Delta #EpicFail and Metiria Turei : How Could This Be?

Received from Christchurch Driver [CD]
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 at 11:44 p.m.

Readers, I can hear the rumblings already – is your correspondent so bereft of new information that he has to tailgate the exploding Turei benefit scandal to catch some attention ? Is this the equivalent of Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’66, who started well but could only survive by making instrumental covers of Beatles’ hits? (I admit, Day Tripper is a particular favourite…)

Get in behind, readers. Have yourselves a draught of Bells, and let me untangle the web that starts with the inexplicable antics of Ms Turei.

Any sentient citizen must be, by now, aware that Ms Turei attempted to make political capital out of her long term benefit fraud last week to assist in marketing the Green Party’s new welfare policy. Sadly for Ms Turei, a thing called the internet means that her previous fictions about the circumstances around her early solo parent years are all easily discoverable, and the Whale Oil blog has done a telling summary of Ms Turei’s various mendacities. (Thanks Cameron).

Overwhelmingly, the Kiwiblog and other commentariat have excoriated Ms Turei’s inexplicable move, but again, Whale Oil offered the most penetrating analysis (and no, I am not a Whale Oil subscriber, or have ever been in contact with Cameron Slater…). Mr Slater made the interesting points, repeated by Barry Soper and others, that not only was Ms Turei guilty of benefit fraud, but also received a study grant as well. Ms Turei refused to name the father of her baby to WINZ, who has now been subsequently revealed as Paul Hartley, son of Ann Hartley, former Mayor of North Shore. Consequently, no child support has ever been received from Mr Hartley. Ms Turei confirmed that “Grandma” (Ms Hartley) provided support – very likely including financial support, which undoubtedly has not been declared.

One of the unfortunate unintended effects of the whole affair is that this will be red meat to many right wing types of a particular gender and particular demographic to start a predictable chorus of “Welfare Queens” abusing the system. Middle aged guys, this was old (and not true) even when Ronald Reagan used it to get elected in 1980. As noted in the comments below, the amount of white collar fraud that goes unprosecuted is about 30 times the estimated amount of benefit fraud, so to the white collar industries of accounting and law that seek to advise on the fine line between tax “minimisation” and tax “avoidance” : let those without sin cast the first stone.  

While all this is very interesting and will lead to the certain demise of Metiria Turei after the election, if not before as the Green’s poll numbers continue to stagnate or decline, the commentariat has missed the bigger issue which is “What Did The Law Society Know and What Did They Do About It ?”.

Ms Turei initially declined to say if the fraud was disclosed to the Law Society in her 1999 interview to determine if she was “a fit and proper person” to be admitted to the bar, but then decided immediately afterward that refusing to comment would put her on a par with Jonathan Coleman and Todd McLay, so confirmed on July 26 that she had been “upfront” to the Law Society, and there had been a “long conversation” about it.

What is fascinating about this, and an extreme concern for anyone who has had to rely on or transact with lawyers, is that the Law Society, the body tasked with determining who is a fit and proper person to become a lawyer – to uphold the law – then on Ms Turei’s version of events confirmed to Ms Turei that this dishonesty did not matter.  

Readers, I too spilt Bells all over the sofa when I read that the Law Society had known about this for nearly 20 years and been complicit in Ms Turei’s dishonesty. How could it be that the profession dedicated to upholding the law could decide that some didn’t apply to them ? Following on from this if the Law Society did not think it was relevant or significant that a prospective lawyer had engaged in several years’ worth of benefit fraud, then what is the situation regarding her first employer, Simpson Grierson (one of the largest law firms in the country). Either they were lied to about the fraud, or they also had a relaxed attitude towards employing law graduates indulging in benefit fraud.

As we have often remarked in the Delta Epic Fraud series, truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and the facts of the matter are that the Law Society have previously allowed struck-off lawyers with convictions resulting from dishonesty to be reinstated to the bar.

One such lawyer is one Chris Gilbert, upon whom the fortunes of the Christchurch City Council (and indirectly, the DCC), rest in terms of the liability for the Yaldhurst Noble subdivision debacle, in the latest litigation. In reinstating Mr Gilbert to the bar, the Law Society ignored the opposition of three lawyers and two branches of the Law Society, including the Otago branch, who said the gravity of the offending made him unsuitable for reinstatement. Mr Gilbert “misappropriated” $44,000 of client funds in 1987 and 1988. Compounding this, a few years later, Mr Gilbert appeared to think that the Society’s rules were all overrated anyway and proceeded to sign legal documents on the fiction that he was still in fact a lawyer ! Brandishing a wet bus ticket, the Law Society warned Mr Gilbert “there would be no third chances !”.

