Monthly Archives: December 2014

by Elizabeth | December 31, 2014 · 8:07 pm

New building laws —happy new year!

Hut on sleds at Coromandel Peninsula | Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects

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### tvnz.co.nz 6:03PM Wednesday December 31, 2014 Source: ONE News
Construction cowboys watch out
Source: Breakfast
New building laws targeting construction cowboys are coming into force on New Year’s Day. Builders on big jobs have to be more open with clients or risk being fined. Every building job costing more than $30,000 will now need to be covered by a detailed contract.
“That’s going to have to outline your rights, their obligations, including the value of the work, when it’s going to start, when it’s likely to finish [and] if there’s any problems how you’ll resolve them,” says Sue Chetwin, Consumer chief executive.
Before they can start work, builders will also have to reveal their skills and qualifications, what sort of warranty is on offer and their level of insurance cover. And they’ll have to provide a checklist, setting out the client’s rights and explaining the building process. Failure to comply with any of the new rules will attract a fine of $500.
Read more

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Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment —
Building & Housing Information

Building Amendment Act 2013

● Changes to the dam scheme
● New Consumer protection measure
● More information

The Building Amendment Act 2013 was passed by Parliament on 27 November 2013. It is the result of a comprehensive review into the Building Act 2004.

This Amendment Act is part of a package of changes which introduce new measures to improve the building and construction sector, ensuring that it delivers good quality, affordable homes and buildings and contributes to a prosperous economy.

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New Zealand lawyers Buddle Findlay on Strengthening consumer protection measures in the Building Act (11.7.14):
Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith announced yesterday that, from 1 January 2015, building contractors will be required to have written contracts, provide information on their relevant skills, experience and qualifications, and disclose their insurance and warranty cover for residential building work valued at over $30,000.
These new requirements are part of the wider consumer protection measures introduced in November last year by the Building Amendment Act 2013 (the Act), which will also come into force on 1 January 2015, and which strengthen the consumer protection measures currently contained in the Building Act 2004 (Building Act).
We consider that the consumer protection measures in the Act are a major evolution to consumers’ rights in the residential construction industry. The government is aiming for these legislative changes to have a significant impact on the way the industry operates – a fundamental behavioural change on the part of both consumers and building contractors.
The purpose of the consumer protection measures in the Act is to move away from the heavy reliance on building consent authorities for building quality and incentivise building professionals and trades people to take responsibility for the quality of their work and to stand behind it.
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

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Tagged as Building, Building Act 2004, Building Amendment Act 2013, Building contractors, Building professionals, Consent authorities, Consents, Construction, Consumer protection, Consumers, Contracts, Councils, LTAs, Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, New Zealand, Nick Smith, Residential construction

by Elizabeth | December 29, 2014 · 3:01 pm

DCC gets QLDC talent…. the weft and warp deviously weaves

Notice McLauchlan has been well immersed in affairs of the QLDC, and especially now under Feeley’s leadership (fox chickens, SCF).

“….the QLDC audit and risk committee, chaired by Institute of Directors president Stuart McLauchlan, of Dunedin, recommended a sensitive expenditure policy be adopted in the wake of the Citifleet fraud….”
ODT 20.12.14

Delta. ORFU. Stadium land purchases. [list goes on, insider trading, etc]

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Ruth Stokes is like trading partners, house keys in the goldfish bowl (spot any car keys?). Terminology, eh? Congratulations DCC, a blonde from Eiontown —on Dunedin, “the great small city”, yarp…. already cued to tow the DCC party line. Likes the word STAKEHOLDERS.

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Dunedin City Council – Media Release
DCC appoints new General Manager

This item was published on 24 Dec 2014

Ruth Stokes has been appointed to the position of Infrastructure and Networks General Manager. She brings with her experience in senior policy development, planning and project management and has worked in both the public and private sectors. DCC Chief Executive Dr Sue Bidrose says she’s very pleased to announce Mrs Stokes appointment. “Ruth is a successful general manager with a financial background, strong public service values and a reputation for delivering. Her mix of skills will be an asset to the DCC.”

Mrs Stokes will take on the responsibilities of departing General Manager Tony Avery.

Mrs Stokes is the General Manager Operations for the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC). She has been in that role for the past 16 months and Chief Executive Lakes Leisure (a council controlled organisation) prior to that. Before moving to Queenstown she worked at Auckland Council, Westpac and KPMG in various roles. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Auckland and a Post Graduate Certificate in public management from Victoria University of Wellington. Mrs Stokes has a background in infrastructure planning, development, recreation, parks, and aquatics.

“The way these assets and facilities are managed often make a major difference to the perception of a city. I think the job is a terrific opportunity to work as part of Council’s leadership team to help Dunedin become the great small city it strives to be.”

She has enjoyed her time in Queenstown, and will stay in touch with her friends and colleagues. “But I am really looking forward to moving to Dunedin and experiencing the advantages the city has to offer. I am keen to meet the DCC leadership team, the Councillors, the stakeholders and the staff. I think it is great going into a Long Term Plan year, as it gives me the opportunity to hear about what the community wants to achieve over the next 10 years.” Getting to know people and forming a detailed understanding of the role will be her first focus. Mrs Stokes will start at the DCC in February. Contact Dr Sue Bidrose, DCC Chief Executive Officer on 477 4000. DCC Link

● ODT: New DCC manager

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New Year turkey structure (can add names if anyone has been missed off):
Sue Bidrose, Chief Executive. Grant McKenzie, Group Chief Financial Officer. Sandy Graham, Group Manager Corporate Services. Bernie Hawke, Group Manager Arts and Culture. Ruth Stokes, General Manager Infrastructure and Networks. Simon Pickford, General Manager Services and Development.

Basters: [John Christie, Director Enterprise Dunedin] [Kevin Taylor, Manager City Property] [Anna Johnston, Manager City Development]….

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

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Tagged as Athol Stephens, Cars, Citifleet, Council executives, Crowe Horwath report (May 2014), Dave Cull, DCC, DCHL, Dead man did it, Deloitte report, Delta report 2014, Dunedin, Dunedin City Council, Dunedin City Holdings Ltd, Dunedin Venues Management Ltd, DVML, ELT, Executive Leadership Team, Insurance claim $1m, Jim Harland, No - Dolly did it, Stadium review, Vehicles

by Elizabeth | December 28, 2014 · 6:39 am

Small apartments —then !! New York by Gehry #2011nuclear

### design-milk.com 13 Jun 2014
Tiny 100-Square-Foot Apartment Virtually Transforms Throughout Day
Posted by Gregory Han
When it comes to forecasting the future, there are two schools of thought: one that sees our planetary cup still half full, the other alarmingly half empty. You can cast Bernardo Schorr, MFA candidate in Parsons’ Design and Technology program and Creative Technologist, with the camp predicting a gloomy dystopian future…. a future where a great many of the world’s population will have to live in much smaller dwellings out of necessity, “in windowless apartments with areas limited to 100 square feet.”

But not all is lost! Schorr also believes digital technologies can be engineered to allow occupants of these micro-apartments to escape the sensation of being confined within prison cells by projecting immersive virtual environments to “expand” the walls far beyond their true dimensional boundaries. Offered as an “utopian solution for a dystopian scenario”, Schorr’s “Mixed Reality Living Spaces” project serves as an experiment for a future when windows will have become a luxury and our circadian rhythms regulating sleep and activity will be cued increasingly by a pixel perfect simulacrum of the world outside.
Read more + Photos

Bernardo Schorr Published on May 15, 2014

Mixed Reality Living Spaces
[Conceptual only, what would 3D printers make for body hugging multi-use furniture, here we don’t find out – but the design principle is worthy. -Eds] Mixed Reality Living Spaces is an imagination of how current and near-future technologies will help us cope with issues of space scarcity and confinement that will derive from urban development.

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### design-milk.com 16 Apr 2014
Transforming Apartment Maximizes Small Space
Posted by Caroline Williamson

With 60 square metres (approximately 645 square feet) to work with, Russian designer Vlad Mishin designed the Transformer Apartment which contains several transforming elements. The apartment is separated lengthwise by a massive, faceted wall structure that is made up of black metal framework and plywood that hides away various household functions.
Read more + Photos

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New York by Gehry at Eight Spruce Street

█ Video + Slideshows (floor plans and more) http://www.newyorkbygehry.com/
█ ArchRecordTV Frank Gehry’s Beekman Tower on design and construction
█ Videos at Youtube for Beekman Tower and 8 Spruce Street

Overview via Wikipedia:
8 Spruce Street, originally known as Beekman Tower and currently marketed as New York by Gehry, is a 76-story skyscraper designed by architect Frank Gehry in the New York City borough of Manhattan at 8 Spruce Street, between William and Nassau Streets, in Lower Manhattan, just south of City Hall Park and the Brooklyn Bridge.

8 Spruce Street is one of the tallest residential towers in the world, and the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere at the time of completion in February 2011. The building was developed by Forest City Ratner, designed by Frank Gehry Architects and WSP Cantor Seinuk Structural Engineers, and constructed by Kreisler Borg Florman. It contains a public elementary school owned by the Department of Education. Above that and grade-level retail, the tower contains only residential rental units (898 in total), a rarity in New York’s Financial District. The skyscraper’s structural frame is made of reinforced concrete, and form-wise it falls within the architectural style of Deconstructivism together with the begun later and completed earlier Aqua skyscraper in Chicago.

28.11.11 New York Times – The Appraisal
Living in a 76-Story Work of Art, and a Symbol of Rebirth

The school is sheathed in reddish-tan brick, and covers 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of the first five floors of the building. It will host over 600 students enrolled in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade classes. A fourth floor roof deck will hold 5,000 square feet (460 m2) of outdoor play space. Above the elementary school is an 898-unit luxury residential tower clad in stainless steel. The apartments range from 500 square feet (46 m2) to 1,600 square feet (150 m2), and consist of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. All units are priced at market-rate, with no low or moderate income-restricted apartments. It does not contain any units for purchase.

The building also includes space for New York Downtown Hospital. The hospital will take up 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2), and will have public parking below ground. There are public plazas on both the east and west sides of the building, one 11,000 square feet (1,000 m2) and the other somewhat smaller. Street-level retail, totalling approximately 1,300 to 2,500 square feet (120 to 230 m2), is included as part of the project.

