Councillor don’t tell us, we know Dunedin industry and manufacturing is Tops

But Rachel Elder did need to inform Mr Mayor, since it’s he who opines that [singularly ???] “weightless” manufacturing will one day make Dunedin great.
A while back Mr Mayor lauded expansion at Speight’s, Emerson’s and Greggs ….but recently, dreadfully, when interviewed by John Campbell on RNZ Checkpoint, Mr Mayor had trouble remembering these and other multimillion-dollar manufacturing investments in the good people, raw products and knowhow of Dunedin City. As well, he slipped past the convenient fact that the deputy mayor is a director of Scott Technology Ltd, and his old flower Mr McLauchlan, advisor and confidant, is the company’s board chairman.

Notwithstanding, Ms Elder thought it necessary to set herself a free writing project, an op-ed to ‘tell’ Mr Mayor, as well as advertise her paid work skills. Yes, yes, we’re all for free speech and pumping political mileage; however, we are the converted and connected, we know just how great Dunedin manufacturing is and can be —if not for DCC.

It must be said, though, that Mr Mayor’s speech at the Cadbury protest in the Octagon last Saturday was a large complimentary step up from the fatal Checkpoint phone interview.

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“Messaging that it is too expensive to export from Dunedin and that we are too far away from markets and that manufacturing is best not done here does not support the many families and individuals who work in this sector.”
–Rachel (take that Dave Cull) Elder

### ODT Online Wed, 15 Mar 2017
We have skilled workers and can make it all here
By Rachel Elder
OPINION As an employment consultant and someone who advocates for a wide range of jobs in Dunedin, I am keen for Dunedin to be advertised nationwide as a place that is great for manufacturing and production as this will supply jobs to our skilled workers. The fact is Cadbury is owned by a multinational that has caused its demise. Manufacturing can be done here well and efficiently.
Read more

Comment published at ODT Online:

ej kerr Wed, 15/03/2017 – 7:59pm #
As a city councillor Ms Elder should be overtly aware that the Dunedin City Council-owned power distribution company Aurora Energy Ltd does not and cannot offer a safe and secure electricity supply network for businesses, manufacturers and other large power users (this aside from the now obvious inability to offer safe supply to residential users). The mayor and councillors are not listening and not communicating clearly on the state of Aurora’s burnt asset. Thankfully, the Otago Daily Times has filled that void with strong news reporting. At a cost of one billion dollars to repair and upgrade the existing lines and facilities – not counting the cost of new development work required in Central Otago and Lakes District to meet growth and increasing infrastructural demand – there will shortly be a very heavy impost landing on all local businesses via rates increases. Such an unpopular debating topic at the head-in-the-sand Dunedin City Council.

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Truly fine examples of the sort of thing your grandmother and mother will tell you about Dunedin that Mr Mayor can’t:
. . . .

McMeeking Manufacturing, 123 Maclaggan St

Jaytee Baking Cups have been a household name since the 1930s, when the company was founded by a printing engineer James Thomas Williamson, hence the name Jaytee. Since acquiring the company in 1979, McMeeking Manufacturing has been the largest supplier of Baking Cups in New Zealand with exports to Australia and the Pacific Islands. Due to the dramatic increase in bakeries, cafes etc, the range of products – all manufactured in the Dunedin factory – has grown to fulfil customers requirements and follow the latest trends. Read more at https://www.jaytee.co.nz/

. . . .

### ODT Online Wed, 15 Mar 2017
Machine tool smart, versatile
By Simon Hartley
Farra Engineering’s latest $1.3 million machining kit not only has the capacity to work 24/7, but can text its progress to operators day and night. The DMG Mori “multi-pallet (work bench) horizontal machining centre”, supplied by a German-Japanese merged company, has been running for about a fortnight, at Farra Engineering, Dunedin, chief executive John Whitaker said. The DMG Mori could work on castings weighing just a few grams, on pieces weighing up to three tonnes, and castings up to 1.4cu m in size. “Being so productive, we’re going to the marketplace to fill the spare capacity,” Mr Whitaker said.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

*Image: jaytee.co.nz – jaytee baking cups

Audit and Review, Deloitte

U N N E R V I N G ● N E W S

“If Deloitte was caught with one such brazenly egregious case, just what else is there that goes unreported, and undiscovered when it comes to corporate “books”, not only in Brazil but also in the US.”

