Cr Whiley clarifies at ODT #letters

ODT LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS SOAPBOX

[click to enlarge]

ODT 18.8.16 (page 10)

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ODT 27.7.16 (page 12)

Related Post and Comments:
28.7.16 Truthful Letters : Stadium + DCC #toobadaboutmayoralreply

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Election Year. This post is offered in the public interest.

*Images: whatifdunedin

Curtains for Dunedin City Council ? *gulp —October elections [grey area]

Received. [spoof or sting] . . . . . w o r r i e d
Thu, 2 Jun 2016 at 8:20 a.m.

[all-comic.com]

Urgente: Annoucemente’

The first June meeting will be held on the first of June, the first.

Minutes: Of the last meeting.

“Cull de Mare”

OK Good Idea!

Agenda: Item 22, Delete Item 21- Agreed unanimously or unani(kleinefieldmausly) as you would.

The Question:

Is there a wait for Meals on Wheels?

No not only is there no weight, but also no taste, no colour, no nutrition and no hope of any for 15 years and lets hope no right of renewal!

Question Der:

Postulate: In a letter received Tuesday last, a Miz Dr, Prof. Mc El Hone suggested that the main reason for de sea level rise is now steam.

Steam is gumming up the atmosphere and so the cold weather we have been receiving lately is now unable to get away causing bloody cold weather now described as “Global Cooling”.

Dr Professor Earl, Count and Pons Hagfish, the owner of a large number of scenic hotels in de districk and manager of a number in serious question in de Pacific has written and questions the Comite’ thus: My business is suffering, all of my marketing and advertising has been geared towards the concept of Dunedin and the Peninsula as the new Sunny Gold Coast. Sunny because of the “Global Warming” mantra and Gold coast because the expected sea level rise would take the shoreline to Clyde, the Shotover river and Bendigo abandoned goldfields!

Now your Comite’ is debunking the sea level rise as a giant furphy and that the climate is actually so cold as to suggest “Global Cooling” I am now forced to market Dunedin, as in the past, a place where refrigerators are not required, a meat safe will do!

This is a huge capital saving for Scenery hotels, as we do not have to place a minibar in each room and if we leave out the window glass the meat never defrosts! Wines are cold and at room temperature of -20 degrees, no ice machine is necessary.

There are some problems however.

Patrons are found frozen stiff in the hallway and in the foyer. Ice skates are necessary for trips to the car park. Chains are necessary on delivery trucks and cabs to and from the airport. The planes have skis and the pilots wear balaclavas.

In order to improve this I have a very important and well considered plan to eliminate “global cooling”.

M’sieur Rollande de Gurgelars, VC and Public bar, International medaille D’ore, Croix de G.U.R and house bar stands with open hands and speaks.

M’sieur de Hag-fish, your commente’ is much desired, your wisdom and more importantly your desire for a quid are legionarre’s disease throughout Aotearoa.

Please sally forth and unburden yourself.

Hag-Fish replies, Le Comte, Sally was the fifth, not the fourth, but not to worry, I will commence from the finish.

We the Secenery Circle propose that a law be imposed, firstly on all households in the greater Dunedin area including Kate Wilson’s fiefdom and Cr Noone’s rurality, Cr. Hall’s trucks and Mayor Cull’s uncleaned mudtanks, to ban, eradicate, censure, drop off the perch and if necessary obliterate and immolate all items which could be roughly described as Kettles.

Kettles will include any item capable of boiling water to steam, whether working operational or not! This includes but is not limited to Railway Steam Engines, Pots, Pans, Kettles, Hot Water cylinders, Zips, Teesmade, Coffee machines, Lawrence Yule and headmasters.

Headmasters?

Oui, they are always letting off steam, particularly the dean of Kings High.

In this way, we believe that the absence of steam will enable the cold air around Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland to escape and we can get back to comfortable “Global Warming” and Dunedin can be the Riviera of the southern hemisphere again, just like it was in February. Our marketing campaign featuring bikini clad sealions, brown skinned natives, (cabbage) Palm trees, Coconuts etc. will again be relevant and we can turn on the air conditioning at Forsyth Banned to ensure noone dies of heatstroke!

Is Cr. Noone dying of heatstroke?

No not now, that is the problem we are trying to rectify!

Le Comte, rises, thanks Earl Hag-Fish and whispers into his Iphone to Craig’s Investment partners ….

Sell Briscoes! Sell Coffee Club, Sell Starbucks.

Pam Demonia reigns.

The Curtain comes down.

[ends]

—

Related Posts and Comments:
18.5.16 Measuring sea level at Dunedin #DUD
1.5.16 Hospital food according to Gurglars
25.2.16 CELEBRATE !!! Greater Dunedin has DIED #boombustcycle
11.1.16 Un hôtel. Dunedin.
5.6.15 WEATHER is not climate change; this is not the 100-year flood

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Election Year —this post is offered in the public interest.

[clockhousetheatre.com]

█ In a spot . . . . .

