Cr Lee Vandervis: Why I continue to vote. #email

Received.

From: Lee Vandervis
Sent: ‎Monday‎, ‎4‎ ‎May‎ ‎2015 ‎3‎:‎59‎ ‎p.m.
To: Chris Morris, Elizabeth Kerr, Andrew Noone, Andrew Whiley, Chris Staynes, Doug Hall, Hilary Calvert, John Bezett, Jinty MacTavish, Kate Wilson, Lee Vandervis, Mayor Cull, Mike Lord, Neville Peat, Richard Thomson, David Benson-Pope, Aaron Hawkins, Sue Bidrose, Sandy Graham, News [Ch39]
Subject: Why I continue to vote.

Dear Mr Morris,

Mayor Cull’s ambushed change to the Council Code of Conduct resolution item claims that my apology on which my responsibility for being able to vote apparently hangs “is to be judged by the CEO or her delegate.”

Standing Orders J4.2 clearly says that Council may take Code of Conduct action against a member by means of a three-fourths majority of those present, and the action taken was to demand a genuine apology which I have provided.
I can only genuinely apologise as far as the evidence I am allowed to see permits.
Standing Orders does not empower a CEO’s delegate to rule on the appropriateness of my apology which ruling has the effect of denying my responsibility to vote on behalf of the thousands of Dunedin people that voted for me. That is for Councillors to decide and they have not been given that opportunity.
My legal advice is that there is no legal basis for the Code of Conduct censure being delegated to the DCC chief accountant.
Councillors must vote for such a Code of Conduct action and I believe that Mayor Cull knows he does not have the Councillor numbers to vote for such an action.

Consequently I will continue to vote as before, and it is up to staff whether my votes are properly recorded.
All of this is on the back of a constantly corrupted Code of Conduct process where I have not been allowed to see the evidential statements made against me from Councillors or from CEO Bidrose, and have therefore been unable to defend myself against those evidential statements.
I have obtained consistent legal advice from two different sources in addition to ex-lawyer Cr. Calvert’s opinion printed in the ODT, and these sources do not want the DCC to know who they are as they believe that may prejudice their opportunities for other work in Dunedin. I do not intend to sue Mayor Cull or Council at this stage as I am still hopeful of getting the Deloitte’s information that would be pivotal in any Citifleet fraud cases brought.
I am still not permitted to see the Deloitte Citifleet fraud investigation evidence which would allow me to establish whether Police have in fact, recently investigated appropriately or not.
Time will tell who has been misleading who regarding the Citifleet frauds issue of substance.

Regards,
Cr. Vandervis

█ For more, enter the terms *vandervis*, *cull*, *bidrose*, *citifleet* or *deloitte* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Hmmmmmm #DCC

Received from TQoFE
Mon, 4 May 2015 at 2:49 p.m.

█ Message: Sorry Dr Bidrose, but that Big Question still remains to be answered…

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Cr Vandervis unlikely to quit several missions #coverup #naturaljustice

From ‘City’ colleague with an eye for the law, Wikipedia definition
Fri, 1 May 2015 at 11:00 a.m.

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### ODT Online Fri, 1 May 2015
Apology lacking; voting rights go
By Chris Morris
Dunedin city councillor Lee Vandervis has been stripped of his voting rights after failing to apologise before a 24-hour deadline. […] In a statement last night, council group chief financial officer Grant McKenzie said Cr Vandervis was suspended from all council committees from today until July 1.
Read more

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[Cr Hilary Calvert] questioned the council’s right to delegate to council staff any final judgement on whether Cr Vandervis’ apology was appropriate, arguing that was a call for councillors to make.

“The process was open and fair, and, as far as I’m concerned, completely in accordance with proper meeting procedure. I question the motivation in quibbling about it now.” –Mayor Dave Cull

### ODT Online Fri, 1 May 2015
Mayor dismisses legality questions
By Chris Morris
Mayor Dave Cull has a one-word response to questions about the legality of stripping Cr Lee Vandervis of voting rights: “Whatever.” Mr Cull’s abrupt response came in an email to Cr Hilary Calvert yesterday, as she questioned whether the council had followed proper process when considering its punishment of Cr Vandervis.
Read more

█ For more, enter the terms *vandervis*, *cull*, *bidrose*, *citifleet* or *deloitte* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: Cover-up image by whatifdunedin with acknowledgement to Wikipedia

Burn Robbie Burn!

Received from TQoFE
Thu, 30 Apr 2015 at 12.40 p.m.

Calvin Oaten
Submitted on 2015/04/30 at 9:38 am

That guy sitting on his pedestal in the upper Octagon (you know, him wearing all that seagull crap) must be quietly wondering what is going on in this Edinburgh of the south.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

The ol’ BP Gag treatment revisited….

