ODT 9.12.16 (page 20)
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Wed, 7 Dec 2016
ODT: Delta, Aurora report for release by Monday
A report on under-fire Dunedin City Council-owned companies Delta and Aurora is expected to be made public by Monday. Mayor Dave Cull said he hoped the report could be released before that day, following a non-public council discussion on the issue that lasted well over an hour yesterday. Dunedin City Holdings Ltd director Keith Cooper faced a grilling from councillors when he gave them a “progress report” on an investigation by consultant Deloitte into the companies. Cont/
Sat, 3 Dec 2016
ODT: Report discussion behind closed doors
Discussion of a Deloitte report on troubled council-owned companies Aurora and Delta on Tuesday will be behind closed doors, and it is uncertain when they will make it into the public arena. Mayor Dave Cull said the report was not finished yet, despite predictions of an early December completion date. It will be discussed by the Dunedin City Council on Tuesday in a non-public session. Mr Cull said the Dunedin City Holdings Ltd board got a progress report on the investigation yesterday. The board would pass on that report at the council meeting on Tuesday. The agenda for the meeting noted discussion of the report would be in a non-public section of the meeting as “the withholding of the information is necessary to protect information where the making available of the information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information”. As well, the withholding of the information was necessary to enable the council to “carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities”. Cont/
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
This post is offered in the public interest.
What if? Dunedin... 
G L A D L Y ● R E C E I V E D
——– Original message ——–
From: John Evans
Date: 6/12/16 1:42 PM
To: Elizabeth Kerr
Subject: Fwd: Time for a change!
The ODT don’t like my opinion!
Regards
Je
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From: John Evans
Date: Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Subject: Time for a change!
To: editor @odt.co.nz
Opinion Piece
Time for new methods!
For a number of decades, perhaps even one hundred years the period of the bureaucrat and the accountant have dominated the business landscape, particularly in Dunedin and New Zealand.
Is it perhaps the reason for the continuous commercial stagnation even degradation of Dunedin?
The function of a bureaucrat is to say no. If the bureaucrat says yes, then by definition he has no job. It is clearly in his own interest to say no.
The function of an accountant is to count the winnings and earnings of various enterprises. The time of the accountant’s pre-eminent position in society came about due to the introduction of personal taxation just prior to World War 1. The requirement to fund the war effort required significant advancement in taxation methods and in order to ensure compliance, correct accounts for companies and persons, required accountants’ exact preparation.
Some accountants have risen above this statutory and perhaps this drudgery and become entrepreneurs in their own right. In Dunedin we have had the likes of Reid Jackson, Ian Farrant at Fulton Hogan, and Allen Lowe and John Gilks who created the very successful Motor Trade Finance. Gilks went on to add enormous value to the Otago Harbour Board.
However, in general, accountants remain just that, bean counters. In corporate directorship positions unless they have that rare entrepreneurial flair they become the corporate equivalent of a bureaucrat. A person who says no rather than yes to entrepreneurial activities. It may be that they are there for just that reason to stifle any such activity, particularly in a public entity.
It is therefore very disappointing to note that Aurora/Delta and DCHL have accountants on their boards and yet the controls one would expect from them have proven inept and extremely disappointing.
For Dunedin to grow there are two decisions that need to be made.
The city requires less bureaucracy and more in-depth localised knowledge.
To manage the assets of Dunedin, the first requirement is engineers, in the case of mudtank cleaning and stormwater management, drainage engineers are required. In the case of sewage treatment, sewage engineers are needed. In the case of Delta, electrical engineers are an absolute necessity. The requirement for bureaucrats has long gone, the requirement to fix Dunedin’s waste water and sewage disposal requires precipitate action, not red tape designed to delay and obfuscate.
The citizens of Dunedin are very aware that the reasons for various errors of judgement by the DCC, Aurora/Delta and DCHL cannot be explained away by the lame excuses provided by the various overpaid spin doctors. The citizenry would find it very refreshing to hear the Mayor, Councillors, Directors and CEOs admit their mistakes, take a reduction in salary until they could again prove themselves reliable and get on with the job of managing the city.
One of the great opportunities for “New Zealand’s greatest little city” is to lead the way in terms of asset management, prudent entrepreneurial management, and lack of obfuscation and excuses.
It is clear from the theft of cars, the non cleaning of mudtanks, the unsuitability of potable water ex Tahuna treatment station, the excuses that climate change caused the South Dunedin floods, the disgraceful backlog of the replacement of power poles by Delta, and the huge losses of capital incurred at Jacks Point, Luggate and Yaldhurst, that urgent change in the mode and style of management of Dunedin and its assets is not only overdue, but that the changes need to be dramatic, immediate and well thought out.
There are a number of extremely successful entrepreneurs in Dunedin, most of them have very few staff and are frugal in their expenditure. There are a number of active and retired engineers with great experience in the management of water, sewage and electrical assets.
It is high time the management of these citizen assets is taken away from the bureaucrats and the accountants. They have had over 100 years to demonstrate their abilities and have been found wanting. A new approach is a dire necessity.
John P. Evans
Otakou
Good article John.