Readers, like you I regard law firms as a bunch of parasitic sharks, and yes there are plenty of law firms with lawyers you would cross the street to avoid. But Mr Gilbert is not one of those. Mr Gilbert….is the legal services manager at the Christchurch City Council and was offered a job by the CCC with full knowledge of his dishonesty. NZ Herald (2004)

Readers, two hands on the cup : The Christchurch City Council actually said that Mr Gilbert “was the best candidate for the job”. This was rather against the advice of the Waikato Law Society, where Mr Gilbert committed his first fraud: they said in an affidavit Mr Gilbert was not a “fit and proper person” to be a lawyer.

Now place the cup down – you won’t cope with this : The Law Society gave Mr Gilbert his “third chance” on the basis that he could only work for the CCC. In other words, he wasn’t allowed to act for private individuals who had the choice to take or leave his services and make complaints if warranted. Instead he could be responsible for issues involving huge amounts of ratepayer funds, because the Law Society appeared to think that position required a much lower standard of integrity.

Readers, why would the Christchurch City Council employ Mr Gilbert ? Readers, feel free to draw your own conclusions. The most incredible fact of this rather incredible tale is that Mr Gilbert was no short-term stopgap to tide the CCC over a tight staffing spot. Mr Gilbert has been the team leader of legal services at CCC for 13 years. He seems to be part of the institutional furniture, and appears to be indispensable.

Your correspondent is advised that in relation to the Noble Yaldhurst litigation, Mr Gilbert is not surprising the plaintiffs with bursts of even-handedness.  

This perhaps is one reason why the pace of the Christchurch rebuild is glacial – Minister Brownlee and the Government would be fully justified in having serious reservations about the competence of the Christchurch City Council, and not just in the building control division.

Readers, tonight’s conclusion is surprising – we as Dunedin ratepayers can look with relief at Mr Gilbert and know that within the DCC itself (although NOT Delta and Aurora) this would never occur under the present management.

[ends]  

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Welfare fraud targeted more than tax evasion
White collar criminals get a better deal than welfare fraudsters because the system is biased before they even get to the courts, a lawyer says. Research by Victoria University shows 10 times more welfare fraudsters were prosecuted than tax evaders even though tax evasion costs the economy 33 times more. The research shows tax evasion amounts to at least $1 billion a year compared with $30 million for welfare fraud, but the courts are much harsher in their treatment of welfare fraudsters. RNZ News (2016)

Disclaimer: The site owner is not responsible for the currency or accuracy of content of contributed comments; and the inclusion of the information provided does not imply endorsement by the site owner.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

 

Oh noes! One adverse slip of the pen and it’s Over Rover #warehouseprecinct

Dunedin students may leave vibrant area after parking spaces cut https://t.co/ev9fhaLq5L

— hamish mcneilly (@southernscoop) May 31, 2017

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Property investment, gentrification and residential activity in city blocks ain’t all it’s cracked up to be with businesses and local authorities in cahoots. This ‘sell-out’ happens the world over —welcome to market economics and no protection. Economic development, baby!

PUBLIC ALERT – GOOD ONE, HAMISH MCNEILLY

About “CAR PARKS” and military precision *eheu

### Stuff.co.nz Last updated 17:55, May 31 2017
Dunedin students may leave vibrant area after parking spaces cut
By Hamish McNeilly
Students may be driven away by parking changes designed to make Dunedin’s warehouse precinct more vibrant. Otago Polytechnic student Nick Mowat is angry over changes to short-term parking on Vogel St this week. Earlier this year, the Dunedin City Council announced it would cut the number of all-day parks from 75 to 37, and increase the number of short-term parks to 108. None of the remaining all-day parks would be on Vogel St though, which was home to an annual street party celebrating the area’s rejuvenation. Mowat said many students flatted in the old warehouses and were part of the revitalisation of the area. They were disappointed about the parking changes. Despite opposing the changes, residents were issued with a notice from the council saying the changes would go ahead. Council safety team leader  Hjarne Poulsen said: “The parking changes are designed to make the area safer and more dynamic for residents and visitors, and to make it easier for people to get to local businesses.”
Read more

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[click to enlarge]
DCC Webmap JanFeb 2013

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[click to enlarge]

█ Warehouse Precinct Revitalisation Plan (PDF, 3.6 MB)
This Plan seeks to support the revitalisation to ensure the important historic Warehouse Precinct area becomes a vibrant and successful part of the central city, once again. [DCC weblink]

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█ LGOIMA warehouse precinct investment (2)
Response received from DCC by email attachment on 19 May 2017

[click to enlarge]

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Dezeen: Grands ensembles and their urban veterans #Paris

Denise, 81, Cité Spinoza, Ivry-sur-Seine, 2015

Photo essay: French photographer Laurent Kronental has spent four years capturing the “grands ensembles” housing projects in Paris, juxtaposing the monumental buildings with their elderly occupants.