30.3.11 Architectural Review
Eight Spruce Street by Frank Gehry, New York, USA

Early reviews of the 8 Spruce Street tower have been favourable. The building was also heavily criticized for “appearing as a nuclear meltdown”, for being the most expensive per square foot residential tower in Manhattan and for receiving $204 million in federal bonds for its $875 million construction cost. In The New York Times, architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff praised the building’s design as a welcome addition to the skyline of New York, calling it: “the finest skyscraper to rise in New York since Eero Saarinen’s CBS building went up 46 years ago”. New Yorker magazine’s Paul Goldberger described it as “one of the most beautiful towers downtown”. Comparing Gehry’s tower to the nearby Woolworth Building, completed in 1913, Goldberger said “it is the first thing built downtown since then that actually deserves to stand beside it”. CityRealty architecture critic Carter Horsely hailed the project, saying “the building would have been an unquestioned architectural masterpiece if the south facade had continued the crinkling and if the base had continued the stainless-steel cladding. Even so, it is as majestic as its cross-town rival, the great neo-Gothic Woolworth Building designed by Cass Gilbert at 233 Broadway on the other side of City Hall Park.” Gehry designed both the exterior, interiors and amenities spaces, along with all 20 model apartments.

█ Frank Gehry is perhaps the most celebrated practicing architect in the world today. He has been the recipient of dozens of awards recognizing excellence in architecture including the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which honours “significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture”. Over the past five decades, under Gehry’s creative direction, Gehry Partners, LLP has designed public and private buildings in North America, Europe, and Asia. Hallmarks of Gehry’s work include a particular focus on creating spaces that are comfortable to the people who use them, and that exist well within the larger context and culture of their location. The firm’s approach to design is one in which the client becomes fully engaged in the process, making each project a true collaboration.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images: New York by Gehry at Eight Spruce Street (from top) businessinsider.com, urbanedgeny.com, architectural-review.com, en.wikipedia.org

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Tagged as 8 Spruce Street - Lower Manhattan, Apartment tower, Apartments, Architectural Review, Architecture, Bernado Schorr, Built environment, Designers, Frank Gehry, Gehry Partners - LLP, High rise, Interior design, Living spaces, Manhattan, Milk Design, Mixed reality, New York, New York by Gehry, New York Times, Skyscrapers, Small spaces, Stainless steel, Towers, Virtual rooms, Vlad Mishin (Russia), Wikipedia, Windowless

by Elizabeth | December 27, 2014 · 2:34 pm

Port Otago Ltd + Chalmers Properties

Port Otago has been chosen as the Otago Daily Times Business of the Year

###ODT Online Sat, 27 Dec 2014
Buoyant through the changing tides
By Simon Hartley
Undeterred by the 2007-09 global financial crisis, Port Otago has successfully navigated its way through tough times to deliver 100% owner the Otago Regional Council more than $50 million in dividends during the past five years alone. Simon Hartley talks to Port Otago chief executive Geoff Plunket about its performance and contribution during the past decade.
Port Otago goes into 2015 in fine financial shape, with tens of millions of dollars in development under way, staff numbers increasing and the company optimistic about new developments.
Its subsidiary Chalmers Properties, which oversees a portfolio valued at $260 million, has $20 million to invest, and a separate “inland port” at Mosgiel could be up and running by 2017, as could more Sawyers Bay warehousing – all in all, an average annual capital expenditure of $10 million for each year over the next decade.
Read more

Inland port by 2017, Sawyers Bay developments – TIME TO GET SHUNTING OFF THE SECTION OF MAIN TRUNK LINE THAT PREVENTS HARBOUR ACCESS via Rattray and Fryatt Streets. Restore the controlled pedestrian, cycle and vehicle crossing at grade.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images: theblackthornorphans.com – container stack, Port Otago; staticflickr.com – container terminal

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Tagged as Chalmers Properties Ltd, Containers, CPL, DCC, Dunedin, Dunedin City Council, Fryatt St, Geoff Plunket, Harbourside connection, Industrial use, Inland port, KiwiRail, Mosgiel, New Zealand Railways Corporation, ORC, Otago Regional Council, POL, Port Chalmers, Port Otago Ltd, Ports, Rattray St, Sawyers Bay, Shipping, Steamer Basin, Warehouses, Waterfront, WHERE'S OUR LEVEL CROSSING

by Elizabeth | December 25, 2014 · 9:49 pm

Tokyo Skytree Town Projection Mapping 2014

The Japan Times Published on Dec 12, 2014

Tokyo Skytree Town Projection Mapping 2014
During this holiday season, Tokyo Skytree Town has launched a new projection mapping presentation – and this time they have expanded the show to Skytree itself.

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Tokyo Skytree (東京スカイツリ — Tōkyō Sukaitsurī) is a broadcasting, restaurant, and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010 and reached its full height of 634.0 metres (2,080 ft) in March 2011, making it the tallest tower in the world, displacing the Canton Tower, and the second tallest structure in the world after Burj Khalifa (829.8 m/2,722 ft). The tower is the primary television and radio broadcast site for the Kantō region; the older Tokyo Tower no longer gives complete digital terrestrial television broadcasting coverage because it is surrounded by high-rise buildings. Skytree was completed on 29 February 2012, with the tower opening to the public on 22 May 2012. The tower is the centrepiece of a large commercial development funded by Tobu Railway and a group of six terrestrial broadcasters headed by NHK. Trains stop at the adjacent Tokyo Skytree Station and nearby Oshiage Station, and the complex is only 7 km (4.3 mi) north-east of Tokyo Station.

Photo: arabianbusiness.com

The base of the tower has a structure similar to a tripod; from a height of about 350 m (1,150 ft) and above, the tower’s structure is cylindrical to offer panoramic views of the river and the city. There are observatories at 350 m (1,150 ft), with a capacity of up to 2000 people, and 450 m (1,480 ft), with a capacity of 900 people. The upper observatory features a spiral, glass-covered skywalk in which visitors ascend the last 5 metres to the highest point at the upper platform. A section of glass flooring gives visitors a direct downward view of the streets below. The tower is illuminated using LED lights.

Illustration of “shinbashira” central pillar of Tokyo Skytree [via ajw.asahi.com]

The tower has seismic proofing, including a central shaft made of reinforced concrete. The main internal pillar is attached to the outer tower structure 125 m (410 ft) above ground. From there until 375 m (1,230 ft) the pillar is attached to the tower frame with oil dampers, which act as cushions during an earthquake. According to the designers, the dampers can absorb 50 percent of the energy from an earthquake. [wikipedia]

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Tokyo Films Published on Jun 23, 2014

Tokyo Skytree
Tokyo Skytree Tower is the tallest building in Japan. It has amazing views of Tokyo from its observation decks. Oshiage is the nearest metro station to the sky tree town.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

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Tagged as Built environment, Christmas 2014, Illuminations, Japan, Japan Times, Projection Mapping, Sky Arena, Skytree, Tokyo, Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo Skytree Town

by Elizabeth | December 25, 2014 · 5:30 pm

Daaave stole Christmas from #DUD

ONE person did it —he said. Six feet under @ Whoville. No fringe.

“Pooh-pooh to the Whos!” he was grinchily humming.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: images4.fanpop.com – Grinch (re-coloured by whatifdunedin)
Excerpts: How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss, 1957

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by Elizabeth | December 25, 2014 · 3:12 am

2Modern Blog | Modern Decor + Architecture + Interiors

2Modern (San Francisco) is a curator and brand ambassador for upscale modern furniture and modern lighting design. The website features new names on the design scene, trends, and weekly design editorials. 2Modern is an authorised dealer for leading brands including Knoll, Kartell, Artek, and Emeco; and contemporary lighting brands like FLOS, Louis Poulsen, FontanaArte, and Artemide. 2Modern also represents emerging design talent, like Blu Dot, James De Wulf, Gus*, LZF, and Skram.

The following samples appear in rough visual/formal order, not date order.
Follow links to view more images.

Big in Japan
blog.2modern.com 21 Nov 2008
Is it wrong that out of all the great work showcased at Tokyo Design Week (2008), the product I’m most excited about is largely because it reminds me of my favourite childhood Christmas decorations? Designed by Canadian born, Tokyo based industrial designer Chris Kirby, the Spiral Lamp is an exploration of the interaction between light and matter, the impassable and the transmissive, flat and voluminous, and growing the complex from the simple. cont/

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New York City’s Fulton Center Subway Complex
blog.2modern.com 12 Nov 2014
A decade in the making, at a cost of 1.4 billion dollars, the former Fulton Street station, irretrievably battered during the September 11, 2001 attacks, has risen from the ashes as Fulton Center, a sparkling convergence of 9 subway lines, designed and realized by a consortium of firms—headed by the architectural practice, Grimshaw, and the engineering and planning company, Arup.

A Lisbon Home With A Bookish Twist
blog.2modern.com 24 Nov 2014
This meticulously refurbished Lisbon loft has plenty to recommend it—its decadent size and sumptuously ornamental (circa 1893) ceiling, for starters—but it’s the space-dividing open bookshelf that caught our eye. This spare-no-details renovation is by AVA Architects.

Tokyo Designers Week: Joint Installation by Vitra and Artek
blog.2modern.com 13 Nov 2014
Tokyo Designers Week (2014) was an occasion for Artek and Vitra to present their first joint installation since Vitra’s acquisition of the Finnish brand in 2013. Taking over the Light Box Studio exhibition space in Tokyo’s Aoyama neighbourhood, the installations merged the most iconic modern furniture, lighting, and decorative pieces.

Swede Sensation: Stockholm’s New Miss Clara Hotel
blog.2modern.com 2 Dec 2014
The city’s recently opened Miss Clara Hotel is a refurbishment courtesy of Gert Wingårdh Architects. The 1910 former all-girls school has been transformed into a 92-room hotel. The architects have a pitch-perfect instinct for exquisite balance: venerable with contemporary, original with new, dark with white, visual lightness with textural richness.

Stylish Breathing Rooms From Breather
blog.2modern.com 10 Nov 2014
A year-old New York company has stolen a page familiar to cheap motel owners by renting rooms by the hour. Breather, the brainchild of Canadian and best-selling author Julien Smith, taps into the smart phone revolution—by turning unused spaces within a city into stylishly appointed modernist dens that offer welcoming respite to anyone with a smart phone, in search of a personal or professional rendezvous spot, or just in need of a long nap.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

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by Elizabeth | December 24, 2014 · 12:50 pm

Dunedin: Watching the detectives

Comment received from Alex Brown
Submitted on 2014/12/23 at 11:41 am

A quote from a Vandervis email dated Friday 19 Dec at 11.54am is concerning:

“Even more concerning was Detective Preece’s assertion to me that ‘all those that had acquired DCC vehicles needed to do, was to say that they understood Mr Bachop had the authority to dispose of them’ for them not to be liable for receiving or criminal prosecution. Detective Preece said that all those he had interviewed who had acquired DCC vehicles had said just that.”

That is not all the “others” needed to do to explain away their part, particularly when Brent Bachop has been held solely accountable on the strength of no interview. Little credence is given to what suspects say or don’t say these days and that is why circumstantial and independent evidence carries far more weight.

Crimes Act section 246 – Receiving
(1) Everyone is guilty of receiving who receives any property stolen or obtained by any other imprisonable offence, knowing that property to have been stolen or so obtained, or being reckless as to whether or not the property had been stolen or so obtained.