However the huge losses at Jacks Point, Luggate and Yaldhurst may not have been bad management decisions.
At Yaldhurst for example, Delta refused to turn over $16 million of agreements for first mortgages into first ranking first mortgages to add to their $5 million second mortgage and their 67.5% purchase of Gold Band’s $8.4 million first mortgage. Delta should have had over $26 million in first mortgages and therefore owned the Yaldhurst subdivision in a genuine mortgagee sale.
Instead Delta wrote off about $13.5 million and accepted transferring just $13 million of many more owed as a second mortgage to the new company set up to pass the property to.
Were these “bad decisions” or calculated ones to rip off ratepayers and other private parties to profit their mates?
Either way Observer, their ilk needs the chop!
I love Jim Moffat’s Bullswool ad, better be a nomination for ad of the year!
However it is a great shame that the job of the ODT has to be taken over by citizens paying to expose the rats, thieves, and incompetents.
The Stadium was promoted and managed by a failed Dentist. That has turned out to be the biggest ‘cock up since Pearl Harbour’. So it is difficult to put all the blame on accountants and bureaucrats. Still, they come next as John Evans’ opinion piece says. I agree it is time that the old “Tartan Mafia” was sent away to graze elsewhere. Bureaucrats, I’m not sure how you deal with them, perhaps round them up like Hitler did and burn them. Could do it in batches at the Stadium. Could be a good revenue earner.
Hard labour for the rest of their days is less contentious for the Cause.
News is the Deloitte report will now be released on Monday after the council meeting.
Fri, 9 Dec 2016
ODT: Aerial inspection of lines
Delta, in conjunction with Helicopters Otago, is conducting a close-quarters survey of the 33kV distribution power lines throughout coastal and Central Otago, including Berwick to Port Chalmers, and Millers Flat to Queenstown and Wanaka. […] Brian Mathiesen (CRCT), from TransNet New Zealand, said the work was to ensure security of the three circuits, by preventing outages. Cont/
That helicopter was flying so low we could clearly see the algorythm & blues.
Laughably perhaps.
Included for discussion in Non Public at the full council meeting on Monday 12 December, commencing at 1pm:
● C1 Director Appointments/Reappointments Group Companies
● C2 Director Remuneration – Dunedin City Holdings Limited Group Companies
● C3 Aurora/Delta Review
What an interesting agenda sequence…guess this indicates the ‘findings’ of Deloitte’s review….everyone has been doing a sterling job….raises all round.
The Delta poles are as everybody knows a victim of the Foobar cash extraction exercise. To this may be added the wider activities that occur under DVML, the leech-like recipient of the subvention payments. The University Oval being just the latest little piggy that has attached itself to that particularly well-sheltered tit, after its squeals for large amounts of cash via the inconveniently public direct annual application process to the DCC went ignored for a variety of very good fiscal and political reasons.
DVML costs. Its most recent extravaganza being the concrete road in the Foobar. We heard a lot about this ‘world first feat’ via McPravda in the lead up to this drifting event, including comments from the leader of the apparently non-existent company that was DVML’s correspondent in this pioneering investment.
The event happened, but things seemed strangely quiet in McPravda thereafter. I have seen no screaming ‘Stadium Triumph!’ headlines – have you? A search of the McPravda website under the terms “stadium, drifting” brings up the following article:
https://www.odt.co.nz/sport/motorsport/armstrong-thrilled-get-opening-win
Buried deep within this article is the following comment that tells us how many attended:
“About 7000 attended the event over two days, which pleased organisers.”
This tells us two things. Firstly, the attendance was less than that necessary to fill the main stand to a third of its capacity on both days, and secondly that this was at least what the organisers expected, and possibly more.
This gate seems insufficient to pay for this temporary road on its own. So this brings up the the interesting question as to who did (or will) pay for it. The one-man-band-out-of-an-Auckland shed outfit that seems to be associated with the administration of this sport seems an unlikely source of the scale of cash necessary to install and remove it, let alone the other considerable expenses that this event must have incurred.
This seems to leave DVML as the source of funds. If they were (will be), and now find themselves short (as usual), then there seems to be absolutely no excuse for it, if the attendance was ‘pleasing’.
It might be an interesting exercise to calculate the eventual cost of this event and its temporary road to this community in terms of power poles – or permanent road improvements on a similar scale – or lives, if the number of poles/scale of improvements that have been foregone is considerable.
Good points hamlinb.
Suggest a LGOIMA request to Terry Davies at DVML, via DCC.
Where does all the concrete go?
For a council so dedicated to sustainability this seems a strange event for them to enable. Gravel and cement, both problematic in source, production and transportation. Concrete, normally as single-use as the loudly deplored supermarket plastic bags. Plenty of jobs created, short term ones but at least a baby step towards Dave’s 10,000. Smashing it with sledge hammers and big cold chisels, loading it into wheelbarrows – I don’t think so. Offering it at modest price to citizens with trailers who need hard fill?
For an event involving – Prius, all-electric cars? Woodfired Stanley Steamers?
An event that’s so hugely popular that not to have provided it from the public purse would have seriously downgraded quality of life of umpteen thousands – yes, that’s the reason!