Super Dave #DUD #CityRiseUp

Received.
Sun, 6 Sep 2015 at 3:32 p.m.
[click to enlarge]

█ Download: Super Dave (PDF, 106 KB)

—

‘Super Dave’ was written in response to this news item:

### ODT Online Tue, 1 Sep 2015
Group out to protect City Rise
By Damian George
One of Dunedin’s biggest heritage areas is under threat from increasing development of high density student flats, a new lobby group says.
About 60 people from around the area have banded together to form City Rise Up, a group tasked with “maintaining the character” of central Dunedin and stunting what it says is a major demographic shift.
Read more

There has been no meeting of signatories since the statement was published:

### ODT Online Tue, 12 May 2015
Joint effort to tackle Dunedin’s drinking
By Eileen Goodwin
A joint statement signed by 10 organisations signals a new approach to addressing the binge-drinking culture in parts of the city, Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull says. Entitled “Dunedin North Issues”, the statement released yesterday says “pressing action” is required to keep young people safe, curb excesses of alcohol-fuelled behaviour, and protect the livelihoods of Dunedin businesses and tertiary education institutions.
Read more

—

Related Posts and Comments:
● 31.8.15 Legal bloody highs | DCC’s pathetic buffer zones….
● 18.8.15 Dunedin authorities blame SUNSHINE #tui
15.7.15 Business owner forcibly removed from Dunedin Central police station
26.6.15 University of Otago flyover #partyville
24.6.15 DCC Residents’ Opinion Survey (ROS)
30.5.15 ‘Captive market for addiction maybe or scapegoats?’ asks Otago student
26.5.15 Student involvement in Dunedin drinking culture
17.5.15 Social media messages after Sunday TVNZ (10 May)
12.5.15 View Street, seen from Moray Place
11.5.15 Don’t for Chrissakes play down effects of liquor barons #DUD
11.5.15 Aftermath of Sunday TVNZ on ‘Party Central’
● 8.5.15 Sunday TVNZ #Dunedin —10 May TV1 at 7:00 pm
2.4.15 University rolls down, Harlene not the only problem….
28.3.15 University of Otago landscaping
22.3.15 University of Otago: More national and global publicity #HydeStreet
18.2.15 University of Otago: Toga Party 2015 #video
16.2.15 University of Otago can’t beat broadcast news and social media #image
● 11.11.14 Dunedin’s draft local alcohol policy (Lap) —submissions….
8.5.14 Student Proof Carpet – New Zealand #video
15.2.14 University of Otago: Starter questions for Harlene

█ For more, enter the terms *university*, *harlene*, *alcohol*, *publicity*, *hyde*, *party*, *octagon mud*, *student*, or *blaikie* in the search box at right.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image posted to Twitter by @MartinShovel 6 Jan 2015 – coiffure added by whatifdunedin

John Oliver on Eminem vs National #LastWeekTonight

█ Watch at YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e25YmpQiEEY

Last Week Tonight at Facebook

****

### tvnz.co.nz Published: 7:34AM Tuesday September 23, 2014
US show mocks NZ over accent and National’s Eminem stoush
Source: ONE News
A British comedian has taken aim at an issue the National Party faced during its political campaign. In a clip posted on YouTube, John Oliver, who hosts the US show The Last Week Tonight, says New Zealand has re-elected Prime Minister John Key on Saturday, “despite a turbulent campaign with a major scandal that engulfed him earlier this week”. He then plays a ONE News clip, in which Wendy Petrie says: “Rap superstar Eminem’s become the latest to take pot shots at our Government.”
Read more

—

—

Related Posts and Comments:
23.9.14 What if? swayed by celebrity, loveliness —and dirty politics
21.9.14 Stuff: Roughly one million didn’t turn out #derision14
20.9.14 Election Night
19.9.14 Chief Ombudsman Beverley Wakem to launch post-election inquiry
17.9.14 John Key PM —real or fake? and one email.
● 16.9.14 Eminem sues National Party
15.9.14 The Moment of Truth

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Eminem sues National Party

### NZ Herald Online 4:17 PM Tuesday Sep 16, 2014
National Party sued over Eminem copyright infringement
By Kurt Bayer, APNZ reporter – Christchurch
US rapper Eminem is suing the National Party for allegedly breaching copyright by using his song Lose Yourself in its campaign advertisements. The Detroit-based publishers of Eminem’s copyrights have filed proceedings in the High Court at Wellington today. Eight Mile Style, LLC and Martin Affiliated, LLC are seeking damages for copyright infringement against the New Zealand National Party. The proceedings stem from allegations that unauthorised use has been made of Eminem’s Grammy and Academy Award winning song Lose Yourself in election campaign advertising run by the National Party in the lead up to the general election.
Read more

Lawyers for Eminem also sued Apple over a licensing issue relating to Lose Yourself in 2009.

InterscopeEminem Uploaded Oct 21, 2011

Eminem – Lose Yourself (Official Music Video)
https://www.facebook.com/interscopeeminem

—

Related Posts and Comments:
15.9.14 The Moment of Truth
2.9.14 John Key PM, plus and minus

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Mangawhai, Kaipara: Latest news + Winston Peter’s speech

Received.
Tue, 9 Sep 2014 at 8:53 a.m.

