, discriminated against because of her gender and unjustifiably dismissed from her job. A decision by the Employment Relations Authority has ordered Rachael Harrington receive $25,000 in compensation and $38,200 from her former employer Cromwell-based Thunderbird One, over her treatment.
The truck driver started work with the company in Queenstown, which operates a Mainfreight franchise, in September 2008. However, “her employment was both short and fraught”, and she resigned and filed a personal grievance three months later, said the ERA finding. Her claims of being unjustifiably disadvantaged, discriminated against and sexually harassed were unchallenged by the company, it said.
Read more

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### ODT Online Thu, 2 May 2013
Sexually harrassed Queenstown driver miscarried
By James Beech
The former Queenstown female truck driver awarded more than $63,000 for being sexually harassed, discriminated against because of her gender and unjustifiably dismissed from her job suspects she miscarried as a result of being told to “manhandle” an 800kg load at work. The Employment Relations Authority ordered that Rachael Lee Harrington receive $38,243 as recompense for wages lost as a result of the dismissal and $25,000 as compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings from her former employer, Cromwell-based Thunderbird One Ltd. Ms Harrington was “severely bleeding and miscarrying after lifting all the heavy pallets, so it was really super traumatic for her,” counsel Angeline Boniface, of Christchurch, told the Otago Daily Times yesterday. “The worst thing about this entire situation is that here she is bleeding profusely, her father asked for an ambulance to come on site and Mr [Justin] Marshall said, “If you get an ambulance, you’ll be up for disciplinary action,” Mrs Boniface said. “Meanwhile she’s bleeding, she wants to get into the building and other staff members have locked her out and [are] laughing at her. This is awful, just shocking.”
Read more

● Justin Marshall, managing director of Thunderbird One Ltd and Picture Vehicles Ltd, is not the former All Black and broadcaster Justin Marshall.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr