From: Richard Healey
Sent: Friday, 11 November 2016 9:04 a.m.
To: Elizabeth Kerr
Subject: Latest ODT article response (also posted to FB)
Uh huh….. “while some functions and responsibilities might change”. Translation: Some of the people who have been fighting to get the hazards on the network fixed will now be reporting directly to the people who have been refusing to fix them.
Overall staff numbers will increase slightly – an accountant, two engineers and an asset management guy have already resigned in the last month. Yes, with an additional $30M dollars to spend you might need a few more people.
Why are you spending that money again? Oh yes, to appease public perception.
When I am told by my ex colleagues that their staff are coming to them in tears and that stress levels are through the roof then I am pretty sure that the guys minds will not be concentrating on keeping safe or keeping their workmates safe.
Remember what the chairman and the mayor were saying two weeks ago? If the allegations that the condition of the network posed a threat to the safety of the people who worked on it or the public then heads would roll.
I asked Deloitte, the terms of reference do not include that question. They ask if there are “other” high risk safety issues on the network. Mayor Cull is on record as saying he is now happy with Delta’s approach to handling the 3000 unsafe poles. An approach completely out of step with every other company in New Zealand.
And about Deloitte, the office managing partner of the Deloite Dunedin office, Stephen Thompson, is on the board of – you guessed it – Delta. Grady Cameron won the Deloitte young executive of the year award in 2014.
All you guys still battling at Delta, look after yourselves and look after each other. Your bosses may have their blinkers superglued in place but you and I know the stress you are under.
So here is my offer, I will take any Council member, or any Delta/Aurora board member on a tour of the network. I will show them at first hand dangers that are present. I will answer any relevant question they have. The offer applies to any Councillor who represents an area covered by the Aurora Network.
[ends]
The Question
DOES THE STATE OF THE AURORA NETWORK POSE AN UNACCEPTABLE RISK TO THE SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORK ON IT AND TO THE WIDER COMMUNITY ?
█ 27.10.16 Detailed map of dangerous poles [Dunedin]
The Otago Daily Times has been leaked a detailed map showing the location of dangerous power poles in Dunedin.
█ 29.10.16 Detailed map of dangerous poles – Central Otago and Queenstown
The Otago Daily Times has been leaked a detailed map showing the location of dangerous power poles in Central Otago and Queenstown.
Note: Aurora’s “aged network” also comprises other assets and facilities requiring replacement, not just power poles.
****
### ODT Online Fri, 11 Nov 2016
Lines staff also facing restructure
By Vaughan Elder
Delta staff already reeling from the power-poles scandal are being hit with the threat of restructuring. This comes as Mayor Dave Cull suggested whistleblower Richard Healey should stop being critical in the media and instead focus on helping the Deloitte investigation into Aurora and Delta. Mr Healey said Delta should put its restructure on hold for a few months while the company rolled out its accelerated plan to replace almost 3000 poles and dealt with three separate investigations. This meant already stressed staff members had the added stress of potentially losing their jobs, which was a “recipe for disaster”. […] Mr Healey had been told almost 70 positions could be affected by the restructuring, which included people losing their job or their roles changing. He was also concerned Deloitte, which was appointed by Dunedin City Holdings Ltd to review Aurora and Delta, was not going to look at whether the state of power poles presented a safety risk to workers and the public. Poles were not mentioned in the review’s terms of reference and after speaking to a Deloitte staff member he got the impression the issue was not part of the review. He would still talk to Deloitte to highlight other safety problems with Aurora’s network but felt the review was flawed. “The primary question is not there.” He would continue to raise his concerns in the media until Mr Cull and others accepted his argument there was a serious safety issue.
Read more
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### ODT Online Fri, 11 Nov 2016
Delta/Aurora board query for DCHL
By David Loughrey
Three councillors are demanding an answer to what one says is the “big flashing light” question about Dunedin and Central Otago’s compromised power pole infrastructure. At the Dunedin City Council’s first meeting since councillors were sworn in last month they will vote on a notice of motion to ask council-owned holding company Dunedin City Holdings Ltd (DCHL) to “urgently advise” whether it still has confidence in the board of Delta and Aurora.
Read more
—
Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
This post is offered in the public interest.
What if? Dunedin... 
“”If they have confidence in the board, which would be an interesting conclusion to reach……”
Well said, Cr Benson-Pope!
“Asked why the motion was necessary when investigations were already under way — DCHL has Deloitte looking into the issue — Cr Benson-Pope said the community wanted an answer.
“If they have confidence in the board, which would be an interesting conclusion to reach, then you would have to ask why we’ve got the shambles we’ve got, and if they don’t, then clearly there are going to be some consequences.
“This will help focus everyone’s mind, I’m sure.”
And well reported, David Loughrey. It’s a relief to see the ODT exiting cringe mode re DCC-Council-Delta.
Cr BP is an opportunist of the worst kind. Don’t speak too soon ?
I don’t care. Every time ANYONE brings a topic into public view where it needs to be for examination in bright daylight, I’m delighted.
Watch this space.
[my memory remains intact]
Cr Lee Vandervis is strangely silent. What gives.
Steve Thompson head of Deloitte also a director of Delta.
Well naturally you would employ an accounting company that would have such a clear conflict of interest.
After all, Cull just wants the noise to die down. He is unconcerned about the problems of poor management in any area as is seen by his attitude to litigating past issues. He is also suggesting that Richard Healey keeps quiet and assists the Deloitte enquiry. Richard Healey I imagine would be delighted to assist a genuine inquiry tasked with finding and solving the problems! The reality is Deloitte will want a white wash and Richard Healey wants a solution.
As the Goons said
Shut Up Richard, just Shut Up.
How is it even possible for the person investigating the situation to be on the Board of the company under investigation?
If this is true, it is a clear and unmanageable conflict of interest.
This surely cannot be the case?
I notice no-one at DCHL is in a rush to explain the separations required to ensure there is no conflict of interest possible where Deloitte (the reviewers) and Steve Thompson (his day job is Deloitte), Director for Aurora/Delta, are concerned.
Then too, a review, a re-structure, is not an independent forensic audit.
If anyone thinks that there aren’t huge efforts behind the scenes to paper over the cracks then they are on another planet. Those efforts will be being made by the Board of Delta/Aurora, the Board of DCHL and the DCC and will also involve Cameron. The fact that Cull continues to make statements in public and presumably in private, that this mess is just an alleged shortcoming and that the work is being financed to fix a “perception” should tell us a lot. As we have seen the DCHL inquiry is hopelessly compromised by its scope and conflicts. My pick is that until this particular inquiry is completed and nothing untoward is found then strenuous efforts will continue to generate spin.
Re Vandervis: Letting other people hang themselves by their own tongues?
Fri, 11 Nov 2016
ODTtv: Delta and problem poles
New revelations from leaked documents show that Delta was warned six years ago about the exact scenario unfolding now involving rotting power poles, but failed to act.
ODT journalist Vaughan Elder has been reporting on this issue and shares his insights, and the panelists talk about what it could mean for the people of Dunedin.
While people in the industry want compliance with Safety standards, and accountability from the Aurora/Delta boards and the chief executive…. the Paying Public want Safety, Efficiency and Economy in the region’s electricity network.
That means no lines charges and rates to be siphoned off from their application to running and enhancing Aurora/Delta’s core business – that is, No More Open Cheque Book or Goods and Services in Kind to fricking Professional Rugby, Higher Performance Sport and the multimillion-dollar loss making Stadium that is costing us over $20M per year.
It should also mean full curtailment of Delta’s multimillion-dollar Loser Investments in joint venture subdivisions – with Open admission in the High Court that the Delta Directors and Chief Executive are parties to Constructive Fraud and other unlawful activities….).
The chance for Dunedin City Council to take overall control of Noble Yaldhurst and thereby make a killing on the subdivision was lost by the absolute lack of proper diligence and doubtful adherence to Mr Crombie’s highly suspect advice and behaviour prior to and during the Council meeting on 1 August this year. The accountability requirement on the mayor and councillors exceeds all bounds.
Disastrous Mayor Cull thoroughly deserves a vote of no confidence in his ‘leadership’ and administration. He was Never Ever a safe vote for Dunedin’s future.
Lee Vandervis was interviewed on Otago Access Radio by Neale McMillan (Pulse of Politics) the other day. Topics included are: the stadium, DCC infrastructure and Aurora-Delta. Podcast is here. Have a listen. The Pulse of Politics program is weekly and covers local politics with some depth and thoughtfulness not seen in the ODT.
Thanks for link JimmyJones. I rarely listen to radio at all, especially not local radio. My wish to do so ended with detest of the likes of Neil Collins and Damian Newell.
Elizabeth, the good thing about Otago Access Radio is that you don’t have to listen to the radio because all the audio is available via pod-casts. On windows I use Juice (pod-catcher). Here is the feed for Pulse of Politics: http://www.accessradio.org/media/?p=1244075313-586-13%26f=feed.rss
Thanks, much more palatable.
Elizabeth said: Cr BP is an opportunist of the worst kind. I agree with this – the purpose of this Notice of Motion is purely self promotion from Benson-Pope and his co-conspirators, Crs Wilson and Hawkins. It also achieves nothing useful: all it does is request the opinion of DCHL. This political opportunism seems to conflict with the DCC’s communication plan which asks us to believe that the problem with the rotting poles is a perception problem (which they believe can be fixed with a good dose of spin-doctoring). Benson-Pope’s Notice of Motion is written with the assumption that there is a real problem. This indicates a lack of coordination with the Comms team. If Benson-Pope, Wilson and Hawkins genuinely wanted to help, they would insist that the investigations into the problem are completely independent from DCHL, DCC, Aurora etc.
Motivation schmotivation – what they *achieved* with their Notice of Motion was more visibility of the issue.
When a pot’s coming to the boil let’s not be picky about who throws another twig on the camp fire.
C’mon Benson-Pope, Wilson and Hawkins, get off yer bums and scout down the paddock. In India dry cowpats are fuel you know. There’s an abundance of bullshit, now pick it up and bring it back so the cauldron can stay at a good rolling boil until the geese are cooked.
ODT deputy editor Craig Page (via Channel 39) says there’s more Delta and Aurora stories in the newspaper tomorrow:
ODT have got hold of a report that shows 60 high or extreme public safety incidents occurred in the city in the last year….”Real worries there!” They’ve also looked at the state of networks in other parts of the country.
From Douglas Field
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 at 8:44 p.m.
Where are the Cats when they are wanted!