A SERIOUSLY GOOD READ from the MRRA Executive (Mangawhai Residents and Ratepayers Association Inc). The newsletter follows their public meeting at Mangawhai Gym on Sunday, 7 September 2014, to which New Zealand First’s Winston Peters gave an address.

Dunedin residents and ratepayers take heed.

—

[begins]

Another remarkable turnout in Mangawhai
This is the staunchest, toughest, fairest community in New Zealand. The solidarity you have exhibited in the face of vilification, lies, corruption, deceit, bullying and state-funded spin puts the Mangawhai people into a category that verges on martyrdom. And Sunday was proof if proof was needed that nobody is about to give up on the quest for justice.
Yesterday, 200 MRRA members and numerous members of the public turned out to hear some of the candidates for election this month talk about their policies. The MRRA had extended an invitation specifically asking the candidates to speak on local government, and what they would do in office to prevent a recurrence of what happened in Kaipara. Several parties didn’t show up, possibly because they did not have an answer to that question, and those parties that voted for the Validation Act that effectively stymied our application to the Court have to be assumed to be in favour of council law-breaking and mis-treatment of ratepayers, because they keep on rewarding it by passing retrospective legislation.

Most of those who sold us out didn’t show up
The Green candidate, David Clendon, defended the Green party’s stance by saying that if the Act hadn’t been passed the cost to the ratepayers would have been even greater. He may have believed that at the time, and that is one thing. To believe it still, after everything that has happened, demonstrates that the “Fairer Society” the Greens espouse is just another slogan to be taken with a grain of salt. However, David Clendon did have the courage to show up and take the lumps. The same cannot be said of National and Labour, the other two parties who sold us all down the river in 2013.

Can they be Trusted?
The Conservative Party’s Northland candidate promised to come to the meeting, then she phoned to say she wasn’t coming, but that Colin Craig (party leader) was coming instead. Then, on the morning of the meeting, we got a text saying he wasn’t coming either. Could people who behave like that be relied upon if they got into government? Did John Key tell him that he wouldn’t get a clear run at East Coast Bays if he fraternised with us? Where do the dirty tricks begin and end?

Those who did show up
The start-up local party led by Ken Rintoul (Focus New Zealand) sent a strong delegation along, and participated energetically in proceedings. ACT’s number 3 man, Robin Grieve likewise.

And those who answered the question posed
Only one candidate really responded to our call for information about their party’s local government policies. That was New Zealand First, represented by their leader Winston Peters. His full speech is reprinted below for those who were not present but are keen to hear what he said. In summary, he catalogued the litany of crime and wrong-doing that led to the Kaipara debacle, stated that central government had, through its persistent failure to heed the warnings, effectively (and possibly knowingly) let the whole catastrophe happen under its nose, and that it needed to make reparations.

Clive Boonham moved to tears!
A week previously, the National candidate convened his own meeting in the same venue and mustered about a third of our audience. His audience included a coterie of diehard supporters, at least one of them probably being paid by ratepayers to attend. At that meeting the candidate made the announcement that he had been in Bruce Rogan’s house and Bruce Rogan had said “Mike, if you will go after the auditor general I will hug you!”. I did once attend a meeting with Mike Sabin, at Helen Curreen’s house. When Mike made a characteristically motormouth claim that he was prepared to leave no Fairy tern unstoned in pursuit of the Auditor General, I think I responded that I would embrace any move to bring the culprits in this saga to justice. Mike is clearly in need of affection to have turned that response into an offer of man love. Why he assumed the Curreens’ place belonged to the Rogans is anyone’s guess, but perhaps he thought it didn’t much matter, because once the Validation Bill was passed all the houses would end up being owned by the banks anyway!
But the point of that little anecdote is that sometimes politicians’ speeches generate emotional responses in the audience. When Winston Peters finished speaking, the normally undemonstrative Clive Boonham rose to his feet (an event of greater significance in Clive’s case than for the ordinary citizen, owing to the distance involved in the rising), and said that the speech had brought tears to his eyes. That probably reflected the sentiment of quite a few others in the room – to hear, most of them for the first time, confirmation that we were not the villains in this piece, and to hear it from someone who just might be in a position to do something about it after the election, is very moving.

Two to Tango?
As he left the meeting Winston made it clear, with that famous disarming smile on his face, that he would study the returns from the Mangawhai polling booth very closely, and his commitment to go into bat for us would be directly linked to how hard we went to bat for him!! Sounds like a fair deal, perhaps? Rest assured that if we get shafted again in the Courts we are certainly going to need someone in the political system to be batting for us. Seriously though, SOMEBODY has to go into bat on behalf of the country’s ratepayers, and very soon.

GST on Rates
NZ First said GST should come off rates because rates are a tax and it is wrong to tax taxes. Focus NZ said that the GST on rates should not go to central government but should be used in the district in which it was collected. ACT said that under a government in which it was a part rates would not rise by more than the inflation rate, which would require regulation, which ACT said it was going to remove.
Most of the proceedings were videoed, and a sound recording was made of all the speeches and the exchanges afterwards.