It was never intended that “knowingly” and “recklessness” be simply explained away by a suspect, as suggested by Detective Preece. Other evidence can be far more compelling and he is not prevented from investigating it – the cheap price paid for the DCC cars, the number and frequency of transactions, outside normal business practices, the transactional documents, communication between the parties – or did Bachop communicate or implicate other persons to his closest friends or loved ones before he died. The fact that Vandervis raised the alarm within the organisation over 2 years and nothing was done tends to suggest the involvement of others.

The law states the crime of receiving is as serious as the crime of theft, but the criminal courts have long considered it more serious because without willing receivers (the black market) there would be no thieving.

[ends]

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Tony Tuthill Uploaded on Nov 23, 2007
Elvis Costello – Watching the Detectives (song & lyrics)
Created with written permissions/agreements with: Universal Music Group.
The single, produced by Nick Lowe, was the first to be credited to ‘Elvis Costello & the Attractions’, reflecting the new backing band that he was using, previous releases being credited solely to the singer. The lead track was, in fact, recorded in May 1977, before the Attractions existed – the backing band on the song were Steve Goulding on drums and Andrew Bodnar on bass guitar, both from Graham Parker’s band, The Rumour. Keyboard overdubs were added later by Steve Nason (later better-known as Steve Nieve). It was also the first top 40 hit in the UK Singles Chart for Costello, reaching #15 and spending a total of eleven weeks in the chart.

Elvis Costello (b. 1954, London) is an English singer-songwriter. He began his career as part of London’s pub rock scene in the early 1970s and later became associated with the first wave of the British punk and new wave movement of the mid-to-late 1970s.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

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by Elizabeth | December 23, 2014 · 2:42 pm

Our Leaders: if commonalities

— Cull –●– Bidrose –●– Harland —

“What I said was, ‘Is anybody at home?'” called out Pooh very loudly.

“No!” said a voice; and then added, “You needn’t shout so loud. I heard you quite well the first time.”

“Bother!” said Pooh. “Isn’t there anybody here at all?”

“Nobody.”

[with absolutely NO apologies to AA Milne who would deeply sympathise]

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images redrawn and reworked by whatifdunedin

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Tagged as Chief Executives, Dave Cull, Dunedin, Dunedin City Council, Jim Harland, Mayor, What stadium

by Elizabeth | December 22, 2014 · 7:14 pm

Auckland Council: Hark to DCC’s well-tried model of corporate welfare

Sky City International Convention Centre and hotel.

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Somebody ruthlessly slips the word “National” into the name for Auckland’s proposed convention centre.

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 17:32, December 22 2014
Auckland Councillors blast Sky City ‘corporate welfare’
By Niko Kloeten
Auckland ratepayers should not have to pay for a blow-out in the cost of the Sky City National (sic) Convention Centre, councillors say.
Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce raised the prospect of the Auckland Council chipping in to help fund the project, after new estimates revealed the cost could blow out by as much as $128 million. The increase in cost could leave taxpayers on the hook for any shortfall, but Joyce said the council could provide some assistance. “If you look at the Wellington Council, they’ve just done a deal to do a convention centre there, a much smaller one, but they’ve under-written some operating costs and that might help was well,” he told Radio New Zealand.
Howick councillor Dick Quax said the money would be better spent on the city’s much-needed transport projects, several of which have been delayed due to funding pressures. “It could be the beginning of an endless group of corporates coming to the council with their hands out. I don’t support corporate welfare at all.”
Read more

█ Dunedin City Council bought professional rugby and simultaneously lost 152 cars. But wait, there’s more.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

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Tagged as Auckland, Auckland Council, Casinos, Central government, Core infrastructure, Corporate welfare, DCC, Dunedin City Council, Gambling, hideousness, John Key PM, Local government, Money laundering, National-led government, PROFESSIONAL RUGBY, Property speculation, Ratepayers and Residents, Rorts, Sky City International Convention Centre, Stephen Joyce, Super City, Taxpayers, Where all the shonky overseas fatcats?, White collar crime

by Elizabeth | December 21, 2014 · 6:43 pm

Singapore National Stadium: No fuss ‘Olympian’ $1 billion plug-in

█ More views at Google Images
[search Singapore Sports Hub or Singapore National Stadium]

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Icon 137 Sport | November 2014 pp 068-075
International Design, Architecture & Culture

Open goal: Singapore National Stadium
By Owen Pritchard

Singapore’s new National Stadium has the world’s largest single-span dome. And by leaving it open at one end, its designers have given the multi-purpose pitch one of the most beautiful backdrops in sport.

Since 1965, the building that has the largest single-span dome in the world has always been a sports stadium. This year the National Stadium of Singapore claims that title, with a diameter of 312m and a height of 80m. The stadium is at the heart of the new Singapore Sports Hub, a 35ha redevelopment of a former airfield that will serve professional sportspeople and the general public alike. The development comprises the national stadium, Kenzo Tange’s 1989 Singapore Indoor Stadium (SIS), two sports arenas, an aquatics centre, a watersports centre, 41,000sq m of retail and waterfront, a visitor centre, sports library, museum and a rail station.

With an investment of over 1 billion US dollars from the Singapore government and the client who will run the facility, the development is an Olympian achievement without the fuss of having to host a sporting mega-event.

The arena offers a remarkable number of configurations in the seating arrangements, as well as cooling and the ability to open and close the roof, all of which make it suitable for a number of occasions – be it a football tournament, cricket match or national parade. “We were given the most amazing site you could be given on the waterfront in Singapore and an ambitious and visionary brief from the client,” says Clive Lewis, an associate at Arup Associates who led the design of the stadium and worked on the construction with Aecom and local firm DP Architects.

The Sports Hub was proposed in 2000, when the old Kallang stadium was declared unfit for purpose. The competition for the complex was launched in 2006. “The government wanted to know what the right thing for Singapore was,” says Lewis. “Did it want to spread out its sports facilities? Or put them all in one location?”

It is the dome that anchors the Sports Hub to its site. It has a powerful presence, particularly looking towards the end that opens out to the city when each side of the ETFE roof is clasped shut. “The location next to Tange’s indoor stadium was a key decision,” Lewis says. “We were creating a landmark building, it had to have a presence from the city, but respect the Tange building. I think that the inverted peak of the SIS and the dome sit perfectly together.” Lewis and his team have certainly taken the stadium’s neighbour into account: both buildings draw from a material palette that includes concrete, aluminium and tiered greenery around the plinth. But where Tange’s building is solid and mute, a passive and imposing presence on the skyline, the new stadium is inviting – from the tiered canvas canopies that cover the concourse to the vast opening that frames the city and the massive LED lighting system across the surface of the dome that lights up the sweltering skies at night. Covering some 20,000sq m, it is the largest addressable LED screen in the world. “We never set out to design such a massive dome,” reflects Lewis. “Once we had made the decision to do so, a lot of things began to make sense. We could really make the project work.”

[click to enlarge]

Inside the stadium, the structure that supports the external skin and the ETFE pillows that open and close to the heavens dominates. This structure is symmetrical and loops and crosses itself in a manner that conveys how the substantial loads are transferred to the two-storey plinth on which the stadium rests. “The delay in this project meant that we could refine the structure to make it as efficient as possible,” Lewis says. “We worked with about a 40 per cent penalty, so if you added ten kilos to the weight of the shell, you would have to increase the weight of the structure by 4 kilos. This led to the decision to use the pillows on the roof— not only would they filter the natural light, but they’re light and flexible, which helped optimise the structure of the trusses.” There are 20,000 steel members in the roof, and each truss that arks over the pitch tapers from 5m deep at its zenith to 2m at the point of contact with the plinth. “The opportunity with a dome this size is that it adds an intensity to the structure,” Lewis says. “It is a part of the event.”

The brief stipulated that the bowl within the stadium had to be movable and allow football, rugby and athletics to be played on the pitch. “We decided to add cricket into the mix,” Lewis says. “There are so many cricket-crazy nations within a four-hour flight we thought that it would provide an extra opportunity.”

[click to enlarge]

******

The Singapore Sports Hub is the next piece of the “plug in” approach to development in Singapore. Since the Jackson plan, conceived in 1822 when Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore, returned to the settlement and found himself displeased with the way the colony was developing, Singapore has tried to form a coherent urban strategy to manage growth. Currently the country has a population of just over 5 million, but wants grow to over 6 million. This 20 per cent swell will assure its economic position as the Switzerland of South-east Asia, but it is being managed to ensure the growth of other activities besides commerce. The development of Singapore has been more measured than, say, that of Dubai or Qatar; there is a quality to the developments that are being realised – including noticeably eye-catching contributions, such as Moshe Safdie’s Marina Bay Sands resort, OMA’s Interlace housing complex or Wilkinson Eyre’s park, Gardens by the Bay. The Singapore Sports Hub and the national stadium are an extension of this controlled, but still ostentatious, masterplan.

At the last Olympics, Singapore competed nine events, picking up two bronze medals for table tennis. The national football team is ranked 155th in the world, the rugby team 58th. So why build a state-of-the-art stadium in a country not known for its sporting prowess? The purpose, Lewis argues, is wider than that. “We have created the largest covered civic space in Singapore,” he says. The Sports Hub is intended to be a new piece of the city where the people can take part in sport themselves. Around the exterior of the bowl, still under the canopy of the dome, is a running track that will be open to the public, and the pools and courts will be available throughout the year, except when they are being used for competition. And that’s not to say that Singapore does not excel at hosting sporting events – the Formula 1 street race is one of the most popular meets on the calendar, and the nation has successfully held the Youth Olympics and will host the South-east Asian Games in 2015.

In his commentary for Hubert Aquin’s film Le sport et les hommes (1961), Roland Barthes said, “It must be remembered that everything happening to the player also happens to the spectator. But whereas in theatre the spectator is only a voyeur, in sport he is a participant, an actor.” Sport, for many, is an opportunity to indulge in a fanatical desire for victory fuelled by nonsensical, almost primal, allegiances. Stadiums are the ultimate container for outpourings of emotion, tempered (just) by the rules of the game being played in the centre of the bowl. The best national stadiums are steeped in history: they are the backdrops to events that embed the location in a collective consciousness. Events such as the Olympics and the football World Cup provide an opportunity for such moments, but Singapore is still waiting to host a mega-event of its own. For now, Arup Associate’s accomplished new stadium will have to wait.

██ Read full article at iconeye.com

[click to enlarge]

—

Websites seriously worth a look….

█ Arup Associates http://www.arupassociates.com/en/
Our world-leading architects and engineers work together in one studio, collaborating as genuine equals on every project. This fusion of ideas helps us create architecture that challenges conventions, setting new standards that shape the future of buildings. Arup Associates prioritise research as a driver of design. Arup (officially Arup Group Limited) is a multinational professional services firm headquartered in London, UK which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and has over 11,000 staff based in 92 offices across 42 countries.