### dezeen.com Sun, 3 Jan 2016 at 6:00 pm
Laurent Kronental’s Souvenir d’un Futur photos show Paris’ forgotten housing estates
By Dan Howarth
With his Souvenir d’un Futur series, Kronental has photographed residents of the estates among the concrete structures and vast open spaces of the crumbling futuristic complexes built during Paris’ housing boom in the 1950s and 1960s. In this exclusive essay for Dezeen, he explains how his images highlight a sometimes neglected generation in often marginalised urban areas, which both “carry with them the memory of a Modernist utopia”.
Read more + Slideshow

Les Tours Aillaud, Cité Pablo Picasso, Nanterre, 2014Les Tours Aillaud, Cité Pablo Picasso, Nanterre, 2014Paulette, 83, Les Damiers, Courbevoie, 2015Josette, 90, Vision 80, Esplanade de La Défense, 2013

█ As a laureate of the 2015 La Bourse du Talent award in the Landscape/Architecture category, Kronental’s work is on show at the National Library of France until 7 February 2016.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Jean, 89, Puteaux-La Défense, 2011
Les Tours Aillaud, Cité Pablo Picasso, Nanterre, 2013

Local body elections: Voting papers due #Dunedin

The *calibre* of unknown candidates, known candidates, and all those “standing again” for the lack of transparency and non-accountability to continue at Dunedin City Council… is set to rack and torture all good voting citizens who want the council SORTED financially. Bankrupt DCC, we hear you say?

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Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Voting Papers Out Soon

This item was published on 18 Sep 2013.

Voting papers for the October local body elections will be arriving in letterboxes from Friday.

The Electoral Officer for the Dunedin City Council, the Otago Regional Council and the Southern District Health Board, Pam Jordan, says the elections are held by postal vote and voting papers will arrive from 20 September to 25 September.

Voting papers must be mailed back in time to be received by 12 noon on Election Day, Saturday 12 October.

If you have not received your voting papers by 26 September, you can cast a special vote. To get special voting papers posted out phone 03 477 4000 or email specialvotes @ dcc.govt.nz. Alternatively, people can visit the Special Voting Booth in the Plaza Meeting Room in the Civic Centre, which will be open from 20 September. The booth will be open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm, and also on the morning of 12 October.

The Dunedin City Council and Southern District Health Board elections will be conducted under the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, while the Otago Regional Council will be elected under the First Past the Post (FPP) system.

Election information, including details about STV, is available at http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/elections.

This year, names on the voting papers will be in random order for the DCC, ORC and SDHB. Each voting paper will be unique.

Contact Electoral Officer on 03 477 4000.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

North East Valley: Community-led development project

New Zealand is trying to find its way back to grassroots community development, with Dunedin’s Northeast Valley one of five government-funded trials nationally.

### ODT Online Sun, 15 Sep 2013
Building a sense of community in Northeast Valley
By Bruce Munro
Throughout New Zealand, including in government circles, the tide is rising with a desire to see neighbourhoods once again creating their own strong and sustainable vibrant communities. Insiders call it community-led development, or just CLD. It is the opposite of both individual apathy and top-down attempts to solve community ills.

It is what 60 years ago was simply called ”being neighbourly”, ”taking the bull by the horns” and ”doing our bit”.

In the 21st century, however, it is an untried, risky but potentially better way of strengthening social fabric and building resilience in the face of increasing community fragmentation and looming economic and ecological uncertainties. So the Department of Internal Affairs, having decided it should be able to get more bang for its $18 million-per-year community funding buck, has launched a trial of the community-led development approach.
Five communities have been selected for their high unemployment or low average income; sizeable Maori, Pacific Island or ethnic minority communities; multiple issues to address; strengths to build on; and current or potential leaders to spearhead the charge.
North East Valley was the only South Island community chosen. The other triallists are Whirinaki in Northland, Mount Roskill in Auckland, Mangakino, north of Taupo, and Cannons Creek/Waitangirua, east of Porirua.

New Project Committee 2011 [Archives: northeastvalley.org]

Community-building activities in the valley
Dinners, community garden working bees, the Valley Voice newsletter, Transition Valley 473’s fruit tree planting and workshops, and the community choir – were already running before the trial began. But the project’s executive now has a list of more than 40 projects that have been mooted, investigated or kick-started.

The valley’s story is its own. But it also mirrors changes and challenges many communities face. Today, North East Valley has a resident population of about 4500. According to the 2006 census, the most recent data available, almost 80% are European and 7.3% are Maori. More than 9% and 3%, respectively, are Asian and Pacific Islanders, in both cases double the Otago average.
A third of valley dwellers class themselves as professionals, more than 11% are unemployed, and a quarter of families have one parent. The median income for those over the age of 15 is about $13,000, roughly half the Otago average.
Read more

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Project website: northeastvalley.org

NEV Project – Car club dudes [Archives: northeastvalley.org]

North East Valley (Wikipedia)

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Delta hasn’t fixed Union St West after EIGHT WHOLE MONTHS

What’s really happening inside the council-owned company?