Our Appeal of the High Court judgment
Clive Boonham addressed the meeting with a very clear explanation of the case at the Court of Appeal. He was concerned that it might have been a bit dry after all the hurly burly that went before. Nobody in the room thought that was the case at all.

Our case has three prongs:
● The true legal effect of the Validation Act
● The true legal meaning of the Protected Transaction Provisions of the LGA
● The breach of the Bill of Rights by the Commissioners in bringing their vindictive and vicious Bill to the House while our case was before the High Court.

The Rates Strike and the Bully Boys
The questions were asked “What should we do about withholding rates?”, and “What do we do if we are threatened with legal action?”
You are safe for now.
Nothing further can be added to your rates bill until the 20th November. If you are still not paying rates, hang on until we get some properly considered advice out to you about that, in good time for you to make a decision before any further penalties are applied.
If you are being sued and if you need help, we will help you.
If you are threatened with legal action and you would like help, get in touch with us. We believe that the council will have to climb some very steep hills to successfully sue any Kaipara ratepayer for non-payment of rates, and when the time comes we intend to be ready to provide a vigorous defence to anyone who is sued by this council.

Contest for YOU!
Lastly, on a lighter note, Tom Parsons made the observation that these commissioners call themselves the council, when they are not a council and are in reality nothing remotely like a council. Think of a more appropriate name for them and email it to mrra @ vodafone.co.nz We will publish the (printable!) results, and award a prize (Bennett’s chocolate fish) for the best entry.

Winston Peters’ Speech
Winston Peters spoke at the Meet the Candidates’ Meeting at the Mangawhai Gym today (Sunday the 7th of September 2014):

Posted at 3:07pm Sunday 07 Sep, 2014

There needs to be a corrective history of how this sorry saga came about.

• About 14 years ago the Beca group became head consultant for the Mangawhai sewerage project, it evaluated tenders, and awarded the tender to itself, receiving $675000 of ratepayers’ money to manage the bid process.

• The Beca group in association with the council’s chief executive officer Jack McKerchar settled on Simon Engineering from Australia as the preferred bidder.

• Simon Engineering had claimed experience in dozens of engineering projects in Australia like Mangawhai.

• Simon Engineering had no such experience other than a trailer park equivalent to a single subdivision in Mangawhai.

• Councillor Bruce Rogan sought a referral from one of Simon Engineering’s purported happy customers in Australia.

• This cautious request was attacked by Beca group project group leader Johnson and the Mayor and no information was forthcoming.

• In 2002 the local government amendment Act banned the concept of a 25 year old –build-own-operate-transfer project.

• Neither Beca or the chief executive observed the law change because the deal had already been secretly committed to.

• Councillor Rogan’s request that Simon Engineering be warned of exceeding its budget was ignored by the chief executive officer who later said that his failure to follow a council resolution was because it might have frightened the horses.

• Councillor Rogan directly advised Simon Engineering of the council resolution, which caused the company to bolt and financially go belly up.

• What remained of Simon Engineering’s skeletal remains morphed into a new creation Beca-Simon which promoted itself as a multinational infrastructure builder.

• So the project manager became the builder, or put it another way, had now organised a contract with himself.

• In time the contract ended up with Water Infrastructure Group now running the entire waste water system project.

• Quarterly reviews were denied the Kaipara councillors under threat of legal action.

• Some councillors were asking difficult questions of the relationship of Mr McKerchar and a council staff employee working on the planning for the sewerage scheme.

• The council employee transferred from the council to the Beca group who then contracted her back to provide services to the Kaipara council.

• Another sewerage scheme on the west coast of Kaipara went to the same contractors for $7 million despite the financial blow out on the Mangawhai scheme, or that another proposed tenderer at $5 million was warned off because of the affect that this tender might have on the roading contracts in the Kaipara district the following year.

• The Auditor-General was aware of the chief executive officer-council employee-cum Beca employee connection but she did not think it was relevant.

• Staff at the council lived in fear for their positions if they questioned decisions. And the chief executive officer, when appointed commissioners took over the council, was given a $240,000 handshake.

Ladies and gentlemen this is not the script for a novel or a bodice-ripping bestseller. This is a sorry litany of negligence, corruption and coverup.

The Simon Engineering connection puts one in mind of Novopay, another bunch of Aussie Ned Kellys, who took over our education payroll system despite having no experience in that business whatsoever. Costs have blown out to around $60 million, some teachers are still not getting paid despite the government picking up the skeletons of Novopay.

New Zealand First, as a result of extensive investigation, discussions, and analysis, opposed the Kaipara District Council (Validation of Rates and other Matters) Bill.

The National Party, Labour, Greens, Māori, ACT and United Future parties all supported it.

Hone Harawira, believing that New Zealand First was on to something, opposed it as well.

Illegalities in entering into loans are not mere technicalities or formalities but go to the heart of local government’s obligation to consult ratepayers before entering into large financial commitments.

Especially where the rates can be set to cover illegal loans.

In Kaipara’s case community consultation stopped at $34 million. But the scheme’s cost ended up being far more than double the price.