█ Aecom http://www.aecom.com/
What sets us apart is our collaborative way of working globally and delivering locally. A trusted partner to our clients, we draw together teams of engineers, planners, architects, landscape architects, environmental specialists, economists, scientists, consultants, as well as cost construction, project and program managers dedicated to finding the most innovative and appropriate solutions to create, enhance and sustain the world’s built, natural and social environments. From transportation, energy and water systems to enhancing environments and creating new buildings and communities, our vision remains constant — to make the world a better place. Listed on the Fortune 500 as one of America’s largest companies, Aecom’s employees now serve clients in more than 150 countries around the world.

█ DP Architects http://www.dpa.com.sg/
DP Architects, formed shortly after Singapore’s national independence in 1965, has designed many of the country’s most important public projects. Each of these has played a critical role in shaping Singapore’s civic urban landscape and downtown core, by linking spaces of the city in the formation of a continuous urban fabric. These sites serve as social and cultural anchors for Singapore and as public nodes of human density that have contributed greatly to the city’s success. As a practice evolving contiguously with Singapore as a global city, DPA’s local role is as a practice ingrained with a special understanding of regional progress and needs. DPA applies this regional knowledge – from aspects of climate to social and economic factors that contribute to a city’s long-term health – to its projects throughout Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The firm’s recent architectural works are some of the largest of their type in the world: The Dubai Mall at 550,000 square metres is a ‘city within a city’ hosting programmes of shopping, entertainment and leisure, and was in 2013 the world’s most visited leisure destination with 75 million visitors.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images (from top): Singapore National Stadium via
expatliving.sg | blog.bouygues-construction.com | xcite.fun.net
Sports Hub under construction via tinypic.com
Stadium interior via dragages.com
Stadium photograph via straitstimes.com
Covered concourse detail via cavinteo.blogspot.com
Exterior detail via archdaily.net
Interior trusses via e-architect.co.uk
Interior scanned from Icon 137 Nov 2014 p 071
Map – Kallang Basin, Singapore via newlaunchonline.com

[click to enlarge]

2 Comments

Filed under Architecture, Business, Construction, Design, Economics, Geography, Innovation, Inspiration, Media, Project management, Property, Site, Sport, Stadiums, Town planning, Urban design

Tagged as Aecom, Architecture, Arup Associates, Built environment, Capital development projects, City views, Civic amenities, Collaborations, Construction, Design, Dome, DP Architects, ETFE, Flexible seating, Icon magazine, Kallang Basin, Landscape Architecture, Pitch, Public space, Retractable roof, Running track, Singapore, Singapore National Stadium, Singapore Sports Hub, Sport, Stadiums, Steel construction, Technology, Urban design, Waterfront property

by Elizabeth | December 19, 2014 · 6:34 pm

DCC: Limited Citifleet investigation about insurance

Received from Anonymous
Fri, 19 Dec 2014 at 5:54 p.m.

If the Police can refuse to investigate a formal complaint regarding the actions of the ORFU and a large pokie trust involving millions of dollars by applying the Crown Solicitors investigation guidelines which include the Likelihood of a prosecution and obtaining a conviction, it is now difficult to comprehend how the Police could agree to investigating the Citifleet fraud when the main suspect is dead and there is zero chance of a conviction and with all wider enquiries ruled out. This is all about the DCC doing just enough to satisfy its insurer and the Dunedin Police falling into line – contrived and callous!!!

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

97 Comments

Filed under Business, DCC, Economics, New Zealand, People, Politics, Project management, Property

Tagged as Callous disregard, Contrivance, DCC, Deception, Dunedin, Dunedin City Council, Insurance, Lack of ethics, Police investigation

by Elizabeth | December 19, 2014 · 12:33 pm

Vandervis: Deloitte and Police Citifleet investigations

Received from Lee Vandervis
Fri, 19 Dec 2014 at 11:54 a.m.

Deloitte and Police Citifleet Investigations – information I believe should be public in the public interest.

Message: I have had verbal and email responses from both CEO Bidrose and the Police denying that the scope of the Police investigation had been limited to missing or inappropriately sold DCC vehicles. These responses remain confidential currently because of other content they contain.
The fact remains that the investigating officer Detective Matthew Preece was adamant when he interviewed me on what I understood to be the last week of his investigation that he was not able to pursue my concerns of wider fraud other than missing vehicles, such as allegations regarding DCC contracts, and credit card and other financial spending fraud, because the complaint laid related just to missing vehicles.
Even more concerning was Detective Preece’s assertion to me that ‘all those that had acquired DCC vehicles needed to do, was to say that they understood Mr Bachop had the authority to dispose of them’ for them not to be liable for receiving or criminal prosecution. Detective Preece said that all those he had interviewed who had acquired DCC vehicles had said just that.

My worst fears that the tragic death of Mr Bachop would not be used to fully investigate the wider implications of a DCC staff self-serving culture were confirmed by the very limited scope of the belated Police investigation as relayed to me by Detective Preece. I wrote the following email to CEO Bidrose, Sandy Graham head of Governance, and Detective Mathew Preece that night. No demurring or other response to the email below has been received from Detective Preece.

Regards,
Cr. Vandervis

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 22:57:31 +1300
To: Sue Bidrose [DCC], Sandy Graham [DCC], Matthew Preece [NZ Police]
Conversation: Police Citifleet Investigation
Subject: Police Citifleet Investigation

Dear Sue,

An hour and a half spent with Detective Matthew Preece and another Policeman called Regan has left me with deep concerns regarding the Police Citifleet investigation.
Mr Preece has informed me that the scope of his investigation has been limited by the complaint the DCC has made to the Police, and that this complaint only concerns missing or inappropriately sold DCC vehicles.

Mr Preece says that because Police have not had a complaint from you or the DCC regarding;
– fraudulent Citifleet tender processes,
– fraudulent Citifleet tyre supply contracts,
– fraudulent Citifleet maintenance contracts
– fraudulent use of DCC Citifleet vehicle fuel
– fraudulent DCC accounting of Citifleet credit cards and other payment methods used and Citifleet managerial oversight
– and fraudulent use and conversion of DCC Citifleet vehicles [eg the conversion of a DCC-owned vehicle by Mrs Bachop]

and that consequently none of these fraud areas is being investigated!

Mr Preece did say that if you as CEO were to request that he broaden his investigation to include these other areas and not just the missing cars, that he would broaden his enquiry to include them. He insisted that he would have to have a broadened complaint from you as CEO for this to happen, and implied that a complaint from me as a City Councillor would not be enough to act on.

I have highlighted to Preece and Regan the urgent need to use the Citifleet manager’s tragic death to investigate and prosecute all Citifleet fraud areas, as a failure to do so will result in the loss of an unprecedented opportunity to clean out the culture of entitlement at Citifleet and in other DCC departments.

Can you please with urgency broaden the DCC complaint to include the 6 areas of potential Citifleet fraud listed above, so that Mr Reece can broaden his enquiry to include them.

Can you please also now with urgency, forward to me all instructions to Deloitte regarding the Citifleet investigation as previously requested in my email of 26/10/14 as below.

Is it possible to meet with you at any time tomorrow at your convenience to learn whether you have broadened the DCC Police complaint or not?

Kind regards,
Cr. Lee Vandervis

—

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 18:23:41 +1300
To: Sue Bidrose [DCC], Sandy Graham [DCC]
Conversation: LGOIMA requests
Subject: LGOIMA requests

Hi Sue,
Further to my verbal requests of a week or two ago please forward copies of all original correspondence and or other direction given to Deloittes in regard to their investigation of Citifleet.
I wish to have the original brief stating the terms of reference, the subsequent brief where the investigation needed to be extended, and any other direction written or otherwise given to Deloittes regarding the Citifleet investigation.
I am deeply disturbed by what I have seen in parts of the investigation conclusions appearing without covering page or any details identifying them as parts of the Deloitte findings in non-public parts of the Audit and Risk subcommittee meetings.
I note a severe slowing on responses to my recent LGOIMA requests, and hope this has been a temporary frustration.
Kind regards,
Cr. Lee Vandervis

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

12 Comments

Filed under Business, Citifleet, DCC, Democracy, Economics, Name, New Zealand, People, Politics, Project management, Property

Tagged as Accountability, Accounting practices, Alfa Romeo tyres, Auctions, Brent Bachop, Cars, Cash trade, Citifleet, Citipark, Council staff, Credit cards, DCC, Death, Deloitte, Dunedin, Dunedin City Council, Finance, Finance Department, Fixed Asset Register (FAR), Fleet, Fleet vehicles, Former DCC chief executive, Garaging, Heavies of Dunedin car world, Investigations, Jim Harland, Justice, Mayor Cull, New Zealand, NZ Police, ODT, Otago, Otago Daily Times, Paul Orders, Police investigation, Public relations, Service contracts, SFO, SPIN, The wife, Transparency, Turners, Vehicles, We made our money and RAN, What Paul Orders knew, Whitewash, Who got the fuel card?

by Elizabeth | December 19, 2014 · 2:06 am

DCC Citifleet by email . . . . woops! (another timeline proof)

Received from Lee Vandervis
Thu, 18 Dec at 11:35 p.m.

Message: I have spoken with Michael Allan at Radio NZ tonight. I have also sent him a selection of emails from 2011, which I also sent to Kyle Cameron of Deloitte and to Mathew Preece of the Dunedin Police and which I will now copy to you.