Received from TQoFE
Wed, 29 Apr 2015 at 1:24 p.m.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Stadium #TotalFail

### ODT Online Fri, 14 Nov 2014
Opinion: Your say
Learning from stadium-related mistakes
By Rob Hamlin
One of the few good things about making mistakes is that you can learn from them, and avoid making the same kind of mistake again.
It is pretty clear that the FB Stadium has been a mistake on the part of the Councillors that voted for it. It has not come close to delivering the economic or social benefits that were predicted by its backers at the time. The figure arrived at in an earlier response to the above article [ODT Online] of $22 million loss per year, appears to be about right for this facility’s current annual cost to the community once all the cross-subsidies and clever fiscal two steps have been eliminated. On the social front, unlike the Moana Pool and Edgar Centre facilities that it is often compared with, the Stadium lies empty 95%+ of the time. Both these failures might just be forgiven if it was an attractive structure – but the Taj Mahal it ain’t.
Read more

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Another oft-cited council asset…….

Moana Pool | Swimming New Zealand

### ODT Online Sat, 15 Nov 2014
Party to mark long success of sporting and social hub
By Chris Morris
Moana Pool’s golden jubilee is to be marked with a splash, and Mayor Dave Cull is confident the facility has plenty of life still left in it. The 50th anniversary of the pool’s opening on November 14, 1964, was celebrated yesterday with the unveiling of a photographic exhibition of the pool’s early days.
Read more

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The ‘convenient’ shonky comparison lives on…….

### ODT Online Sat, 15 Nov 2014
Moana Pool paid off, despite price
By Chris Morris
Forsyth Barr Stadium is not the first controversial building to capture headlines in Dunedin. Fifty years ago, a decade of debate, disagreement and concerns about the cost preceded the opening of Moana Pool.
Read more

█ For more, enter *stadium*, *dvml*, *review*, *terry davies*, *directors* or *rugby* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC pedalling to…… #hell

Received from Jeff Dickie
Sat, 7 Jun 2014 at 3:41 pm

You could be forgiven for thinking Cull, Bidrose, the Finance Committee, and the majority of compliant councillors don’t have a vision for Dunedin’s future. That to believe that, not hearing bad news, smiling and riding a bike, will make the financial mire we are now in go away. That to continue to spend huge amounts on yet more foolish projects will somehow fix things. That to embrace a culture of no accountability will magically preclude the idiots who have cocked up so many DCC things in the recent past, doing EXACTLY the same thing again.

Just look at how many of the idiots who have foisted this debt and the numerous foolish failed projects are still on council. These people do have a vision, and here it is!

Hopefully the cycle trail will lead there.

Jeff Dickie
Woodhaugh

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An opinion piece from 28.9.12, written by Calvin Oaten, continues to have currency.

The End of The Golden Weather?
Are we coming to the end of the ‘Golden Weather’? I say this, not in the meteorological sense, but rather in the sense that perhaps our society and its economic construct might be on the verge of a catastrophic change. Why? Well it seems that many signposts are pointing to an approaching collapse of the present model of the economy as constructed. This requires constant growth in order to sustain an ever increasing social budget.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image supplied.

Public Service and Integrity —Sunday Morning, RNZ National

Updated Post 7.4.13

Radio New Zealand National
Sunday Morning with Chris Laidlaw
Listen on 101 FM or online at radionz.co.nz
Link to Twitter page from their website: http://www.radionz.co.nz/sunday

7 April 2013
8:43 Suzanne Snively – Public Service and Integrity
The New Zealand public sector has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the least corrupt in the world. Suzanne Snively, from anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International NZ, talks to Chris about the 100th anniversary of this country’s Public Service Act – its importance to our democracy and how it affects the lives of all New Zealanders. (16′33″)
Audio | Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3 | Embed

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Related Post:
16.6.11 “Dunedin” – we introduce Transparency International UK

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

ODT Online: ‘Gone, deleted, it never happened, Councillor’

All is safe, RT. We know nothing!

Elizabeth @ What if? Dunedin
Submitted on 2013/02/10 at 12:39 pm | In reply to Hype O’Thermia.

This one sent to http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/opinion/244913/do-maths-stadium-costs hasn’t aired, thrown into the ghost bucket, I guess:

Public accountability, arithmetic
Submitted by ej kerr on Sat, 09/02/2013 – 6:49pm

There’s reason to be grateful to members of the public quickly leaping on superficialities put out by the councillor, as ‘spokesman’ for the DCC on the loss making stadium.