Only students, they’ll put up with anything….
The arrogance knows no bounds.

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### ODT Online Mon, 17 Dec 2012
Roadworks drag on … and on …
By Debbie Porteous
Delta says it regrets any inconvenience caused by a series of problems that have resulted in roadworks on a section of a Dunedin street for the past eight months. There have been roadworks in parts of Union St since May, when a water main was damaged during work to install ultra-fast broadband under the street. Dunedin City Council-owned utility company Delta, which was contracted to do the associated roadworks on the street, claimed insurance to cover the cost of fixing the water main and reinstating the road.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

“But there’s more to Dunedin than just bloody cruise ships’’

### DScene 17-10-12
Big brother is watching (page 1)
Jeweller Brent Weatherall says Dunedin City Council is being dictatorial and ineffectual when it comes to some aspects of economic development. See p3. #bookmark

Register to read DScene online at
http://fairfaxmedia.newspaperdirect.com/

CBD not just for tourists
‘Dictatorial’ council angers city businessman (page 3)
By Wilma McCorkindale
City retailer Brent Weatherall says Dunedin City Council (DCC) is dictatorial rather than consultative on some aspects of its economic development strategy. The George St jeweller said Otago Chamber of Commerce retail committee members were ‘‘hot under the collar’’ after a recent meeting with Cr Kate Wilson over proposed city council changes, such as banning footpath signs. “I think [the DCC] is being quite dictatorial in what they’re trying to push through council in regards to the economic development strategy.” Weatherall said during forming of the strategy the Chamber retail committee was approached in consultation and made a submission on changes to the council’s commercial use of footpaths policy, aired at a hearings subcommittee in May. The council’s response? A talk from subcommittee member Cr Kate Wilson on the virtues of introducing the ban because DCC saw them as a hazard. It left the Chamber retail committee “all up in arms”, Weatherall said. “Everyone that was there said ‘for God’s sake – we opposed this.’ I feel that our suggestions at times fall on very deaf ears in Dunedin. It’s a real shame.”
{continues} #bookmark

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

2012 Residents’ Opinion Survey: DCC spooks massage Cull, for sheep

WTF In farmer parlance, does anyone tell sheep or spooks that ‘a mayor’ doesn’t set the direction for Dunedin? It’s your councillors who set it (with council bureaucrats and steakholders rammed up rear passages), blame them. Honestly!

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### ch9.co.nz October 8, 2012 – 5:57pm
Dunedin residents satisfied with city, concerned about economy
Dunedin residents say they are satisfied with their city, but increasingly concerned about the economy. That finding is from the results of the latest DCC residents’ opinion survey, which were released today. And despite some financial gloom, there is plenty to keep Mayor Dave Cull happy with the path he is on.
Video

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Dunedin City Council
Media Release

2012 Residents’ Opinion Survey

This item was published on 08 Oct 2012.

The Dunedin City Council has been running an annual Residents’ Opinion Survey since 1994. The 2012 Residents’ Opinion Survey (the Survey) is designed to measure residents’ satisfaction with the services and facilities the Council is involved with and with Dunedin itself. The Council uses the results of the Survey to assess the extent to which it is has met (or is progressing towards meeting) its Annual Plan and Community Plan objectives.

The Residents’ Opinion Survey Summary Points, Report and Results are attached as PDF Documents.

Contact Dunedin City Council on 477 4000.

2012 Residents’ Opinion Survey: Summary Points (PDF, 62.5 KB)
This document was presented to the media as a summary

2012 Residents’ Opinion Survey: Report (PDF, 2.2 MB)
This Document is the full report for the survey

2012 Residents’ Opinion Survey: Results (PDF, 1.1 MB)
This document is a summary of results of the survey

DCC Link

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Spatial plan “rainbows” – Dunedin

Dunedin City Council critic Calvin Oaten says the city should turn all its attention to saving itself from bankruptcy rather than spending time, money and resources chasing “spatial plan” rainbows.

### ODT Online Thu, 1 Dec 2011
Opinion
As they say, there are lies, damned lies and statistics
By Calvin Oaten
“A ‘special’ Dunedin is seen in new plan.” So said the headlines covering the presentation of the council’s draft “spatial plan” to about 100 people at a public forum at Forsyth Barr Stadium recently. So what is this plan? “Dunedin Towards 2050 – a Spatial Plan for Dunedin”, sets the strategic direction for Dunedin’s growth and development for the next 30-plus years.
Read more

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DCC Draft Spatial Plan Information
Deadline for public submissions: 13/1/2012

Calvin Oaten reminds us about the long forgotten “CHOICES For The Future. Towards 2021” plan devised by DCC, released in 2001, a 20-year outlook:

“Arguably, the most egregious aspect which has driven the plan off course is the fact that Mr Harland, mayor Peter Chin and the council went on a spending spree of unprecedented proportions, commencing in 2004, taking Dunedin’s net debt from $35 million in 2002 to $457.790 million in 2013.”