[five threads follow]

I —Info re Brent Bachop

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 23:30:47 +1300
To: Michael Allan [Radio NZ]
Conversation: Info re Brent Bachop
Subject: FW: Info re Brent Bachop

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 18:27:17 +1300
To: Matthew Preece [NZ Police]
Conversation: Info re Brent Bachop
Subject: FW: Info re Brent Bachop

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 14:21:24 +1200
To: Kyle Cameron [Deloitte]
Conversation: Info re Brent Bachop
Subject: FW: Info re Brent Bachop

****

—— Forwarded Message
From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:56:17 +1200
To: Sandy Graham [DCC]
Conversation: Info re Brent Bachop
Subject: Re: Info re Brent Bachop
G’day Sandy,
Thank you for the limited response you have given me to below. I still hope to get 2007, 2008 and 2009 credit card spending details as per those already provided for 2010.
Regarding “spending by Brent Bachop, especially September 2007. I wish to have the details confirmed on a purchase of Falken tyres size 195/65-15 as fitted to an Alfa Romeo.” is it possible that these tyres may have been paid for by some other method that still ended up on the ratepayers’ account? Please advise if I have to discover the registration plate number of the particular Alfa Romeo to get the information on who paid for this set of tyres.
Re purchase of Mazda Bounty vehicle that it is alleged Mr Bachop sold to himself, surely complete information on this type of transaction must be on Council records?
Looking forward,
Lee

On 14/10/11 10:21 PM, “Lee Vandervis” wrote:
Hi Sandy,
Sorry to keep coming back with this, but the info required has been difficult to tease out.
Thank you for 2010 DCC credit card spending list.
I am now looking for 2007 credit card spending by Brent Bachop, especially September 2007. I wish to have the details confirmed on a purchase of Falken tyres size 195/65-15 as fitted to an Alfa Romeo.
Could you also forward 2008 and 2009 credit card spending.
Also of interest is the sales, sale prices and sold-to information on the sales of all Mazda Bounty vehicles, especially one that Mr Bachop allegedly sold to himself.
Sorry I have no dates for this, but the vehicle type, Mazda Bounty should hopefully be enough to establish DCC ownership and subsequent disposal.
Re DCC vehicle disposals, can you confirm which business or businesses the DCC disposes of fleet vehicles through currently, and which businesses have been used in the last 5 years.
In case you are wondering, these info requests are not fishing expeditions but responses to repeated allegations form a number of Dunedin businesses, many focused on Mr Bachop.
I have had no personal dealings with Mr Bachop and do not even know what he looks like.
Kind regards,
Lee
—— End of Forwarded Message

II —Info re Brent Bachop

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 23:29:22 +1300
To: Michael Allan [Radio NZ]
Conversation: Info re Brent Bachop
Subject: FW: Info re Brent Bachop

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 18:27:41 +1300
To: Matthew Preece [NZ Police]
Conversation: Info re Brent Bachop
Subject: FW: Info re Brent Bachop

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 14:15:31 +1200
To: Kyle Cameron [Deloitte]
Conversation: Info re Brent Bachop
Subject: FW: Info re Brent Bachop

****

—— Forwarded Message
From: Sandy Graham [DCC]
Date: Tue, 1 Nov 2011 11:02:33 +1300
To: Lee Vandervis
Subject: RE: Info re Brent Bachop
Dear Lee
Just an update on this.
I should have the purchase card info this afternoon and will flick it onto you.
Sandy

From: Lee Vandervis
Sent: Friday, 14 October 2011 11:21 p.m.
To: Sandy Graham
Subject: Info re Brent Bachop
Hi Sandy,
Sorry to keep coming back with this, but the info required has been difficult to tease out.
Thank you for 2010 DCC credit card spending list.
I am now looking for 2007 credit card spending by Brent Bachop, especially September 2007. I wish to have the details confirmed on a purchase of Falken tyres size 195/65-15 as fitted to an Alfa Romeo.
Could you also forward 2008 and 2009 credit card spending.
Also of interest is the sales, sale prices and sold-to information on the sales of all Mazda Bounty vehicles, especially one that Mr Bachop allegedly sold to himself.
Sorry I have no dates for this, but the vehicle type, Mazda Bounty should hopefully be enough to establish DCC ownership and subsequent disposal.
Re DCC vehicle disposals, can you confirm which business or businesses the DCC disposes of fleet vehicles through currently, and which businesses have been used in the last 5 years.
In case you are wondering, these info requests are not fishing expeditions but responses to repeated allegations form [sic] a number of Dunedin businesses, many focused on Mr Bachop.
I have had no personal dealings with Mr Bachop and do not even know what he looks like.
Kind regards,
Lee
—— End of Forwarded Message

III —Councillor Vandervis question about tyres

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 23:27:51 +1300
To: Michael Allan [Radio NZ]
Conversation: Councillor Vandervis question about tyres
Subject: FW: Councillor Vandervis question about tyres

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 18:28:26 +1300
To: Matthew Preece [NZ Police]
Conversation: Councillor Vandervis question about tyres
Subject: FW: Councillor Vandervis question about tyres

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 14:11:32 +1200
To: Kyle Cameron [Deloitte]
Conversation: Councillor Vandervis question about tyres
Subject: FW: Councillor Vandervis question about tyres

****

—— Forwarded Message
From: Kevin Thompson [DCC]
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 16:55:33 +1200
To: Lee Vandervis
Cc: Brent Bachop [DCC]
Subject: FW: Councillor Vandervis question about tyres
Good afternoon.
At the Finance & Strategy Meeting this afternoon I was incorrect in saying we go out to tender for the supply of tyres — as stated below we work through the GSB to get the best discounted rate — my apologies for putting you wrong on this point.
At the time I was thinking of our tendering process for the mtce and servicing of the vehicles which is going out for tender next year.
If you would like to further discuss this please give me a call.
regards,
Kevin

—–Original Message—–
From: Brent Bachop [DCC]
Sent: Monday, 26 June 2006 4:31 p.m.
To: Kevin Thompson [DCC]
Subject: Councillor Vandervis question about tyres
Kevin
In answer to the queries you had from Councillor Vandervis about the purchase of tyres.
Citifleet spend under $50,000 annually so we are not required to go to tender.
All tyres are purchased locally from Bridgestone NZ (trading as Firestone) through GSB Supply Corp (formally the Government Stores Board) giving us nation wide buying power so we get our tyres and repairs at a heavily discounted rate.
Most large Council’s and the likes of the Police etc use GSB not only for tyres but fuel as well as do we.
We have in the past used other suppliers but none of them could match the service and buying power we get through GSB.
I have looked into using other suppliers as recently as last Friday and after working through this issue with the Expenditure Manager in the Finance department we both came to same conclusion that Firestone is the best option for us at this point in time.
All tyres purchased are done so using our Fleetcard system.
Let me know if you need any more info.
Brent
—— End of Forwarded Message

IV —Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 23:26:31 +1300
To: Michael Allan [Radio NZ]
Conversation: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop
Subject: FW: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 18:29:10 +1300
To: Matthew Preece [NZ Police]
Conversation: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop
Subject: FW: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 22:14:44 +1200
To: Kyle Cameron [Deloitte]
Conversation: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop
Subject: FW: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop

****

—— Forwarded Message
From: Vivienne Harvey [DCC]
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:17:33 +1300
To: Paul Orders [DCC], Lee Vandervis
Subject: RE: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop
Hi Lee
I have checked the diary for 30 November and Paul can fit a meeting in with Turners and yourself at 11.00 am that day or 1.00 pm. Due to the Community Development Committee at 2.00 pm that day and a Maori Participation Working Party meeting at 5.00 pm there is no other time in the afternoon.
Who else do you want in attendance at the meeting?
Thanks
Vivienne

From: Paul Orders
Sent: Friday, 11 November 2011 6:38 a.m.
To: Vivienne Harvey
Subject: Fwd: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop
Can we try to accommodate something on this.
Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:
From: Lee Vandervis
Date: 10 November 2011 11:40:00 AM NZDT
To: Paul Orders [DCC]
Cc: Shane Gall [Turners]
Subject: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop
Dear Paul,
Further to my more general email this morning about building partnerships, Dunedin’s largest car auction business has contacted me regarding on-gong [sic] problems trying to do business with the DCC.
Turner’s Auctions big cheese Mr Kachwalla from Auckland will be in Dunedin on the 30th of this month, and was hoping to organise a brief meeting with you and local Turners management on the afternoon of the 30th to attempt to normalise a Turners/DCC business relationship.
I was hoping to bundle similar issues with other Dunedin business issues with Mr Bachop, but am still awaiting information ex DCC after over a month in order to do this.
Hopefully you will have time on the next Wednesday the 30th to accommodate Turners Management hopes for a meeting.
Kind regards,
Cr. Lee Vandervis

From: Shane Gall [Turners]
Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2011 14:30:03 +1300
To: Lee Vandervis
Subject: FW: Turners
Good Afternoon Lee
Attached below is the response we received from Brent less than one minute after sending the email. After 2 emails & numerous phone calls leaving voice messages I’ve yet to get a response.
Asgar Kachwalla is the national accounts manager, & will be here on the 29th / 30th of this month. So if we could get an appointment to meet with Paul Orders this would be much appreciated.
Kind Regards
Shane Gall

{{RE: Ute}}
—— End of Forwarded Message

Attachment To Shane Gall’s Email

[Bachop] Another staff turn over, they wonder why their clients cant strike a good relationship.
As received (Sep 2011); date, time and recipient detail lost from email chain (recoverable). -Eds

—

That’s great, talk to you soon Peter.
Brent Bachop
Citifleet Team Leader
Dunedin City Council
As received (Sep 2011); date, time and recipient detail lost from email chain (recoverable). -Eds

—

From: Peter Boyle [Turners]
Sent: Thursday, 29 September 2011 3:51 p.m.
To: Brent Bachop
Cc: Shane Gall [Turners]
Subject: RE: Ute

Hi Brent
Jeff has finished up with us as of last week so Shane Gall will be handling this for you. The vehicle has just arrived and once he has given it a look over he will be in touch to discuss your expectations, setting the reserve, etc.
I am the new manager down here and would love to get out and meet you in the near future. Shane will talk to you about setting up a meeting
Kind Regards
Peter Boyle
Branch Manager Otago/Southland

From: Brent Bachop
Sent: Thursday, 29 September 2011 1:37 p.m.
To: Jeff McLean [Turners]
Subject: Ute
Hi Jeff
Ill have a Ford Courier coming out you this afternoon for disposal.
Talk to you soon.
Regards
Brent Bachop
Citifleet Team Leader
Dunedin City Council

—— End of Forwarded Message

V —Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 23:24:12 +1300
To: Michael Allan [Radio NZ]
Conversation: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop
Subject: FW: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 18:30:38 +1300
To: Mathew Preece [NZ Police]
Conversation: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop
Subject: FW: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 22:12:36 +1200
To: Kyle Cameron [Deloitte]
Conversation: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop
Subject: FW: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop

****

—— Forwarded Message
From: Shane Gall [Turners]
Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:57:03 +1300
To: Lee Vandervis
Subject: RE: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop
Thank you Lee

From: Lee Vandervis
Sent: Thursday, 10 November 2011 11:40 a.m.
To: Paul Orders
Cc: Shane Gall [Turners]
Subject: Turners Auctions problems encountered trying to deal with DCC and Brent Bachop
Dear Paul,
Further to my more general email this morning about building partnerships, Dunedin’s largest car auction business has contacted me regarding on-gong [sic] problems trying to do business with the DCC.
Turner’s Auctions big cheese Mr Kachwalla from Auckland will be in Dunedin on the 30th of this month, and was hoping to organise a brief meeting with you and local Turners management on the afternoon of the 30th to attempt to normalise a Turners/DCC business relationship.
I was hoping to bundle similar issues with other Dunedin business issues with Mr Bachop, but am still awaiting information ex DCC after over a month in order to do this.
Hopefully you will have time on the next Wednesday the 30th to accommodate Turners Management hopes for a meeting.
Kind regards,
Cr. Lee Vandervis

From: Shane Gall [Turners]
Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2011 14:30:03 +1300
To: Lee Vandervis
Subject: FW: Turners
Good Afternoon Lee
Attached below is the response we received from Brent less than one minute after sending the email. After 2 emails & numerous phone calls leaving voice messages I’ve yet to get a response.
Asgar Kachwalla is the national accounts manager, & will be here on the 29th / 30th of this month. So if we could get an appointment to meet with Paul Orders this would be much appreciated.
Kind Regards
Shane Gall
—— End of Forwarded Message

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

8 Comments

Filed under Business, DCC, Democracy, Economics, Media, Name, New Zealand, People, Politics, Project management, Property

by Elizabeth | December 18, 2014 · 4:34 pm

DCC: Deloitte report released on Citifleet

██ Deloitte Report – redacted copy (PDF, 3.8 MB)
Project Lewis – Investigation Report

Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Deloitte Report Released

This item was published on 18 Dec 2014

The findings of an independent investigation into a fraud at the Dunedin City Council have been released publicly.