Contractors have taken large margins. The ANZ bank acquired the original loans at a 40%mark down, clearly having done some due diligence on the whole scheme. But that bank is insisting upon the full loan. Where Beca Group sits in this is a good question requiring answer. They were contracted to manage the project so why are they not taking a haircut as well.

But the key issue here is what is the responsibility of central government in this sorry mess. The auditor general’s office is a key agency in central government.

Retrospective legislation that is harmful to any party should be an abomination in a democracy.

In this instance, it was used as a device to brush incompetence and corruption under the carpet.

New Zealand First’s view is clear; inconvenient truths should not be buried but exposed to the cleansing light of public scrutiny.

Cover up – deny – and avoid scrutiny whilst the innocent suffer and the guilty walk away unscathed and fully paid.

How the Audit Office allowed five years of clean audits to go through on the Kaipara District Council while the sewerage scheme racked up so much debt is incredible, especially as some of you were voicing concerns early on.

How the Auditor General refused to consider many questionable matters, saying they were irrelevant, begs the question.

If that is not relevant what is?

The Auditor General’s office has a reputation for integrity but what went wrong here?

Was it that some the participants looked too big to be questioned?

However your political representatives in Parliament, from all parties, except New Zealand First and Mana, were no better.

They defended the Auditor General and take no responsibility for forgetting about you.

Former Prime Minister Norman Kirk once pointed out to MPs that it was not their job to defend the Government Department from the people; instead their role was to defend the people from the Department.

He was precisely right. So instead of defending you, 112 politicians rushed to defend the Audit Office, and they went further collectively sweeping all the wrongdoing under the carpet by voting for retrospective legislation.

The National government has wiped its hands of your problem, as have the other parties and there’s been no attempt to try and renegotiate the loans, to lessen the load, or step in do their duty by you.

There’s been no admission of the culpability of the Audit Office which should see Central Government pick up the bill for the bloated cost.

We are 13 days from an election and some of you want New Zealand First to declare its position on Coalitions now. I trust you now all understand what a betrayal of you it would be to enter pre-election Coalition arrangements without securing your interests in negotiations first. Or would you prefer someone who is ‘all tea and sympathy’ with no objective of backing it up.

National and its local MPs, past and present, should be ashamed of their underhand way of allowing the guilty to escape accountability and leaving you with the cost.

A similar matter is occurring under your eyes where the SuperGoldCard is concerned.

It has a free travel component which is under review in November, after the election.

We know the National Party wants to wind it back, although its annual cost would be a third of the Novopay debacle.

It benefits 630,000 Seniors.

Last night Minister Woodhouse on TV denied our allegations. Well, Mr Woodhouse, how do you explain the discussions between government and local body transport authorities being held behind closed doors as I speak.

Four years ago the master of Novopay was caught out on a similar denial. And now another Minister, Woodhouse, has been caught out doing the same.

With 13 days to go before the election you can vote for your political choice and remain with an albatross around your neck, or can you see with great clarity what you now must do.

Party vote New Zealand First because for you, more than probably any other group in New Zealand

It’s Common Sense
– See more at: http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/81874-winstons-speech.html

Bullet points from Clive’s address:
Appeal Process
We have been criticised by Robertson, Pooley and others, for appealing.
If we had won would the KDC have sucked it up like they are telling us to do, and not have appealed?
If we had won would KDC have immediately refunded all the illegal rates, pending appeal outcome?
Yeah RIGHT!

Grounds for Appeal
● Validation ACT – What did it really validate?
● The so-called Protected Transactions-
– What do they protect
– Who do they protect
– Who is responsible for honouring them?

● New Zealand Bill of Rights Act
– There was a breach (High Court said so)
– Who committed the breach? (we think it was the commissioners, who simply cannot commit breaches of the Bill of Rights Act)
– Are they accountable for that?

Funding
Sincere thanks to those who made financial contributions at the meeting and to those who continue to help out with funding. If you have donated to the cause please don’t feel any obligation to do so again, but for those who haven’t….? As we said at the meeting, the award of costs by the High Court will go a long way to funding the cost of the appeal(s).

Our bank account number is:-
38-9012-0318164-00 and our postal address for cheques is PO Box 225 Mangawhai 0540.
Please attach your membership number 2012047.
Thank you again to those who came along and made the meeting on Sunday such a success. It might not have been our biggest turnout ever, but it was a much bigger community turnout than most politicians ever see in their lifetimes!

Kind regards,
MRRA Executive.

[ends]

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Mayor of Dunedin issues apology

Remember this:

[Interviewed by 3News before the elections in October] Mr Cull says he’s quietly confident he’ll get another term in office, and isn’t worried about his eight rivals. “Six of them have no public office experience, and the other two that do have a pretty shonky record at public office experience. You know, extreme, nutty policies.”

[screenshot] Mayor Cull (3News 7.10.13) — read and view the item here.