Mr Harland instigated all work on the draft spatial plan for Dunedin.

Play-shaping, plain and simple.
(refer to comment by ODT Online editor)

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Related Posts:
30.11.11 amalgamation, Anyone?
28.10.11 Dunedin’s DRAFT Spatial Plan
21.9.11 John Montgomery: The Economy, Culture and Design of Cities
7.6.11 Public Workshop: Dunedin Central City
3.3.11 restorm: Will Wiles attempts to deconstruct…

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC has PR problem

The Octagon Occupy (a peaceful legitimate protest) and the weekend’s North Dunedin fires (arson, threat to property, drunkenness and street fighting, threat to health and safety) are exerting pressure on the Dunedin City Council to enter meaningful – open and transparent – communication with residents and ratepayers; evidently, this should extend to the university and the police.

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The protesters have won a significant victory and it will be even more difficult to move them now.

### ODT Online Wed, 9 Nov 2011
Editorial: Communication breakdown
Have the Dunedin City Council and senior police officers stopped talking to each other? After last Tuesday night’s public relations disaster when the council failed in its attempt to have trespassed protesters removed from the Octagon, the residents of Dunedin could well be forgiven for thinking sensible communication has ceased. The “Occupy Dunedin” protesters – some call them noble and brave and others bludgers and beneficiaries – pitched more than 30 tents in the upper Octagon on October 15, joining a global movement protesting corporate greed and social inequality and calling for greater protection of the environment.
Read more

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Related Posts:
19.10.11 Octagon protest occupies minds!
21.10.11 INSANE, Dave! Occupy Dunedin STAYS in the Octagon.
24.10.11 #Occupy #OWS Good guy! US Marine Sgt Shamar Thomas

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Something hyped in the news

It might’ve been the stadium and a very small sample of businesses that got any financial benefit.

Not worth writing about.

The stadium hasn’t been paid for. Cr Staynes is a chump.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

CRITICAL Dunedin City Council meeting #LarsenReport

UPDATED 11 August 2011

Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Larsen report now available

This item was published on 11 Aug 2011

A recent governance review of the Dunedin City Council companies was conducted by Warren Larsen. A public copy of his report is now available and a related report on the future cashflows from Dunedin City Holdings Limited is also now available.

If you would like a paper copy of the report, please contact Customer Services via dcc @ dcc.govt.nz or on 477 4000.

Contact Mayor Dave Cull on 477 4000.

Related documents:

Future Cash Flows from Dunedin City Holdings Limited (PDF, 388.3 KB)
The report presented to the Finance, Strategy and Development Committee on 25 July 2011 regarding the future cash flows from Dunedin City Holdings Limited.

Warren Larsen Report (PDF, 3.9 MB)
Governance review of all companies in which Dunedin City Council and/or Dunedin City Holdings Limited has an equity interest of 50% or more.

DCC Link

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A meeting of the Dunedin City Council will be held on Wednesday, 10 August 2011, in the Conference Room, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, at 2.00 PM

The agenda lists those plentiful items to be discussed with the public excluded.

Agenda – Council – 10/08/2011 (PDF, 132.2 KB)

Report – Council – 10/08/2011 (PDF, 451.4 KB)
Final 2010/11 Carry Forward Budgets

Report – Council – 10/08/2011 (PDF, 2.2 MB)
Dunedin (New Zealand) Masters Games Governance Changes

Report – Council – 10/08/2011 (PDF, 67.4 KB)
Development Contributions Policy Review – Hearings and Deliberations Process

Report – Council – 10/08/2011 (PDF, 660.5 KB)
Octagon Free Wireless – Internet Access

Report – Council – 10/08/2011 (PDF, 59.9 KB)
Maori Participation Working Party Membership

Report – Council – 10/08/2011 (PDF, 3.5 MB)
Strategic Cycle Network

Report – Council – 10/08/2011 (PDF, 86.6 KB)
Representation Review

Report – Council – 10/08/2011 (PDF, 86.8 KB)
Security for Borrowings

Report – Council – 10/08/2011 (PDF, 502.6 KB)
Electoral System For Future Local Authority Elections

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This part of the Council meeting was held on Monday, 8 August 2011, at Otakou Marae, Tamatea Road, Otakou, following a powhiri commencing at 11.00 AM

Agenda – Council – 08/08/2011 (PDF, 71.6 KB)