Just for the record hamlinb = Rob Hamlin on a different device
What about that other failed DVML event that has gone unnoticed. That was to take place in the Town Hall on Melbourne Cup Day ? Canceled because not enough tickets sold for the event. DVML had to stand the loss of the pre booking of the out of town MC, plus cancelation of all the arrangements for the entertainment, including the food and booze. Funny we haven’t heard a dickie bird about this failure and its associate costs. But we aways seem to hear about the inflated millions of dollars that come to town for other events.
Wingatui Flyer. It will eventually show in a convoluted manner in the DVML Annual report. Trust me, it will be taken into account like the concrete in the Stadium for one crazy event. It will be covered by subvention payments, or a new share registering by the DCC or somehow, but it will. Just like everything before was. It of course will be debt to someone or something.
I see what you mean, Greta Good: First – our idiot DCC councillors re-appoint the same idiot DCHL directors including DVL, Aurora, Delta etc, then they all decide to give them a pay rize, then they approve the fake Deloitte Aurora/Delta report which will show us that the DCC staff and councillors and the DCHL governance are in no way responsible for the cash extraction process (as described by Rob, above) and the consequent gross underfunding of pole and equipment replacements.
The decisions to re-employ the directors or not and to grant them the traditional pay rise should be very newsworthy. Our councillors will be seen as fools if they keep the non-performing directors, but if they give some directors the boot, then our councillors could be seen as trying to shift the blame away from themselves. All of them share the blame, but the ones most responsible are our DCC staff, Mayor Cull and the DCC councillors. The staff, mayor and councillors will make sure that who-ever gets the blame, it won’t be them.
Mon, 12 Dec 2016
ODT: Aurora and Delta report out today
A report on the beleaguered Dunedin City Council-owned companies Delta and Aurora will be released publicly today. Its release will follow a non-public debate and questioning of the report writer, consultant Deloitte, and council holding company Dunedin City Holdings Ltd, at a full council meeting. Cont/
Sick and yellow-bellied as per.
People working around those poles & associated rundown gear are placed in real physical danger of dying, like Roger Steel.
Members of the public are in real danger from live wires suddenly at ground level, and big heavy poled falling on them.
But public discussion is barred because of the earth-shattering danger posed to people held responsible – naming could lead to shaming. As if they shouldn’t already be ashamed, either of decisions that directly caused this situation or even to a lesser extend (because in positions of less power) of not refusing to work along with this erosion of safety. Not everyone can afford to refuse, it’s a hard call when one is responsible for the family & mortgage package, and I understand that many tried notifying and alerting the higher-ups to what needed to be done – but those aren’t the people you’re so keen to protect, are they Dave. You know we – the public – would see through attempts to place blame on people who didn’t have the power to make the right decisions.
Mr Cull
The dangerous condition of the power supply affects HOW MANY INDIVIDUALS IN DUNEDIN AND CENTRAL OTAGO.
Huh ??????
There’s no secrecy about Roger Steel, responsibility for whose death was placed squarely – where? On sensitive blossoms who cannot stand the chill wind of performance evaluation – nor the heat in the kitchen. And you know what they say about those who can’t stand the heat.
Press conference under way at Edinburgh Room and non public in council chamber as Mr Crombie and Deloitte’s Kyle Cameron (in visual sightline) take any(?) heat from Councillors.
The Deloitte report is being released to What if? at 3pm.
Pre-informed. There is a new Chair of Delta….
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Update is running late, might be 4pm.
Crs have announced a half hour teabreak followed by a press briefing.
Do you think they will let What if ask questions at the briefing?
Not media so not at briefing. Have since talked with people who were there – who included Richard Healey…. they effectively can’t deliver a Safe Network. Despite the changes. Richard will be making comments anon.
Mayor and Councillors have collectively signed off a report that cannot deliver on the ‘suggested’ content.
Another resignation at Delta on Friday that is yet another impediment to pole replacement.
As Richard Healey forewarned some time ago, the number of poles to ‘fall in condition’ (my words)…. within the next 12 months means the replacement of dangerous poles stabbed at in the Deloitte report doesn’t even touch the sides.
Having read the Deloitte report I have a suggestion: rename the stadium The Roger Steel Stadium….he paid for it after all.
I’ve also read the report. Whatiffers will be pleased to know that Grady had it all under control at all times. He had planned greater expenditure, explored the splitting of the companies and the board had noted all of Richard’s concerns. There’s nothing to worry about folks.
Except that 820 dangerous poles had not been redtagged.
Aurora’s business is on a downward trend on turnover and profit despite a huge requisite increase in Central Otago business mainly funded by the poor suckers needing the electricity.
We are going to get a new CEO at either Delta or Aurora at $530,000 pa (it’s an equal job to Grady and one cannot expect him to have a reduction after the smarts to introduce all of the aspects of the Deloitte report prior to them reporting.)
Steve Thompson ex Deloitte the report writer has had a bump up of director’s fees for listening to Grady and his overpaid execs.
Jeezes, and so well written and constructed too, to ease the worries of ratepayers.