### zerohedge.com Dec 5, 2016 9:43 PM
Auditor Deloitte Fined A Record $8 Million For Massive Fraud
By Tyler Durden
Remember when auditors were, by their very definition, supposed to be the embodiment of credibility, trustworthiness and moral fibre? The Brazilian arm of Big Four auditing giant, Deloitte, forgot these simple prerequisites and as a result the US auditing watchdog fined the firm a record $8 million for what amounts to massive fraud: falsifying audit reports, altering documents and providing false testimony during an investigation that unearthed what it described as its “most serious” finding of misconduct.
The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, also penalised or barred 12 former partners, including a national practice director, and auditors of the Brazil-based Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Auditores Independentes.
The Deloitte Brazil case is the first time the PCAOB has “charged a member of the Big Four auditing firms with fraud and for failing to co-operate with an investigation” according to the FT [Financial Times]. Worse, unlike banks which resolve similar cases without admitting or denying guilt, in settling, Deloitte Brazil admitted it had violated quality control standards and failed to co-operate with the auditing board’s inspection and subsequent investigation.
“This is the most serious misconduct we’ve uncovered. It’s cover-up after cover-up after cover-up,” Claudius Modesti, director of enforcement at the PCAOB, said. “As an investor you’re expecting that the audit was done properly and sufficiently and that wasn’t the case here.”
Not only was that not the case, but the details read like straight out of a fictional account of third-world crime.
Read more

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd, commonly referred to as Deloitte, is a UK-incorporated multinational professional services firm with operational headquarters in New York City in the United States.
Deloitte is one of the “Big Four” accounting firms and the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of professionals. Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, enterprise risk and financial advisory services with more than 244,400 professionals globally. In FY 2016, the company earned a record $36.8 billion USD in revenues. As of 2016, Deloitte is the 6th-largest privately owned organisation in the United States.

The Big Four:
● PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), largest accounting firm in terms of revenue.
● Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (Deloitte)
● Ernst & Young (E&Y)
● Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG)

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OTAGO RUGBY & RACING ASIDE

Remember the old chestnut…. The connection between TTCF (The Trusts Community Foundation Ltd; formerly, The Trusts Charitable Foundation Inc) —and Deloitte.

“TTCF engaged Deloitte when they desperately needed an ‘independent’ audit so as to put the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and Audit NZ off the scent. Unfortunately, even though Deloitte uncovered approximately $40k per month in mis-spent funds, TTCF ensured that was left out of the report because after all they were paying the Deloitte bill.”

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Related Post and Comments:
2.6.15 Queen’s Birthday honours to rogues #TTCF #ORFU #PokieRorts
11.3.15 DIA —poor job as gambling regulator
2.2.15 Operation Chestnut: DIA, SFO fluffing round the edges #TTCF #ORFU
11.1.15 Southern complainants: IPCA won’t ensure upfront investigation…
14.12.14 DIA regulates what? Not white collar crime, not with govt looking on!
5.8.14 Gambling Commission shuts down racing’s Bluegrass pokie trust
3.2.14 DIA signed up Intralot amid concerns about bribery and corruption
31.12.13 Martin Legge: Operation Chestnut [DIA’s PR exercise]
30.12.13 DIA insights: Pokie rorts, money-go-rounds, names
11.10.13 New Zealand: Pokie trusts same everywhere #pokierorts
10.10.13 Whistleblowers’ message heard ??! #OtagoRacingClub #pokierorts
1.8.13 Politicians keeping DIA/SFO quiet on ORFU and TTCF #pokierorts
31.3.13 DIA and Office of the Auditor General stuff up bigtime #pokierorts
21.2.13 DIA, SFO investigation #pokierorts
11.11.12 Department of Internal Affairs #pokierorts #coverup #TTCF
25.7.12 Martin Legge backgrounds TTCF (pokie trust) and Portage and Waitakere Licensing Trusts #DIA

█ For more, enter the terms *pokies*, *pokie rorts*, *ttcf*, *orfu* or *dia* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

*Image: Deloitte via Wikimedia Commons

Dunedin Venues’ (DVML) clandestine operations for Rugby-Business

2015 Club Rugby: Harbour v University at fubar [orfu.co.nz community]

DVML’s Terry Davies has gone deliberately quiet on all SECRET SANTA help his company gives to Otago Rugby, more evidently so following recent purchase of The Highlanders by local parochials.