DCC Chief Executive Officer Sue Bidrose says, “The Police have advised their investigation is now at a point where the Deloitte report can be released. We have committed to keeping ratepayers informed and can now make the findings of the report public.”

Deloitte was engaged by the DCC in May to launch an investigation after staff identified what appeared to be a discrepancy in the number of Citifleet vehicles when implementing new financial procedures related to DCC assets. The alleged fraud totals more than $1.5 million and centres on the DCC receiving no proceeds from the sale of 152 vehicles from the DCC’s vehicle fleet. A formal complaint was laid with the Police in August following the Deloitte investigation. The Police were asked to investigate any matters arising from the Deloitte report.

Ms Bidrose says she cannot comment on the Police investigation.

Commenting on the Police investigation, Dunedin Clutha Waitaki Area Commander Inspector Jason Guthrie says, “This is a complex series of offending involving the significant misappropriation of DCC assets. There are a number of aspects to the Police investigation and whilst it is well progressed, it will be subject to a final review in the new year.”

The Deloitte report looks at a range of issues, including the ways the fraud was carried out and internal control failings at the DCC. Some parts of the report have been redacted for privacy reasons.

Ms Bidrose says, “The Deloitte report is clear that a single person committed the fraud in a number of different ways over an extended period of time. The fact this could happen was an indictment on our business processes and we have made considerable efforts to improve and modernise these. This work was already underway and was how the fraud was uncovered. Measures have been, and continue to be, taken to make sure the appropriate level of accountability and oversight is in place in the future across the organisation. We are committed to continuing our programme of work to ensure we have best practice across the board.”

[STOP. Who aided, abetted and benefitted from the deals ???]

Ms Bidrose says the DCC has completed all the employment processes identified in the Deloitte report. These relate to a small number of staff, but she will not be discussing individual employment matters in public. The DCC has received a $1 million insurance payment following the Citifleet fraud. The DCC had $1 million fidelity insurance and insurers QBE have paid out the total amount, in two separate payments.

Mayor of Dunedin Dave Cull says, “The Council has pushed for more transparency and tighter processes, with the clear aim of becoming a best practice public sector organisation. We totally support the work senior management has been carrying out and the changes which have resulted from this scrutiny.”

Ms Bidrose says a wide range of work has been completed to improve and modernise DCC processes, including:
● The introduction of a new Audit and Risk Subcommittee, with an independent Chair.
● All tenders that are awarded through the DCC Tenders Board are published on the DCC website for greater transparency.
● A central contracts register has been put in place.
● The ‘whistleblower’ policy has been updated.
● A review of fleet card processes and the issuing of cards.

Further work in progress includes:
● The appointment of a dedicated Risk and Internal Audit Manager. This position has been advertised.
● A fraud awareness campaign and training for all staff will begin in the new year.
● A risk management framework, which is almost complete.
● The development of new procurement and tendering processes across the DCC.

█ A copy of the redacted report is available at http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/deloittereport

Background
Citifleet is responsible for the management of all DCC vehicles and the operation of an internal courier service. The fleet includes cars, trucks, motorcycles, vans and various trailers, plant and machinery. There are currently 122 vehicles, but the DCC is in the process of reviewing whether all those vehicles are required.

Contact Graham McKerracher, Communications and Marketing Manager on 027 294 6301. DCC Link

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[screenshot]

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

55 Comments

Filed under Business, Citifleet, DCC, Democracy, Economics, Media, Name, New Zealand, People, Politics, Project management, Property, Site

by Elizabeth | December 18, 2014 · 3:49 pm

University of Otago —um Harlene, what you sellin’ now, girl?

Perhaps you shoulda stopped at the ballet boys. Or dropped the watery “Hello”. But if you’re REALLY good, Santa will bring you some kiwi elocution lessons to rid the ‘broad-ness’.

University of Otago Published on Dec 14, 2014

Selwyn Ballet and Vice-Chancellor’s Christmas Greeting
Watch a day in the life of members of the University of Otago’s Selwyn Ballet troupe, followed by a Christmas message from the University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne.

First convened in 1928, the Selwyn Ballet is the second oldest amateur ballet troupe in the world, and certainly the oldest all-male one. It began as a Capping Show performance intended to take-off popular London musicals of the time but by 1937 the ballet had become a tradition of Selwyn College and more of a spoof of classical ballet. The Selwyn Ballet has also performed prior to international rugby matches at the Dunedin stadium.

http://selwyn.ac.nz/discover/heritage-and-traditions

****

All preceded by the University’s Scrooge message at ODT yesterday:

“The university would prefer to take extra time to ensure planning, design, estimates and approvals are carried out to a very high standard.”
–Barry MacKay, Property Services

### ODT Online Wed, 17 Dec 2014
University delays building
By Vaughan Elder
The University of Otago has delayed the start of construction on two of the largest buildings in its more than $600 million building programme.
Construction on both the replacement dental school – previously estimated to cost between $50 million and $100 million – and science precinct redevelopment were scheduled to begin next year, but have now been delayed until early 2016, dependent on completion of designs, and approval by the university council.
Read more

● It was possible the Portobello Aquarium and Commerce Building redevelopment would start next year.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

2 Comments

Filed under Business, Construction, Economics, Media, Name, New Zealand, People, Politics, Project management, Property, Site, University of Otago, What stadium

Tagged as Christmas message, Dunedin, Harlene Hayne, Not your medium, Otago, Selwyn Ballet, Selwyn College, University of Otago, Vice-chancellor, Why.......

by Elizabeth | December 16, 2014 · 11:00 pm

Chief Ombudsman | OIA review

“The effective operation of the OIA is crucial to our system of open and democratic government, and this review will scrutinise how things are currently operating and set out a framework for systemic improvement where deficiencies are identified.” –Beverley Wakem, Chief Ombudsman

### NZ Herald Online 2:11 PM Tuesday Dec 16, 2014
Government offices selected for OIA review
By Isaac Davison – NZ Herald political reporter
The Chief Ombudsman says a major review of the Official Information Act will scrutinise all 27 government ministers’ offices.
Dame Beverley Wakem today began her review of the way the public sector used the OIA, which she first announced in August.
Twelve government agencies have been selected for formal review, based on their size, number of OIA requests, complaints, and other criteria.
A further 63 agencies and all ministers’ offices have been asked to complete a detailed survey. At least one agency cited for good OIA practice would be included in the review.
The Ombudsman’s office would also seek input from past and present public servants, Opposition parties, journalists, academics and others.
Dame Beverley said the goal was to assess the quality and integrity of OIA practice in the public sector and to address any issues that were found.
Read more

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█ For more, enter terms such as *corruption*, *fraud*, *whistleblowers*, *dia*, *department of internal affairs*, *stadium*, *gambling*, *auditor general*, *oag*, *audit nz*, *orfu*, *nzru*, *sfo*, *pokies*, *ttcf*, *racing* or *rugby* in the search box at right.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

12 Comments

Filed under Business, Democracy, Economics, Geography, Media, Name, New Zealand, NZRU, ORFU, People, Politics, Project management, Property, Site, Sport, Stadiums

Tagged as Accountability, Arrests, Beverley Wakem, Bloggers, Cabinet ministers, Cameron Slater, Carolyn Tremain, Central government, Criminality, Curtis Gregorash, Customs Service, David Fisher, Democracy, Dirty politics, ETHICS, FBI, Information, Inquiry, Investigation, John Banks, John Key, John Key PM, Judith Collins, Justice, Kim Dotcom, Legal services, Maurice Williamson, Media, National, National Party, National-led government, New Zealand, New Zealand Herald, Nicky Hager, NZ Government, NZ Herald, NZ Police, Office of the Ombudsmen, Official Information Act, Official Information requests, OIA, OIA requests, Ombudsman, Peter Taylor, Police, Politics, Post-election, Prime Minister John Key, Privacy Act, Privacy Act requests, Public information, Public servants, Public Service, SIS, Speaker of the House, The Standard, Transparency, Violations, Whistleblowers, Withholding information

by Elizabeth | December 16, 2014 · 11:03 am

DCC: Freedom Camping issues

In June, the council asked staff to consult on using the Bayfield Park site to alleviate pressure at Macandrew Bay.

### ODT Online Tue, 16 Dec 2014
Camping trial stopped
By David Loughrey
The Dunedin City Council has stopped a trial of a new freedom camping area in the city in its tracks, concerned instead of sharing the load, it may add to the problem. A full council meeting yesterday debated a staff proposal to consider freedom camping at a car park next to Bayfield Park and Bayfield High School. But ongoing issues at a site at Macandrew Bay helped make seven of the 13 councillors present wary enough of the idea to vote against it.
Read more

█ Report – Council – 15/12/2014 (PDF, 3.1 MB)
Proposed Additional Self-Contained Freedom Camping Trial Site at Bayfield Park

DCC Webmap – Bayfield carpark [click to enlarge]

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From the report:

SUMMARY
Three trial sites for campers in non-self-contained vehicles were approved by the Council as part of a package of policy initiatives in September 2013. Over the 2013/2014 summer season a number of implementation issues arose at the trial sites, and in particular the site at Macandrew Bay.
In June 2014 the Council instructed staff to complete a consultation process on an alternative or additional trial site to alleviate pressure on the Otago Peninsula. Consultation on a potential site at Bayfield Park commenced on 18 October 2014 and was completed on 16 November 2014.
Two written submissions were received by the end of the submission period. Two additional submissions were received three days after the closing of submissions. All four submissions oppose the proposal.

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. That the Council consider whether it wishes to accept the late submissions from Bayfield High School and Bayfield Park Community Sports Trust.
2. That the Council consider the submissions received on the proposed additional nonself-contained freedom camping trial site at Bayfield Park.
3. That the Council support or decline the proposal to add an additional trial site for nonself-contained freedom camping at Bayfield Park for the remainder of the 2014/2015 camping season.