Report – Council – 08/08/2011 (PDF, 2.0 MB)
Draft Pukekura Reserves Management Plan – Approval for Public Consultation

Report – Council – 08/08/2011 (PDF, 808.7 KB)
Māori Participation Processes

Report – Council – 08/08/2011 (PDF, 1.3 MB)
Kāi Tahu Engagement with the Dunedin City Council

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

D Scene broke the news

Register to read D Scene online at
http://fairfaxmedia.newspaperdirect.com/

### D Scene 3-8-11
Lights, camera… (page 1)
The spotlight has been turned on the Forsyth Barr Stadium. The new venue is under scrutiny not just because it is being officially opened on Friday, but because a major row has erupted over servicing Dunedin City Council’s debts – including money intended to fund the stadium project.
See pages 3, 5 and 21. #bookmark

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Grand stadium opens (page 3)
By Wilma McCorkindale
Dunedin is invited to the opening of Forsyth Barr Stadium on Friday. At an early morning ceremony, the facility will receive a formal Maori blessing and Prime Minister John Key will do the official opening honours. Media and dignitaries are expected to attend the hour-long 7am event, which will unveil the facility, the only multi-purpose arena in the world with a fixed roof and a natural grass turf.
{continues} #bookmark

What the stadium means to me now – Bev Butler (page 3)
For me, the physical reality of the stadium is a constant reminder of a divided community…It has never added up, financially, as a prudent project for the council to spend money on. The consultants’ reports told us so. Even David Davies, Dunedin Venues Management manager, has admitted that the stadium’s “bread and butter” will be “conferences and meetings”.
{continues} #bookmark

What the stadium means to me now – Malcolm Farry (page 3)
While controversy may continue to cause debate over the coming year or two, there is no doubt that history will show this achievement to be a milestone in the development of Dunedin and the region…The benefits in economic impact, quality and vibrancy of life will be seen to be a major step forward.
{continues} #bookmark

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Solutions would be tabled along with the two reviews at the next full council meeting set for Wednesday, August 10.

Council living beyond means (page 5)
By Mike Houlahan ad Wilma McCorkindale
Dunedin City Council (DCC) is in damage control this week in the wake of revelations last Friday it was facing a financial crisis. In an early evening press release, mayor Dave Cull announced an $8 million funding annual revenue shortfall, revealed in two internal reviews tabled at the previous day’s Finance, Strategy and Development Committee meeting. The reviews, one by the council’s Council-owned Companies (CCO) liaison group, the other by consultant Warren Larsen, found Dunedin City Holdings Ltd (DHCL) would not be able to continue paying $5 million annual dividends anticipated by council.
{continues} #bookmark

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Personality debate ignores real issues (page 20)
By Wilma McCorkindale
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull is defending his 11th hour announcement last Friday night that the city is in financial trouble…Cull is adamant council has been trying to pin down Dunedin City Holdings Ltd (DCHL) on what dividends it could sustain, in the wake of concerns during the past year on its ability to pay out…Cull said he was among those who voiced concerns about hiking demands on council company dividends, as far back as 2008.
{continues} #bookmark

Sources close to council say the Larsen report is scathing of DCHL.

Cr refuting claims of board neglect (page 20)
Dunedin City Holdings Ltd (DCHL) Chairman, Cr Paul Hudson, is refutung claims his board neglected to clarify its ability to meet dividends expected by Dunedin City Council (DCC). Hudson said the facts had been misrepresented in a press release announcing a city financial crisis on Friday, after Thursday’s Finance, Strategy and Development Committee meeting tabled the findings of two reviews…Councillors voted it was not appropriate for him to remain in the meeting, given his DCHL role…Hudson said he spent the weekend digging out documents to back up the DCHL stance on the matter.
{continues} #bookmark

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

And we let Dunedin residents vote . . .

National quality of life survey… less than half Dunedin residents understand how Dunedin City Council makes decisions http://bit.ly/iLGExP

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Letter from Christchurch – it’s bad

WHAT DO RED STICKERS MEAN NOW?

Just had a long and rather unpleasant shake as I began to write. I am not certain how many demolitions have taken place with independent engineering advice that the buildings are OK. I know of one definite case in Lyttelton and we had a very close call with the Tunnel building. Transit had the diggers in place ready to demolish. A tenant alerted a friend who got on to NZHPT who actually got their engineer onto the case promptly. He said the damage was minor and Transit backed down (probably because they have a memo of understanding with NZHPT).

In the CBD owners have of course been unable to get independent experts in but decisions are being made to demolish simply because buildings have been red-stickered. The red sticker means they are unsafe to enter as it stands – it should not mean automatic demolition. It involves no judgement as to whether the building could be restored if appropriate shoring up took place. At present owners are being given 24 hours notice that a building is going to be demolished with little possibility of influencing the decision and no chance to recover possessions.