Yesterday’s dish-out to ORFU (“charitable status”) is just another *feel good* cover to the multimillion-dollar transgressions charged to Dunedin ratepayers, for PROFESSIONAL RUGBY operations.

MAKING IT WORK
Remember fubar stadium is costing ratepayers over $25 million per annum. The ‘blistering handiwork’ of Mayor Dave Cull and his cronies, Greater Dunedin.
NONsustainable as all HELL.

Otago v Canterbury at fubar stadium 15.8.15 [orfu.co.nz community]

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Dunedin Venues’ September funding gave $267,819.60 to 24 community organisations to hold 53 events.

Dunedin Venues Management Ltd – Media Release
DVML Community Events Funding September Funding Round Allocations
8 December 2015

As part of the Community Access Service Level Agreement with Dunedin City Council, DVML has annual funding of $750,000 to allocate for community events/activities to be held at Forsyth Barr Stadium and the Dunedin Centre. The funding provides financial support to people, community groups and/or organisations that have a charitable status or are a not for profit organisation, to enable community users to utilise the facilities, resources and equipment across the venues.

The September funding applications have now been processed with 53 events/activities by 24 organisations receiving funding. A total of $267,819.60 has been allocated as follows:

Group/Name of Organisation | Funding value

Forsyth Barr Stadium
Athletics Training Squad —$3,700.00
Southern Skating —$14,580.00
●●● ORFU —$19,940.96
Athletics Otago —$3,090.00
Athletics NZ —$18,870.96
Southern United Football —$43,982.88
Sport Otago —$ 10,210.00
NZ Master Games —$15,720.96
Historic Motoring —$4,000.00
SARINZ Trust —$14,730.00
Plunket —$16,110.96
Playcenter —$16,110.96
Natural Health & Wellbeing —$1,450.00
Wishbone Trust —$5,350.00
Kavanagh College —$14,660.96
Dog Rescue Dunedin —$19,530.96
Fibromyalgia Awareness —$ 2,450.00
Malcam Charitable Trust —$14,350.00
Dunedin Bike Blade & Board Development Trust —$5,240.00
Kaikorai Valley College —$2,740.00

Dunedin Centre
NZ Masters Games —$6,000.00
Southern Sinfonia —$5,000.00
Sport Otago —$6,000.00
NZ Choral Federation —$4,000.00

█ The next round of funding for events happening 1 July to 31 December 2016, will open on 1 February and close on 4 March 2016. There are specific criteria which applicants must meet and the application form and policy can be downloaded at http://www.dunedinvenues.co.nz.

Source: http://www.dunedinvenues.co.nz/whats-on/latest-news/dvml-community-events-funding-september-funding-round-allocations/

****

### ODT Online Wed, 9 Dec 2015
Community groups get $267,819
Dunedin Venues Management Ltd has given more than $250,000 to community groups in its September funding round, it was confirmed yesterday. DVML marketing and communications manager Kim Barnes said as part of the community access service level agreement with Dunedin City Council, DVML had $750,000 in annual funding to allocate for community events and activities to be held at Forsyth Barr Stadium and the Dunedin Centre.
Read more

—

Related Posts and Comments:
29.11.15 Lively dialogue with DVML’s Terry Davies —Not ! #LGOIMA #Stadium
1.3.15 DCC: DCHL/DVL/DVML limited half year result | Term borrowings $586.5M
28.2.15 Blonde ‘lawyer’ takes over DVML —expect no change
1.12.14 Stadium Review: LGOIMA request and 2009 Town Hall speeches
21.11.14 Stadium Review: Mayor Cull exposed
19.11.14 Forsyth Barr Stadium Review
8.10.14 Stadium: Liability Cull warns ratepayers could pay more to DVML
6.10.14 Stadium misses —like it would ever happen, Terry
25.9.14 DVML on Otago Rugby and Rod
13.9.14 DVML and ORFU refuse to disclose 2012 Otago Rugby deal
1.8.14 DVML and the “Otago Rugby” deal (sponsorship and payments)