The city council in its wisdom formed a series of shells to ‘see through’ the stadium project; these have resulted in a lack of transparency in governance, a resounding loss of accountability, and multiple opportunities for potential misrepresentation to citizens and ratepayers.

The cumulative bid to foster acceptance in the community for ‘intergenerational debt’ being loaded on citizen ratepayers – as if ‘sustainable’, as if ‘logical’, for future fortunes to be made and shared – was/is a highly immoral behaviour that council politicians are ultimately responsible for.

At the Milton Hilton rests a flag-waver to a board’s lack of diligence and knowledge of its own accounting systems. We don’t need another flag waver, councillor…. not in apology to the city council’s callous disregard for financial prudence.

UPDATE 11.2.13
No longer at the Milton Hilton, the crim-flagwaver has been moved to a 4-bedroom house in “the grounds” of another HM’s establishment near Christchurch.

Related Posts and Comments:
6.2.13 Editorial bias
29.1.13 Pecuniary interest: Crs Wilson and Thomson in events fund debate

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Pecuniary interest: Crs Wilson and Thomson in events fund debate

UPDATED 30.1.13

Where is DVML’s report to DCC ? Go to ODT 30.1.13

### ODT Online Tue, 29 Jan 2013
Call for new stadium events fund backed
By Chris Morris
Dunedin city councillors support a new $400,000 annual fighting fund to lure more major concerts, and the millions of dollars of extra spending that comes with them, to Dunedin.
Cr Lee Vandervis questioned whether stadium events delivered additional economic benefits or largely moved money around within Dunedin. [DVML chief executive] Darren Burden disputed the latter, citing an economic impact report on Sir Elton John’s stadium concert, estimated to have contributed $14 million to the city’s economy. The exact figure could be disputed, but with half the 35,000-strong crowd for the show coming into Dunedin from elsewhere, returns for the city were ”in that sort of ballpark”, he said.

Crs Kate Wilson and Richard Thomson agreed, saying their businesses had recorded substantial increases in turnover at the time of Sir Elton’s concert, and other businesses would, too, in future.
Go to ODT 30.1.13

Cr Syd Brown hoped the ”modest” extra investment would allow the stadium, and the city, to ”punch above our weight”. Other councillors also supported the move, including deputy mayor Chris Staynes, who said even if the economic impact of shows like Sir Elton’s was only half what was claimed, it was still ”a pretty good investment”.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

University meetings

Comment received.

ormk
Submitted on 2012/05/13 at 8:28 pm

BTW…for anyone University with influence who is listening…there have been several small meetings scheduled at the stadium. Can this please be stopped? A lot of people simply cannot attend them on a matter of principal. It is therefore divisive to schedule any University event at this venue. There are places in the University where events can be scheduled for everyone.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin Heritage Fund grants

The Dunedin Heritage Fund is jointly administered by Dunedin City Council and New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

The Dunedin Heritage Fund, with its own deed of constitution, is a separate legal entity to the Dunedin City Council. At no time should the Council claim the Fund as its own.

Previous representatives – in recent times – of the Council and the NZHPT standing on the Dunedin Heritage Fund Committee have made very sure to assert these separations during discussion of applications from the community, and when allocating funds by loan or grant to projects in the community.

Disclaimer. A former Chair of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust Otago Branch, Elizabeth Kerr was a NZHPT representative on the Dunedin Heritage Fund Committee (2000 – 2008).

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Dunedin City Council
Media Release

7 December 2010

Dunedin Heritage Fund Allocated

The September 2010 Dunedin Heritage Fund grants round has been completed. These grants enable the Dunedin City Council to recognise the importance of the city’s heritage to its future.

Grants and loans have been allocated to six groups and organisations for projects including repairs to dry stone walls, conservation plans and restorations of various structural elements.

The recipients were:

Springfield – $18,000
Cargill’s Castle – $11,400
Dunedin Gasworks Museum Trust – $20,000
Corstorphine House – $20,000
Dunedin Prison Charitable Trust – $20,000
1075 George Street – $5,000

TOTAL $94,400

The next funding round closes at 5.00pm on Friday 25 March 2011 and application forms are available from DCC Customer Services Centres.

In another heritage initiative, the DCC’s recent free workshop for heritage building owners, attracted more than 65 people and feedback has so far indicated that attendees found it very useful.

The DCC’s Policy Planner (Heritage), Glen Hazelton, says, “Based on the extremely positive response we had to this first workshop, we will look at running more. We will discuss with those who attended which aspects of the workshop they found most useful and structure the next one accordingly.”

Contact DCC on 477 4000.
DCC page link

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Post by Elizabeth Kerr