I will try to get more details on the process or lack of it at a meeting I am going to tomorrow. We have received calls from a number of distressed owners who have valuable property in buildings which they believe can be restored but who fear that they will lose both building and contents without being able to do anything about it.

The general approach seems to be that any reasonably undamaged buildings in a block are just a nuisance and will slow down the process of clearance – that it is more efficient to clear out everything (this is the view of somebody working hard to prevent listed buildings from being demolished).

Another reason behind the demolition of red-stickered buildings is that the demolition companies apparently get the materials and contents as salvage – so we have been informed by an antique shop owner who defied the red stickers (in a suburban area) in order to recover stock ahead of the demolition crews.

I will try to get more details to you tomorrow, it is clear that there are owners who want to restore their buildings but are simply being told they have to come down and that is that.

{Names removed, letter received by What if? on Tuesday 12.07am. -Eds}

“DEMOLITION CREWS, THEY’RE WORSE THAN THE LOOTERS.”

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Confronting stadium costs: no public mandate for project

Local Government New Zealand bureaucrats have spaghetti for brains, it’s not pretty…

### ODT Online Thu, 18 Mar 2010
Core costs push rates take to $1b
By Chris Morris
The cost of rebuilding New Zealand’s core infrastructure – rather than shiny new stadiums or glory projects – is to blame for the country’s first $1 billion rates bill, Local Government New Zealand says. Figures released yesterday by Statistics New Zealand showed the quarterly rates take for the country’s local authorities, including the Dunedin City Council, had topped $1 billion for the first time.
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Post by Elizabeth Kerr

Mayor Chin: ‘Aspects of letter may seem patronising’

More of the circus in your town…

### ODT Online Wed, 13 May 2009
Dunedin | Annual Plan 2009-10 | Stadium
Letter explains city council’s actions
By David Loughrey
A nine-page letter explaining the Dunedin City Council’s actions on the stadium got a thorough page-by-page, line-by-line grilling from councillors yesterday, before its expected release after June 2.
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The article reveals the Otago Rugby Football Union has a 35-year venue-hire agreement with a licence to use the stadium…

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Cr Walls: Some "extra-ordinary" calculations of costs in stadium blogs

UPDATED

### ODT Online Tue, 12 May 2009
DCC promises answers on stadium submissions
By David Loughrey

A reply to residents who presented submissions to the council opposing the Awatea St stadium has become “half the size of The Forsyte Saga”, as the council tries to clear up what Mayor Peter Chin says are factual errors and wrong assumptions.
Read more

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The budget will not be finalised until approved at a full Dunedin City Council meeting next month…

### ODT Online Tue, 12 May 2009
DCC trims probable rates rise
By Chris Morris

Ratepayers could be spared a proposed 7.8% rates increase, after Dunedin City Council staff yesterday announced they had shaved nearly $1.3 million off roading budgets.
Read more

Linked story…
Council delegation to meet opponents

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### ODT Online Tue, 12/05/2009 – 11:49am.
Comment by Baxter on The DCC’s time…

The DCC’s time would be better spent actually listening to what we want; not writing “detailed reports” telling us what they want us to want.

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### ODT Online Tue, 12/05/2009 – 3:03pm.
Submitted by ro1 on de-confusing

By “de-confusing” Mr Harland clearly means “reasserting the spin”. People who oppose the stadium aren’t confused; they are simply not comforted by the spin.
Read more

### Channel 9 News May 12, 2009 – 8:04pm
Annual Plan Still Under Deliberation

Today’s main topic was the Stadium, and given the number of responses it prompted, everyone who put forward a submission will receive the same rebuttal from Council.
Video Link

Stadium submissions on DCC LTCCP

### ODT Online Sat, 2 May 2009
Council facing flood of stadium submissions
By David Loughrey

The Awatea St stadium may be the subject of 500 of the more than 800 annual plan submissions to the Dunedin City Council next week, but with the contract to build the project already signed, their relevance appears to have waned.
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StS press release

Received yesterday – here in full. Does this mean StS is winding up…

Tuesday 28th April 2009

STOP THE STADIUM PRESS RELEASE

Dunedin Ratepayers Abandoned

Considering the history of the stadium project, Friday’s court outcome can be no real surprise. From the very beginning this project has been an affront to all standards of democratic fair dealing, in which the people of Dunedin have been sidelined while ever-increasing amounts of their money have been appropriated to build a folly that will weigh upon us for generations.

Dunedin people, who overwhelmingly reject this stadium, have been abandoned by every stratum of government supposedly in existence to safeguard their rights and interests. The DCC and ORC, rather than protecting their ratepayers, have frog-marched them into disaster. Our local Members of Parliament, with the honourable exception of Green MP Metiria Turei, have been noteworthy only on account of their complicit silence, while the National Government has aided and abetted the abuse of due process and the swindling of our ratepayers. Rodney Hide, after specifically promising to investigate the stadium’s finances, made an ignominious retreat.