For more, enter the terms *dvml*, *dvl*, *rugby*, *orfu*, *highlanders*, *stadium*, *carisbrook*, *nzru*, *cst*, *pokies*, *aurora* and *high performance sport new zealand* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC Draft Annual Plan 2013/14 – ‘Liability Cull’ and council chasten for election year

“Levels of debt are still high … you cannot say we are in a comfortable position – far from it.” -Orders

### ODT Online Tue, 22 Jan 2013
Tight years ahead for Dunedin
By Chris Morris
A decade of discipline is needed to protect the Dunedin City Council’s fragile finances until debt repayments ease the fiscal squeeze, council chief executive Paul Orders says. The warning came as Mr Orders confirmed the council was set to remain beyond a self-imposed debt ratio limit for at least the next three-year council term. The council’s 2013-14 pre-draft budget – to be considered by councillors later this week – showed the council would begin repaying more debt than it was borrowing for the first time in 10 years.

Mr Orders said the council would still have “little or no” headroom for new spending until 2022.

However, the size of the council’s debt meant it would still be operating beyond its self-imposed limit, which sought to restrict interest as a percentage of total revenue to no more than 8%, until 2016-17, Mr Orders confirmed.
Read more

****

### ODT Online Tue, 22 Jan 2013
Mayor’s rates warning
By Chris Morris
Dunedin city councillors will have to choose between a 2.8% rates rise and extra spending on key priorities – including debt repayment – that will drive up the bill for ratepayers. The choice was presented in the 2013-14 pre-draft annual plan, to be considered by councillors in public for the first time this week. [Chief executive] Paul Orders said the cost-cutting had been achieved in part by reduced staff costs, including not filling all vacancies, absorbing inflation and strictly controlling the council’s capital spending programme.

Overall operational costs had increased by just $500,000 as costs were cut in other areas, while capital spending had been cut in half, from $105 million in 2012-13 to less than $50 million in each of the next three years, Mr Orders said.

Key reports were yet to be made public, including one discussing the financial future of DVML, the stadium and the need for a new events fund. Others would consider options for the Waipori Fund, car park operations in Dunedin and the city’s aquatic facilities, as well as the future of the council’s investment property portfolio.
Read more

****

[On council companies…] The practice of businesses having to borrow to pay dividends is worse than poor.

### ODT Online Tue, 22 Jan 2013
Editorial: Dunedin’s austerity budget
The local government annual plan season is beginning, with councils facing austerity budgets. Some, as in Dunedin or Queenstown Lakes, have gorged on debt, and must face the slow process of digesting it. Others will be aware that communities have had enough of rates increases continually topping annual inflation. The Dunedin City Council, easily Otago’s largest council, has feasted on new projects and on high general costs, and its consolidated debt is peaking beyond the extraordinary figure of $600 million. Although it includes council company debts, it is still an astronomical figure. As projects small and large – like the Toitu Otago Settlers Museum, the Town Hall, the water and sewerage system upgrade and the stadium – came up for discussion, the annual interest costs were often the financial focus.

[ODT blondness…] To make the stadium a success and to compete with other centres, the council might have to seriously consider an events fund. This will again cost ratepayers, but could benefit the city overall.

The long-term accumulation of debt and cumulative interest totals could be sidelined behind an unrealistic optimism, leaving a legacy of commitments to years of whopping rates increases. Fortunately, the folly of this course has been recognised, and vigorous efforts are being made to turn to a sustainable direction.
Read more

—

Related Post:
16.1.13 DCC Draft Annual Plan 2013/14 – Aaron Hawkins on the money

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

9 Reasons the StS is winning…

the ignorant or illinformed hearts and minds of the masses, it seems.

Take for instance the latest uninformed letter to the editor in the ODT this Saturday (20 Dec 2008) by Brian Smith, “Nine Reasons for Dunedin to say ‘No'”. Mr Smith may as well be called Joe Blogs, for Mr Smith represents the woefully uninformed (or worse ignorant) masses who have been fed lies and disinformation for too long now for what he states in his letter he honestly believes to be the truth. Like G W Bush telling us over and over about WMDs in Iraq (which of course wasn’t true and known to be so by British Intelligence before the fact), the StS and it’s cohorts have managed to manipulate the media and the public into believing any rubbish, even if it’s not true.