INTRODUCTION
Three trial sites for campers in non-self-contained vehicles were approved by the Council as part of a package of policy initiatives in September 2013. Over the 2013/2014 summer season a number of implementation issues arose, particularly at the Macandrew Bay trial site. In June 2014 the Council resolved to continue with the second year of the trial, and instructed staff to complete a consultation process to identify an alternative or additional trial site to alleviate pressure on the Otago Peninsula. Cont/

BACKGROUND
The two-year trial sites at Macandrew Bay, Ocean View Reserve and Warrington Reserve were determined on the basis of the package of policy, bylaw and implementation initiatives adopted in 2013. The two year trial period represents two summer camping seasons (2013/2014 and 2014/2015). This time-frame was designed to allow research and monitoring (including but not limited to the trial sites) and reporting back to the Council on all the related matters after April 2015. Another significant part of research to be undertaken during this period is the feasibility report into a remote DoC style camping ground.
A number of implementation issues were encountered during the first trial season. These issues were particularly prevalent at Macandrew Bay where it was not uncommon for the site to attract upwards of 15 vehicles in an evening. In June 2014 the Council instructed staff to complete a consultation process to identify an alternative or additional trial site to alleviate pressure on the Otago Peninsula during year two of the trial.
Staff investigated a number of potential locations and determined that Bayfield Park was the most suitable for an additional trial site. During the assessment process consideration was given to matters such as existing infrastructure, distance to residential properties and likely travel routes for campers.
Any additional trial site would be used for the remainder of the 2014/2015 camping season and would then be subject to review as required by the Responsible Camping Policy.

DCC Webmap – Macandrew Bay

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

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Tagged as Bayfield Park, DCC, Dunedin, Dunedin City Council, Freedom camping, Macandrew Bay

by Elizabeth | December 14, 2014 · 6:53 pm

Significant Tree: 23 Church St, Mosgiel

The applicant (LUC-2014-579) wanting to remove a Significant Tree is none other than Mosgiel-Taieri Community Board member Martin Dillon.

His profile at the DCC website:

Significant Tree – 23 Church Street, Mosgiel – LUC-2014-579

Closes: 16/01/2015

Notification of Application for a Resource Consent – Under Section 93(2) of the Resource Management Act 1991.

The Dunedin City Council has received the following application for Resource Consent:

Application description
To remove a tree that is listed in the Dunedin City District Plan under Schedule 25.5 as T068 (English elm).

Related documents
█ LUC-2014-579 Public Notice (PDF, 33.8 KB)
This document is the Public Notice for Resource Consent application LUC-2014-579

█ LUC-2014-579 Submission form (PDF, 92.4 KB)
This document can be used to make a submission regarding Resource Consent application LUC-2014-579

█ LUC-2014-579 Application (PDF, 1.8 MB)
This document is a scanned copy of the application for resource consent LUC-2014-579

Notified resource consent details

Closing date
16/01/2015

Consent number
Significant tree – 23 Church Street, Mosgiel – LUC-2014-579

Name of applicant
M L & M C Dillon [Martin Dillon]

Location of site
23 Church Street, Mosgiel, being that land legally described as Lot 1 Deposited Plan 9558, held in Computer Freehold Register OT412/28

Address for service
M L & M C Dillon, 23 Church Street, Mosgiel 9024.

Online submission form

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Making a submission

IMPORTANT: If you wish to make a submission on this application you may do so by sending a written submission to the consent authority, Dunedin City Council at PO Box 5045, Moray Place, Dunedin, 9058 Attn: City Planning, no later than 5:00 pm on the closing date shown.

The submission must be dated, signed by you, and include the following information:
1. Your name and postal address and phone number/fax number;
2. Details of the application in respect of which you are making the submission including location;
3. Whether you support, oppose, or are neutral towards the application;
4. Your submission, with reasons;
5. The decision you wish the consent authority to make;
6. Whether you wish to be heard in support of your submission.

Please note: If you make your submission by electronic means, a signature is not required.
An acknowledgment of your submission will be sent by post when the submission is accepted as complete. The application may be viewed at the City Planning Enquiries Desk, Customer Service Centre on the Ground Floor, Civic Centre, 50 The Octagon.
A copy of your submission must also be served as soon as reasonably practicable on the applicant at the address for service detailed on the public notices, available above.

DCC Link

█ DCC on Significant Trees

█ Dunedin City District Plan — Schedule 25.3 Significant Trees (PDF, 275.6 KB)

—

Related Post and Comments:
15.5.14 Significant Tree: 28A Heriot Row
22.2.13 DCC: Significant Trees

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

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Tagged as 23 Church Street - Mosgiel, Amenity, Conservation, Cultural heritage, DCC, District Plan, Dunedin, Dunedin City Council, Dunedin City District Plan, Elm tree, Landscape Architecture, Martimn Dillon, Mosgiel, Mosgiel-Taieri Community Board, Notified consent application, Property, Protection, ree removal, Sense of Place, Significant Trees, Signiificant Tree scedule, Trees

by Elizabeth | December 14, 2014 · 3:07 pm

‘Stadium liability’, from the ODT unprintable letters file

Received from Lee Vandervis
Sun, 14 Dec 2014 at 10:42 a.m.

Message: I have been advised by Nick Smith that the ODT Editor will not print my letter as below.
You may well have ideas on what the reasons for rejection may be.
Cheers,
Lee

ODT 10.12.14 Letter to the editor (page 14)

—— Forwarded Message
From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 15:43:28 +1300
To: EditorODT, Nicholas G S Smith [ODT], Dave Cannan [ODT]
Conversation: Stadium liability
Subject: Stadium liability

Dear Editor,
Despite all the evidence, contributors like Bev Diehl still have everything wrong regarding the Stadium.
We do not “have it” – it has us till it is paid for. In the meantime the lenders have it and us by the debt short and curlies.
It is not “an asset” but a rates liability. We are not having major artists, they occasionally have us, as in the estimated $6 million Elton took back overseas for his one-off no-charge use of the Stadium. The mostly empty stadium has other events, mostly rugby, which are heavily subsidised by rates bail-outs and differential, Community Access fund, Event Attraction fund, and millions in interest, staff and maintenance payments. The DCC Stadium Review Committee was stacked with Stadium Management who recently succeeded in again increasing funding for their already wasteful operational spending.
Everything can never “fall into place”, until Stadium operational costs are reduced to the bare minimum required for the rare large events that only the Stadium can host, now that Carisbrook has been levelled.

Cr. Lee Vandervis

—— End of Forwarded Message

—

Perhaps an inkling here, Lee ?

Ch39 News (11.12.14) talks to Phil Somerville about the ODT Opinion page.
We’re told it’s about bringing forth ideas. Different views from different perspectives – but STOP.

What are some of the main recurring topics?

“Often they tend to be on the main news of the day. For a while of course they were on the stadium, try to avoid that now, most views are extremely entrenched. Probably could run something on climate change every week….”
Link to comment

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

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Tagged as Accountability, Attraction Fund, Carisbrook, Carolyn Howard, Community Access fund, Council debt CRISIS, DCC Stadium Review Committee, DCHL, Double accounting, DVL, DVML, Elton John, Empty, Financial performance, fubar stadium, John Hansen, ODT, Open or Demo, Operational costs, Otago Stadium, PROFESSIONAL RUGBY, Ratepayer subsidies, Ratepayers and Residents, Rorts, Sink holes, Stadium blues, Stadium review, Stadium rort, Stadiums, Terry Davies, Transparency

by Elizabeth | December 14, 2014 · 2:14 pm

DIA regulates what? Not white collar crime, not with govt looking on!

This one’s for Sue Ingram, DIA.

Charity expert Michael Gousmett has labelled the failure to pursue the investigation a cop-out. “To brush it under the carpet, [Internal Affairs] is basically abdicating their responsibility,” Gousmett said. “They tend to pick on the low-hanging fruit and you would have to question what the real purpose of the regulator is.”

### NZ Herald Online 5:00 AM Sunday Dec 14, 2014
Glenn charity probe dumped
By Bevan Hurley – chief reporter
Internal Affairs has abandoned an investigation into alleged irregular payments for a thoroughbred racehorse made by Sir Owen Glenn’s charity. After being under investigation for 18 months, the Glenn Family Foundation Charitable Trust charity was voluntarily deregistered on December 1. The charities regulator launched an investigation after emails appeared to show payments from the Glenn Family Foundation to a bloodstock company and Sir Owen’s personal bank account.
The alleged irregular payments surfaced in an email from former trust chief executive Peter McGlashan to Sir Owen, in which he wrote “large international transfer payments you requested be made to Bloodstocks Ltd and to your account in Sydney”. McGlashan’s email stated the payments “are not typical” of a charitable trust and will “no doubt need explaining” when the charity’s accounts were being prepared.
Charities service general manager Lesa Kalapu defended the length of the investigation, and lack of a resolution, saying there had been delays because Sir Owen lived overseas. “Purely because of the scale, and the international aspect to it, there were delays.” She said there was a “fair level of co-operation”.
Sir Owen told the Herald on Sunday negative media coverage had forced him to leave New Zealand.
The Charities Service came under the Department of Internal Affairs in July 2012.
Read more

—

A lot has happened, a lot of investigation files have been deliberately buried.
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has been deficient, dissembling and politically influenced to not pursue prosecution of innumerable persons — recognised pillars of society, professional trustees, lawyers and accountants amongst them — known to be involved in multimillion-dollar white collar crime.
A public disgrace, no less for the successive Ministers concerned.
But don’t worry, no-one is naïve in saying this.

A short reflection, by topics 2012 – 2014 . . . .