——————–

Correspondence received from Lee Vandervis
Tuesday, 18 February 2014 7:47 p.m.
Subject: FW: Letter from the Mayor

—

On 17/02/14 5:44 PM, Vivienne Harvey wrote:

Regards

Vivienne

Vivienne Harvey
PA to the Chief Executive Officer
Dunedin City Council

Letter by Attachment (PDF, 24.3 KB): SC2200115514021715260[2]

——————–

On 17/02/2014, at 9:33 pm, Lee Vandervis wrote:

Re: Letter from the Mayor
Dear Mayor Cull,

Thank you for your apology which I appreciate and assume Cr. Calvert will appreciate also.
Looking forward to Cr. Calvert’s confirmation that we can all put this behind us.

Kind regards,
Lee

On 17/02/14 10:24 PM, Hilary Calvert wrote:

Looks like an apology to me.
Hasn’t offence got a ‘c’?

[ends]

Related Post and Comments:
1.11.13 Council appointments (rumbles)

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Dear DCC: Dunedin’s [choke] $47M cycle network

Received from Lee Vandervis
Thursday, 18 July 2013 7:16 a.m.

—— Forwarded Message
From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 07:09:10 +1200
To: Dave Cull, Mayor Cull, Kate Wilson, Colin Weatherall, Richard Thomson, Chris Staynes, Teresa Stevenson, Andrew Noone, Paul Hudson, Jinty MacTavish, Neil Collins, Fliss Butcher, Syd Brown, John Bezett, Bill Acklin, Lee Vandervis
Cc: Paul Orders, Sue Bidrose, Sandy Graham
Conversation: An inspiration for Cycling in Dunedin
Subject: Re: An inspiration for Cycling in Dunedin

Dear Councillors

This video link below to the Indianapolis new Cultural Cycle Trail has been sent to us by Mayor Cull as “an inspiration for Cycling In Dunedin”.

The salient points if you do not have 8 minutes to watch the whole video are:

1 – NO RATES OR TAX MONEY WAS USED TO PAY FOR IT! The whole US$63MILLION for the Indianapolis cultural trail was DONATED by philanthropy. [Like Eion Edgar’s $1 million donation to the stadium, but more so. – It actually happened, and 63 times.]

2 – It looks great with the ADDITION OF US$2MILLION of donated Art.

3 – From Wikipedia, – “Indianapolis’ population is 829,718. It is the 13th largest city in the United States, and one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States.”

4 – It is catering to only a few of their 800,000+, entirely financed by a much fewer hyper-rich philanthropists.

What does the Indianapolis Cycle Trail have in common with Dunedin’s proposed $47 million cycle network that our Mayor is getting all inspired about??

In short, nothing.
Absolutely nothing – a far removed and totally rich American dream.

Please do not be inspired to spend us even further into $600,000,000+ plus interest worth of debt for this ‘inspiration’.
The time to stop digging into more ratepayer debt was at least 3 years ago.

Cheers
Lee

—————

On 17/07/13 10:25 AM, “Dave Cull” wrote:

FYI
Spokes, and Hank and Robert in particular have been working very constructively with staff on the network plan. A great example of partnering up with the community. We are doing the same with the business people around Robert St to work out a win-win there too.

Dave

—————

From: Hank Weiss
Sent: Tuesday, 16 July 2013 4:58 p.m.
To: Dave Cull
Cc: Jinty MacTavish; Teresa Stevenson; Richard Thomson; Kate Wilson; Andrew Noone; Fliss Butcher
Subject: An inspiration for Cycling in Dunedin

Dave:

Here’s an 8 minute video, I hope you will consider sharing it with the rest of the Council. http://www.streetfilms.org/the-indianapolis-cultural-trail/

It’s a great idea and implementation success story from an unexpected U.S. City – Indianapolis. They turned the vision of an urban cycle track into a unique cultural celebration.

The best line: “We didn’t talk about this as an infrastructure project, we talked about it as a quality of life and an economic development project” (Brian Payne).

As you know very well, it’s not about catering to a few. With stories like this we might just swing and inspire all the Councillors along (well almost all)!

Thanks for being an inspiration yourself today, Dave. I am proud of the leadership on display from you and your colleagues.

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Cordially,

Hank Weiss

—— End of Forwarded Message

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Related Posts and Comments:
8.7.13 Bloody $tupid cycleways and Cull’s electioneering . . .
28.3.13 DCC DAP 2013/14: Portobello Harington Point Road Improvements
26.2.13 DCC binge spending alert: Proposed South Dunedin cycle network
22.2.13 DCC: Council meeting agenda and reports for 25 February 2013
31.1.13 Who? 2010 electioneering

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Bloody $tupid cycleways and Cull’s electioneering . . .

### ODT Online Thu, 4 Jul 2013
DCC propose to close Roberts Street
By Carolyn McLean
OPINION Once again the DCC is bulldozing over strong public opinion to push through a proposal, which will only benefit a minority of people.
DCC are proposing to close Roberts Street at the foot of the overbridge on Wharf Street to allow a cycle track to be installed and improve safety in the area.

This proposal will have an extremely adverse affect on all businesses in this area and it appears that the needs of business owners are being sacrificed to the needs of cyclists.