1. The burden on the Dunedin City Council and the Otago Regional Council ratepayers will cripple this city.

I’ve always stated that this is possibly the only argument that I could not argue against without deep investigation and economic modelling. However he is of course wrong, it will not cripple the city. It may put a strain on budgets etc, but just as those who claim not going ahead will be the death nail of the city, this is pure conjecture.

2. The world recession with job losses and people not spending, is the worst since the great depression.

Apart from being wrong, this argument is very weak. Global economic cycles involve recession and growth. This may be the deepest recession since the depression, for the US and Europe, however for NZ, this recession isn’t as deep as the Asian downturn recently. Unemployment is expected to peak at 7%, that is considerably less then the peak of 1992 at 10.4%. We managed our way out of that economic cycle, and considering treasury and the reserve bank both predict growth of 4.1% by 2011, this is a relatively shallow recession for NZ. Also, people are spending. The rural areas have actually experienced year on year growth in consumer spending, this is something not many analysis’s predicted, but disproves the argument above.

3. Location – such a large building on a reclaimed lake next to the mouth of a waterway next to rising sea levels.

Wrong, flat out wrong. I’ve only lived in Dunedin for the past 11 years, however I can’t remember the last time the Water of Leith flooded the Fonterra cool stores and other business currently located on the site. Has Mr Smith forgotten about the Water of Leith flood protection scheme? It seems that the geotechnical experts know less about the structure of the ground than Mr Smith. It is true that unlike Manhattan (which is built on pure granite) this is reclaimed land, but then if the engineers know how to build a 235m, 50 storey, 1.2m sq ft skyscraper on reclaimed land on Canary Wharf in London, a relatively light weight and small footprint stadium won’t be too much of a problem for them. The risk of rising sea levels from global warming has been debunked in previous posts- end of story.

4. It is too small – the minimum is 35,000 for a category A rugby tests.

Correct it is too small for category A tests. But considering category A rugby tests are The Lions Tours, Rugby World Cup finals and Bledislow cup matches, this should not be of concern. England, South Africa and Australia test matches including Tri-Nations will all be held here in the new stadium. The cost associated with another 5,000 would have meant even I would have opposed the stadium. Considering it is also better to be in a 3/4-full smaller stadium than rattling around a bigger stadium atmosphere wise etc the capacity they have settled on is about right. The very suggestion is that big rugby matches won’t be held here, simply is scare mongering.

5. Roof – I am not convinced the grass will grow.

Again I am pleased that the expertise of Mr Smith is greater than that of the experts who have created the material and the clinical studies carried out by experts in turf management on site. Despite all of the evidence showing that the grass will grow (you know scientific stuff), Mr Smith doesn’t think so, that’s good enough for him. Bloody hell!

6. No Cricket – the University Oval is nice but too small for one-day internationals.

Not sure what Mr Smith means by this. Is the ground physically too small, or the capacity? Considering the University Oval will probably have it’s dimensions increased considerably when the old Art Gallery is finally demolished, the ground is similar in size to many ODI grounds. It’s a purpose built ground unlike Eden Park with a rectangular shape or Lancaster Park again with a Rugby shape. Capacity wise it is far inferior to the likes of the Cake Tin, but then ODIs are held in Queenstown. However this discussion isn’t about the Oval, and the cost consideration to put a roofed stadium that could accommodate Cricket is just one that isn’t even worth mentioning. Not unless that is the good people of Dunedin would stump out close to half a billion dollars – but then Mr Smith doesn’t think the grass will grow anyway.

7. Safety – in a natural disaster (i.e. earthquake) evacuating 29,000 people from a ground close to an Lpg installation and surrounded by large petrol storage tanks.

Oh, hell where do you start with this one. Earthquakes. Seems the expert seismic analysis of Mr Smith is somewhat woeful (yet again), in that Dunedin has a less than 1% chance of a earthquake with “Widespread building and bridge failure, ground cracking and landslips.” This is from the council’s own earthquake assessments. The 1-10% chance of “roof tiles falling, chimneys break, furniture moves” would hardly induce structural damage to the mentioned ‘hazards’.