31.12.13 Martin Legge: Operation Chestnut [DIA’s PR exercise]
30.12.13 DIA insights: Pokie rorts, money-go-rounds, names
8.12.13 SFO budget slashed, how useful were they ?! #politicalinterference
7.12.13 Corruption in NZ Sport: Where has John Key PM been hiding ???
15.10.13 NZRU, ORFU blasphemies etc
11.10.13 New Zealand: Pokie trusts same everywhere #pokierorts
10.10.13 Whistleblowers’ message heard ??! #OtagoRacingClub #pokierorts
26.8.13 New Zealand rorts and sports —dependence on gambling and white collar crime
1.8.13 Politicians keeping DIA/SFO quiet on ORFU and TTCF #pokierorts
15.7.13 Leave Otago white collar criminals ALONE, and other unfairness
29.6.13 Audit NZ and OAG clean bill of health —Suspicious!
7.6.13 Peter Dunne, undone
28.5.13 Carisbrook: Auditor-General #fails Dunedin residents and ratepayers
31.3.13 DIA and Office of the Auditor General stuff up bigtime #pokierorts
15.3.13 ORFU should be subject to full forensic investigation
21.2.13 DIA, SFO investigation #pokierorts
11.2.13 Recognising whistleblowers
7.2.13 DIA not releasing report #ORFU #NZRU #pokierorts
24.1.13 Pike River, Department of Internal Affairs #skippingthebusiness

30.12.12 Internal Affairs is a whole other planet #whitecollarcrime #DIArorts
18.11.12 Martin Legge: DIA audit criticism #pokierorts #coverup
13.11.12 Martin Legge replies to Sunday Star-Times story #DIA #coverup
11.11.12 Department of Internal Affairs #pokierorts #coverup
26.10.12 Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) – CULPABLE #pokierorts
3.10.12 DScene: Russell Garbutt seeks DIA file to Crown Law #pokierorts
15.9.12 Martin Legge responds to NZ Herald news
27.8.12 DIA’s political cover-up of TTCF and ORFU rorts
22.8.12 Martin Legge releases emails to Dunedin community #ORFU
15.8.12 Keeping ORFU sweet [email]
12.8.12 DIA reshuffle: new investigation teams, money laundering, criticism
28.7.12 Pokie fraud: ODT fails to notice own backyard
25.7.12 Martin Legge backgrounds TTCF (pokie trust) and Portage and Waitakere Licensing Trusts #DIA
24.7.14 Mention in NZ Herald dispatches: TTCF and friends ORFU
15.7.12 Martin Legge responds to media stories on Murray Acklin, TTCF and DIA
● 26.6.12 Department of Internal Affairs, ORFU, Centre of Excellence for Amateur Sport, and TTCF
22.6.12 Connections: ORFU and local harness racing
5.6.12 The Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill
● 4.6.12 Questions: ORFU and the Centre of Excellence for Amateur Sport
27.5.12 Again: Oh, Mr Curragh… [emails]
26.5.12 DIA media release
23.5.12 Latest: Oh, Mr Curragh… [emails]
20.5.12 Update: Oh, Mr Curragh… [emails]
18.5.12 Oh, Mr Curragh… [emails]
2.5.12 Ratepayers pay for ORFU black-tie dinner at stadium
29.4.12 Department of Internal Affairs, the gambling authority
22.4.12 DIA, OAG, TTCF and Otago Rugby swim below the line
23.3.12 ORFU position

● [3.3.10 Yep, Kereyn Smith thinks like ‘stadium boys’ – see more]

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

4 Comments

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Tagged as Accountability, Accountants, Auckland, Blenheim, Bluegrass, Bluegrass Holdings Ltd, Bureaucrats, Business arrangements, Cascade Consulting, Charities, Chief Ombudsman, CORRUPT NEW ZEALAND, Cover-ups, Crime, Department of Internal Affairs, DIA, Gambling Commission, Government departments, Harness racing, Investigation, Investigations, Jokers bars, Lawyers, Manukau, Marlborough, Michael O'Brien, Misuse of funds, New Zealand Rugby Union, NZ Community Trust, NZRU, OAG, Office of the Auditor-General, Operation Chestnut, ORFU, Organised crime, Otago, Otago Rugby Football Union, Pokies, Political influence, Politicians, Politics, Private trusts, PROFESSIONAL RUGBY, Prosecution, Public Service, Racing clubs, Rorts, Rugby, Search warrants, SFO, Southland, Tail-covering, The Trusts Community Foundation, Transparency, TTCF Inc, TTCF Ltd, Wellington, Whistle-blowing, Whistleblowers, White collar crime

by Elizabeth | December 11, 2014 · 10:42 pm

“Dog-day DCC” —life’s a bitch

From the bulging file marked “Transparency”
Received from one of the What if? tribe, one HELL of a story!

Dog Rescue Dunedin (DRD) “has been told it must not speak about the Dunedin City Council without prior approval or it could lose access to condemned dogs at the pound”. Dan Hutchinson from The Star reports on the terms of a memorandum of understanding.

Muzzled | The Star 11.12.14 (page 3)
[click to enlarge]

As sensitive as the situation is at ‘death row’, via the dog pound, DCC Comms is endeavouring to control and curb free speech. What an ugly precedent for those involved in animal welfare. The council has blemishes, perhaps DRD does too, there is every reason to air these publicly. We have to hope DRD has an astute pro bono solicitor available for the cause. May your season be jolly, Dogs – not expired.
Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

14 Comments

Filed under Business, DCC, Democracy, Media, Name, New Zealand, People, Politics

Tagged as Backyard tales, DCC, Dunedin, Dunedin City Council, Fluffy, Legal threats, Local body CRAP, SICK stories, SUE the bastards, Woof

by Elizabeth | December 10, 2014 · 6:07 pm

DCC core business: REAL infrastructure

The council has the power to require property owners to fix retaining walls threatening public property but, in the main, this is an information gathering exercise.

### ODT Online Wed, 10 Dec 2014
City’s retaining walls to be checked
By Debbie Porteous
Stability will be to the fore as the Dunedin City Council casts a critical eye over more than 4000 of the city’s retaining walls.
Over the next six months, contractors will be seen around Dunedin measuring and checking the soundness of about 3000 walls supporting roads or land and property next to a road.
Read more

****

FYI Dunedin 24
Pipeline Renewals

This item was published on 04 Dec 2014

Residents may have noticed CCTV vans in Kaikorai Valley. These are part of a project investigating the condition of earthenware wastewater pipes in the area. These pipes make up about 40% of Dunedin’s wastewater network. Around Kaikorai Valley the pipes were largely constructed in the early 1900s and are fast approaching their use-by dates.
As the pipes age, cracks allow groundwater to infiltrate the system which causes flooding after heavy rain. During storms the pipes already operating at full capacity as a result of groundwater infiltration are then overloaded by stormwater. In the north west corner of South Dunedin this type of flooding occurs when sewerage flows infiltrated with groundwater from Kaikorai meet flows from other parts of the city. Along a flat gradient this results in a bottleneck effect.
As they age, there is also increased risk these pipes will collapse and cause blockages.
To address these issues, the DCC is undertaking the CCTV work to investigate upstream pipes and find those needing replacement. Similar filming work has already been done in Andersons Bay resulting in $5 million of wastewater pipe renewals being completed in 2013/14 and 2014/15.
The results of the Kaikorai Valley filming are so far showing pipes in poor condition. It is expected wastewater pipe renewals in the region of $5–7m will take place in the area over the next three years. Tenders for the work in Kaikorai Valley will be advertised in the New Year.
█ http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/andybaypipes

Contact DCC on 03 477 4000.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

3 Comments

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Tagged as Andersons Bay, Budgets, CCTV, Databases, DCC, Dunedin, Dunedin City Council, Infrastructure services, Kaikorai Valley, Pipe renewals, Renewals, retaining walss, Roads, Wastewater pipes

by Elizabeth | December 8, 2014 · 7:25 am

Santa Parade, Dunedin (7 Dec 2014)

A People Day —images by Elizabeth Kerr
The flavour of the Santa Parade for those who couldn’t make it to George Street on Sunday. Following the eight sets of images (lowres only for website use, sampled from 540 frames) there is a link to last year’s photographs. The only disappointment yesterday was that Santa wore dark glasses….Big Mistake, and failed to pin his hat on securely for gusty conditions, it flew off at the best place to get photos, sigh.

Here be young and old, Mayor Cull, the ‘future generations’ stuck with paying for your amazing +$20 million per annum loss-making stadium, Christmas! If they can pay for it.

Congratulations to parade organiser Mark Laughton and the Dunedin Santa Parade Trust for another highly enjoyable and successful event.

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Set 1

Set 2

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Octagon concert crowd

█ Santa Parade, Dunedin (1 Dec 2013)

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

6 Comments

Filed under Democracy, Design, Events, Fun, Inspiration, New Zealand, People, Pics, What stadium

Tagged as Balloons, Big Kids, Businesses, Cars, Cartoon characters, Charities, Children, Christmas, Colour, Community, Dunedin, Emergency services, Events, Fairytales, Families, Father Christmas, Floats, Free event, George Street, Main Street, Otago Museum, Raindeer, Santa, Santa Parade, Santa's helpers, Santa's sleigh, Schools, Sense of Place, Service clubs, Sponsors, Sports clubs, The Octagon, Tinsel, Trucking firms, Xmas

by Elizabeth | December 5, 2014 · 10:56 pm

FYI Dunedin Dec 2014 —Mayor’s desk

Urban Dictionary on the meanings of fringe

Comment from CONCERNED RATEPAYER:
Have you noticed that very recently Daaave’s hairdo has been altered, see photo in latest FYI, and if so have you wondered if this is anything to do with sensitivity about the “lunatic fringe” ?

FYI Dunedin 24 | December 2014 (PDF, 800.6 KB)
FYI Dunedin – back issues

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Related Posts and Comments:
21.11.14 Stadium Review: Mayor Cull exposed
19.11.14 Forsyth Barr Stadium Review

For more, enter *stadium*, *fubar*, *dvml*, *dvl*, *dcc*, *dchl*, *orfu*, *nzru*, *rugby*, or *davies* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: FYI Dunedin – crazy mixed up Daaave by whatifdunedin text editors

14 Comments

Filed under Business, DCC, DCHL, DCTL, Democracy, DVL, DVML, Economics, Hot air, Name, New Zealand, NZRU, ORFU, People, Pics, Politics, Project management, Property, Site, Sport, Stadiums, STS, What stadium

Tagged as (His) LUNATIC FRINGE, Antistadium, Consolidated council DEBT, Council debt CRISIS, Daaave's new hairstyle, Dave Cull, DCC, Dunedin, Fringe, fubar stadium, Otago Stadium, Ratepayers and Renters, Stadium review, Stadiums, Urban Dictionary

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Monthly Archives: December 2014

DCC gets QLDC talent…. the weft and warp deviously weaves

Small apartments —then !! New York by Gehry #2011nuclear

Port Otago Ltd + Chalmers Properties

Tokyo Skytree Town Projection Mapping 2014

Daaave stole Christmas from #DUD

2Modern Blog | Modern Decor + Architecture + Interiors

Dunedin: Watching the detectives

Our Leaders: if commonalities

Auckland Council: Hark to DCC’s well-tried model of corporate welfare

Singapore National Stadium: No fuss ‘Olympian’ $1 billion plug-in

DCC: Limited Citifleet investigation about insurance

Vandervis: Deloitte and Police Citifleet investigations

DCC Citifleet by email . . . . woops! (another timeline proof)

DCC: Deloitte report released on Citifleet

University of Otago —um Harlene, what you sellin’ now, girl?

Chief Ombudsman | OIA review

DCC: Freedom Camping issues

‘Stadium liability’, from the ODT unprintable letters file

DIA regulates what? Not white collar crime, not with govt looking on!

“Dog-day DCC” —life’s a bitch

DCC core business: REAL infrastructure

Santa Parade, Dunedin (7 Dec 2014)

FYI Dunedin Dec 2014 —Mayor’s desk

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Monthly Archives: December 2014

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