At present there is a perfectly adequate cycle track, which follows the harbourside and avoids the Portsmouth Drive/Wharf Street traffic, but DCC thinks that an alternative route for cyclists should be a reality and seem prepared to ignore the opinions of affected businesses to pursue their goal. At least two meetings have now been held between DCC representatives and local business owners but still the DCC seem hell-bent on pursuing their objective of more cycle lanes with no consideration of how it affects anyone else. Dunedin city is already in the doldrums with businesses struggling in the wake of the world-wide recession and flow on affects from that. DCC should be encouraging local businesses instead of putting more obstacles in their way. This proposal needs to be stopped.
ODT Link

● Dunedin Cycling Routes [see map]
● Proposed Cycle Network [see maps and related information at this link]

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Related Posts and Comments:
28.3.13 DCC DAP 2013/14: Portobello Harington Point Road Improvements
26.2.13 DCC binge spending alert: Proposed South Dunedin cycle network
22.2.13 DCC: Council meeting agenda and reports for 25 February 2013
31.1.13 Who? 2010 electioneering

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images: odt.co.nz – Dunedin cycling (detail); dunedin.govt.nz – Strategic Cycle Network Overview (detail)

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

Who? 2010 electioneering

References supplied.

Blog entry: Dave Cull for Dunedin City Mayor
Monday, August 23, 2010 at 2:09 PM
TAKING OUR FUTURE BACK
By Dave Cull

Dunedin is wonderful city, with a fantastic future. But right now that future is vulnerable: vulnerable economically, environmentally and socially. Dunedin’s community has never been more disillusioned with how Council makes decisions, how it listens, or not, to the community, how Council takes responsibility, or not, for major spending decisions with long-term consequences. These are consequences that include maxing out Councils [sic] and Council company debt, so that the companies may not be able to pay expected dividends to the ratepayers in the next few years! It is that bad.

The challenges ahead are considerable. But we can achieve that fantastic future. We have to. We can achieve it if we replace secrecy with transparent processes and provide responsible leadership that listens and is up-front with the community about debt and costs. If we do that we can turn disillusion into a shared and inclusive vision for the city.

So imagine what YOU want Dunedin to be like in 20 years.

Imagine Dunedin with:
• a thriving economy featuring high value jobs and businesses that keep families living here
• suburbs of well-built, healthy houses
• streets of beautiful, rejuvenated heritage buildings being put to productive use
• renewable resources being utilized for lower cost energy.
• measures already taken to address climate change and peak oil
• well maintained civic amenities not saddled by a mountain of debt that ratepayers have to repay
• top notch infrastructure including comprehensive Broadband coverage everywhere
• a smooth coordinated public transport system and cycle and pedestrian network
• an accessible and well-protected surrounding environment full of nature’s treasures

Previous Councils and this current one, have not tried to imagine such a future and not planned to achieve it. They have ticked the boxes of bland Council vision statements, reacted to pet ideas dished up by special interest groups, and lurched from one to the next, piling a huge debt on all our shoulders in the process. At the same time some of our suburbs are mouldering from neglect; our digital infrastructure is falling behind other NZ communities; jobs are ebbing away and families are leaving for greener pastures. I and my team want to help turn that all around.
Read more

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During the 2010 Dunedin Mayoral race the local newspaper ran this:

### ODT Online Tue, 7 Sep 2010
Mayoral Profile: Dave Cull
By David Loughrey
Dunedin city councillor Dave Cull is about to end his first term on the local authority, and has put his hand up for the council’s top job. With nine candidates, including himself, on his Greater Dunedin ticket, success could see him heading a group with a majority, on a council more recently made up of 15 independents. But he says that would be a good thing for a city that needs a “collegial” approach to reining in debt, and attracting business and people to Dunedin.

Dave Cull
Age: 60.
Family/marital status: Married, two daughters.
Occupation: Writer.
Council experience: One term as councillor.
Running for: Mayor and council.

Why are you standing?
I’m standing because when I put my hand up for council in 2007, I realised it was going to be something I was either going to be in for the long haul or not, so I’m in it for the long haul.
I’m standing for the mayoralty because I see the need for far more engaging and inclusive leadership than is being shown at the moment.

Tell me then, how you would go about engaging and including.
Well I think the context is that the current council and mayor …

Of which you’re one …
… of which I’m one, but the majority has not engaged genuinely, has not listened genuinely to the public, and has, worse than that, not got a cohesive, connected view of the projects the council is involved in. They tend to be isolated from one another, and the impact on one another is not fully appreciated till the negatives hit, I suppose. So I see a need for developing a much more future-focused vision for the city that looks at everything in a connected way.
Read more

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Blog entry: Dave Cull for Dunedin City Mayor
Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 2:02 PM
Ratepayers Association Questionnaire
By Dave Cull

The Greater Dunedin Team Answers Ratepayers Association Questions.