Seriously it makes you weep that this rubbish is printed let alone discussed in the pubs and workplaces.

8 Public Safety with the potential for a terrorist attack

there is a greater chance the Easter Bunny running amok than this happening. Why didn’t he just say, “potential for the sky to fall” or meteorite or black hole – they’re out there man!

If I wasn’t weeping before, I’m just bloody depressed now. This tripe is published in the paper – people believe this stuff. Now I know how G W Bush managed to invade Iraq, the people really are that bloody stupid.

9 Carisbrook – this year, we celebrated 100 years of Rugby at Carisbrook. It is right up there with the most famous rugby grounds around the world. The Historic Places Trust recognised this and said the ground had a significant part in the history of Dunedin and Otago. International cricket has also been played there over the years. I believe it belongs to the people of Otago and the DCC should take ownership and redevelop Carisbrook with a minimum 35,000 seats. if we walk away from 100 years of history and tradition we have nothing.

Despite what the good people of Dunedin think about Carisbrook, it is not ‘up there’ internationally. I know, I am a sports nut, and in the UK, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, unless you are a pure rugby fan, you have no idea about Carisbrook. Having also lived in Vancouver and other sub rugby nations, I know for a fact that Carisbrook isn’t known at all, funny they don’t even know where Dunedin is. It’s a historical ‘folk hero’ ground in NZ.

But then Anfield in Liverpool and Highbury in London also have considerable history. Anfield built in 1884 was the original home of Everton FC, but jointly used by Liverpool and Everton until Everton left to build their own iconic stadium Goodison Park just across Stanley Park. Despite the Kop (possibly the most famous stand in the world) and the echo’s of “you’ll never walk alone” and 124 years of histroy, Liverpool FC are currently developing plans to build a new stadium in Stanley Park. Highbury, the iconic and more correctly named Arsenal Stadium, designed by the famous Archibald Leitch in 1913 and home to Arsenal FC until recently is considerably more famous than Carisbrook internationally. This too didn’t preclude redevelopment, into that of luxury apartments when Arsenal FC decided to move in the luxurious Emirates Stadium down the road. This despite a $22m pound redevelopment in the 1990s. But then of course possibly up there with Yankee Stadium is Wembley as the most famous sports grounds internationally. The previous Wembley stadium, built in 1922-1923, apart from holding the Football World Cup in 1966 and 1948 Summer Olympics, not to mention countless other massive sporting occasions (like the home of the FA Cup for decades), also hosted iconic cultural events like Live Aid in 1985. But like all good things, this came to an end, and the good people of London are gifted possibly the most wonderful stadium in the world with the New Wembley Stadium. Finally Yankee Stadium RIP, long live the new Yankee Stadium, I have posted on this previously – how cool is Yogi Bera.

These and dozens upon dozens of other cities have all chosen to build on the past rather than preserve sentimentality. These new stadiums don’t denigrate the past, they add to the past and set foundations for the future. To build a 35,000 seater stadium on the site of the present Carisbrook with a roof would have been financial idiocy, without a roof, just madness. The history of Carisbrook can live on, and the traditions of the future set in the new stadium. Historic sentimentality (without an endless source of money) is a folly in the reality of modern sports and entertainment businesses.

Along with others over the last week wrongfully stating that the Caledonian is an international quality stadium, the latest rehash of the old and discredited really needs to be exposed for the twaddle it is.

If you believe that the city can’t afford the stadium fine, but unless you are a materials expert, turf management technician, civil engineering and seismic modelling expert, international security expert, geology, geomorphology and climate change expert, and can state for a fact the above arguments, please kindly preserve your dignity and respect the intelligence of others and shut up – in no uncertain terms.

Mr Smith or Joe Blogs has proven my point regretably. The inaccurate and discredited arguments put forward as valid argument against the stadium have been picked up by the public and they are now running with it. Just as GW Bush was able to hoodwink millions of Americans, the StS and it’s merry band of disharmonious followers have managed to do this city a massive disservice – bugger it, they’ve conned them.

To tell the truth, you people don’t actually deserve this stadium.