And now we have a judge who considers that there is no significant difference between the project as it now exists and what was originally presented to the public – no difference, in other words, between public and private funding. A judge, moreover, who is willing to make a hasty and far-reaching decision while claiming that he is unable to follow the argument put before him. The final arbiter between right and wrong has proven a broken reed.

All we can do now is commit ourselves to remembering the identities of those who have driven our city into this debacle. Remember them well – all of those Councillors who, in capitulating at every stage in this shabby process, have shown themselves unfit to govern. And let us communally ensure, before very long, that these people are removed and their period of ill-governance is put to an end.

Bev Butler
President
Stop The Stadium Inc
Ph (03) 477 6861

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### ODT Online Wed, 29 Apr 2009
Butler mute on future actions
By David Loughrey

Stop the Stadium president Bev Butler last night refused to be drawn on what actions the group might take in future, despite a press release yesterday that appeared to concede little could be done to achieve its goals.
Read more

D Scene has its turn

Late news, sorry – no delivery of the free community paper to my inner city place of residence (again). In yesterday’s D Scene there is a splurge about the public meeting. Did try to find online version to link to but accessing the Fairfax-owned paper is quite obscure.

UPDATE – Peter says:
“Digital editions of D Scene and the Taieri Herald are available for free at http://fairfaxmedia.newspaperdirect.com/
You will need to register at the site but that’s all …”
Use the left sidebar to sign up. This time it let me register, gremlins on holiday.

### D Scene 1-4-09 Front page:
The crowd goes wild. Stedman’s stadium salvo to councillors: “Take a deep breath, step back, listen to your community. Stop listening to each other. The dismissive arrogance is breathtaking.”

Set against a photo of Mr Stedman at the mike.

Quite good. We then turn to page 4:
What the speakers said

GERRY ECKHOFF, Otago Regional councillor:
“Will produce not one dollar of worth. Make no mistake – the stadium is being built to replace Carisbrook so you have a world-class facility for the Rugby World Cup. It’s not multi-purpose, it’s to provide a facility for the New Zealand Rugby Union to satisfy international pay-masters. The consultative process was a sham.”

ALISTAIR BROAD, Dunedin businessman:
“Guaranteed maximum price contract – it’s fixed price with areas where the price can fluctuate. There’s huge potential for variability – foundations, cost of steel, delays due to weather. A stadium is not a way of making money – it’s a way of spending money. Even if built for nothing, it would still run at a loss. That loss will be real and borne by the ratepayers. If the stadium was ever a good idea, it’s not now.”

SUKHI TURNER, former Dunedin mayor:
“Grossly naive view that this bit of concrete and plastic will fix the survival of Dunedin for good. Dunedin does not need a $200 million roofed temple to rugby to survive. It took 10 years between 1995 and 2005 for $100 million to be spent on a city water upgrade. Now they’re prepared to spend that on not only a non-essential project but one that will drain the pockets of citizens for decades.”

MICHAEL STEDMAN, Natural History NZ boss:
Lambasted DCC, ORC for “condescending” treatment of “real concerns of the citizenry”, took issue with opponents being called “Luddites, whingers”. “As someone opposed to this folly I deeply resent those labels and dismissive arrogance of the councils. This is not a time to take huge risks, saddling the community with a huge amount of debt based on very questionable assumptions.”

ROB HAMLIN, Otago University lecturer:
“I believe it will cost $400 million. I would be very surprised if this stadium stays to cost given the environment we’re in.”

DAVID CULL, Dunedin City councillor:
Cull noted cost savings had reduced the stadium’s flexibility to cater for events outside rugby. It would also lower the standard of finish so “while initial costs are lower, long-term maintenance costs are higher”. He was concerned by council’s “cavalier” treatment of the community, and embarrassed that assurances weren’t honoured. “Via submissions send the council a message it cannot mistake.”

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D Scene’s on the button. At page 5 it styles a text box containing the two resolutions unanimously approved at the meeting:

1. Accept local Government Minister Rodney Hide’s offer and invite him to Dunedin to examine the DCC/ORC processes surrounding the stadium.

2. Request city council makes no binding contract for stadium construction until after public has opportunity to submit on draft annual plan.

The main item on page 5 contains the clever shot from Dunedin property lawyer Hilary Calvert, that councillors could be sued.
[Bravo Hilary, we thought so too.]

### D Scene 1-4-09 (page 5)

‘Doom’ day extension
By Michelle Sutton and Ryan Keen

Dunedin is doomed if the controversial stadium “folly” is the best local authorities can come up with, a city-based heavyhitter warns.
{story continues}