Greater Dunedin candidates declined to answer the Ratepayers Assoc questionnaire, the answers to which are to be published in D-Scene. Framed as either/or questions, the requested yes/no answers would oversimplify the issues with many of the questions. More importantly Ratepayers chairperson Lyndon Weggery acknowledged the Association would edit and “analyse” longer answers and distribute the results privately to Ratepayers Association and ex-Stop the Stadium members. We have no confidence that would be done in good faith. Mr Weggery (also on the committee of ex-STS) has signed STS newsletters containing untrue claims and misrepresentations about Greater Dunedin mayoral candidate Dave Cull’s views on the new stadium, and endorsing another candidate. Dishonesty and partisan commentary are incompatible with a purportedly independent survey.

However all the Greater Dunedin team recognise voters’ interest in our views and their right to hear them expressed publicly. We wholeheartedly promote transparency and also believe our views and positions on most subjects, while diverse, probably resonate with most of the membership of both the Ratepayers Association and what was Stop the Stadium. To that end we have each fully answered the questions posed by the ratepayers Association and posted them on our website: http://www.greaterdunedin.co.nz/. We encourage readers to read them there.
Greater Dunedin’s aim is to engage with and serve the interests and views of the whole Dunedin community. We welcome feedback, ideas, concerns and comments from all.

Following are the Ratepayers Association questions and my answers.
Continues at greaterdunedin.blogspot

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Electioneering in the ghetto

Signs are springing up in the most unlikely places.

Take this one on Saturday morning, 11 September, in the front yard of the historic turret house at 4 Pitt Street, Dunedin North.

According to Dunedin City Council the ratepayer is Pamela Marguerite McKellar, of Syke House Farm Holmfirth West Yorkshire, England. Not sure who manages the property in the owner’s absence.

Not long ago, a New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) registration plaque was afixed to the gatepost at the entry to the property.

Dunedin City District Plan
25.1 Townscape and Heritage Buildings and Structures
Site Number: B427
Map: 35
Item: House
Address: 4 Pitt Street
Legal Description: Sec 75 Blk XXIV Town of Dunedin
NZHPT Registration Number: 5233
NZHPT Category: II
Protection Required & Comments: facades and bulk appearance to Pitt and George Streets, excluding the garage in front.

Dunedin City District Plan – Chapter 13 Townscape
13.6 Heritage Precincts
13.6.2 Royal Terrace/Pitt Street/Heriot Row Heritage Precinct (Precinct Description, pages 13:31 – 13:32)

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Cr Dave Cull chairs the DCC’s heritage buildings economic re-use steering committee. A fusty committee name at best but the committee is doing great work.

****

Temporary though it is, a pity to see a hoarding in the heritage precinct.
Not a vote catcher. This could have been an essay in praise of natural backlighting.

[A further pity to see the new (permanent) buildings at 11 Pitt Street arrive by stealth (non notified application in the heritage precinct; no neighbouring long-term tenants consulted as affected parties by the developers) – who on earth would care about heritage values and amenity in a district plan protected heritage precinct… or privacy, density, car parking, noise, rubbish, shading, incomplete landscaping, a broken and subverted boundary fence, or… After all, what are “neighbours” to the Auckland property developers and their builder son wanting to cream it here on the back of affluent Chinese students. The “iceberg” isn’t pretty enough to photograph – but it’s right here too, in the heritage precinct. One more thing. Mayor Chin is the ratepayer for the Auckland developer couple’s current abode; and it was Mayor Chin that influenced the rushed consent without consultation of the affected parties. A much longer story not able to be published here.]

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Election signage
The District Plan describes the rules around signs on public or private property. If your sign does not comply with the restrictions, you will need to apply for resource consent.

Election Signage Policy 2010 (PDF, 1.4mb, open in new window)

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Note: I haven’t decided who to vote for in the local body elections. Preferences will centre on a balance of issues as well as the best determination it’s possible to make on candidate leadership, experience, financial prowess and direction. Hard, isn’t it.

Electioneering by straws

### ODT Online Tue, 31 Aug 2010
Opponents scrap over stadium vote
By David Loughrey
Dunedin’s election campaign ignited yesterday, with mayoral candidate Cr Dave Cull fending off accusations he and fellow Greater Dunedin candidate Kate Wilson voted for the Forsyth Barr Stadium in 2008.
Read more

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My notes when in attendance at the Finance and Strategy Committee meeting and the Extraordinary Council meeting held on 17 March 2008 show:

That at the finance and strategy meeting, Crs Dave Cull, Kate Wilson, Fliss Butcher and Teresa Stevenson voted against the stadium project. In accordance with the minutes received I agree that the meeting ended with a 10-4 vote to commit to the stadium, subject to conditions.

That at the Extraordinary Council meeting there was a procedural vote to confirm the resolutions taken from the finance and strategy meeting. Crs Cull and Wilson voted in the affirmative. The motion was won, 12-4.

At the time and since I did not infer a vote for the stadium by Crs Cull and Wilson.

It may have been ‘politically naive’ to vote the resolutions through given the events in the finance and strategy meeting where conditions were agreed – or perhaps it was sound procedurally.

Either way, the matter of how Crs Cull and Wilson voted on the motion to confirm the resolutions was not going to change the outcome.

The ‘opponents’ cited in the ODT are clutching at straws.

Post by Elizabeth Kerr