The campaign of lies seems to be working…

So the early results of the stadium survey by two university lecturers opposed to the stadium seem to indicate that the relentless campaign of lies and disinformation by the Stop The Stadium is working.

We’ve heard everything from global warming, ridiculous opportunity costs, university creep, terrorism, bullshit claims of singularity of use, you name it, if it was negative against the stadium it was seemingly valid fodder.

So much of this campaign hasn’t been about the future of Dunedin and the direction that this city should be heading (as should really have been the case), but lies and disinformation about anything and everything that isn’t true or relevant about the development.

You know the only people that will prosper out of this development if it is stopped by spineless Councillors will be the land owners and developers to date. The city will loose and the people will miss out on some of the most marvellous sporting and entertainment opportunities presented to NZ over the next few years.

It doesn’t surprise me at all the survey has gone this way, with the letter a day campaign to the newspaper (sometime printed for god only knows) spreading the lies about the stadium. It’s the classic man in the pub syndrome, of course 90% of the bullshit regurgitated by stadium opponents isn’t true, but repeat it enough without correction and any lie can be believe as true (just ask G W Bush how to run such a campaign). Obviously these people have been studying the methods of that mad man, because any reasoned debate has flown out the window. I mean just last week the letter to the editor complaining about so called University Creep and university not paying rates taking over industrial land. Well open your bloody eyes you insanely stupid trout, the university contributes ONE BILLION DOLLARS to the economy of Dunedin, and considering the manufacturing base of Dunedin is relocating or downscaling at the moment, we need to foster the single largest industry in the cities history. All just smoke screen, bullshit lies and disinformation.

The people of Dunedin do not deserve this place some times and this is a classic case of it.

For pities sake Dunedin don’t let the bloody CAVES win, nobody wins if they do – you all loose.

Massive Protest

OK, I’m being facetious. Good on the 600 people for turning out to the protest today, it was such a nice day for it – first sunshine in 10 days.

But to tell the truth I expected a lot more than .5% of the population of Dunedin to turn out. I was under the impression that this was a defining issue for the city of the likes we’ve never seen before. It’s also been in the media and public domain for nearly 2 years – it’s not as if people don’t know about this development.

So on the one hand I’m being completely dismissive of the piddly turnout, and on the other hand I’m massively relieved that not even 1% of the population could be bothered to turn out for the defining issue for Dunedin and Otago for the last 50 and possibly the next 50 years.

Come on folks, I was under the impression that there was a groundswell of massive public distrust. But .5% of the population on the first sunny and mildly warm Saturday in ages, doesn’t concern me at all. I’m glad that they got to protest and I’m glad for the guys there were 600 there. If the next (?) produces anywhere near 2000 people I’d start to think the public were interested.

Well done on the march, I hope it achieved what you wanted, I’m glad it was such a small turnout.

ORC backs Stadium Funding.

In Breaking News (well if you are reading this post on 11 June 2008), the Otago Regional Council (one of the major funding sources for the project) has decided to back the funding proposal.

Economic Impact

As stated there are two broad areas that I wish to comment on with regard to the stadium. Without a doubt the majority of the complaints or concerns surrounding the proposed stadium have been surrounding the economics of the project.

There is no doubt that the critics have issues with ratepayer burden, while others have fears that the council has stretched itself too far, while others have expressed concerns about the possibility of a recession having devastating consequences for the council.

While on the other hand, proponents are understandably bullish and while not exactly painting a picture of the streets paved with economic glory, they are understandably up beat about the prospects for the stadium. These protagonists also see the potential for peripheral development of course having a positive spin off from the development.

Game on, lets go people!!!

With the Dunedin City Council’s decision to go a head with the proposed stadium of Dunedin, there are many issues that are worth investigating. I hope to cover as many of these as possible, and if anyone has issues, I will endeavour where possible to discuss these too. Having said that, I am a supporter of the Stadium, and am not prepared to get into a debate about the merits or otherwise of the stadium in the terms set out by the likes of Syd Aide.

There are still many concerns that many people righty have issue with. Some are concerned about the cost and the impact on the economy of Dunedin. Some are concerned about the environmental impact and yet others (like myself) have concerns about the design and functionality of the project.