‘Big play’ —NZ to spend $53M at Expo 2020, Dubai UAE

[Source: Expo2020 Dubai]

The Government is about to launch a process within the creative sector of New Zealand to select the best team and ideas for the design and content.

### nzherald.co.nz 3:00 PM Sun, 23 Apr 2017
NZ to spend $53m on Dubai Expo
By Grant Bradley – Aviation, tourism and energy writer for Business Herald
The Government will spend $53 million showcasing New Zealand at Expo 2020 in Dubai in an attempt to boost trade in the region and beyond. Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges made the announcement in Dubai today. “It’s a unique and dynamic part of the world. For us this a relatively big play,” Bridges told the Herald. […] When Dubai bid for Expo 2020, its rulers said they would spend more than $10b on a 2 sq km site that will contain three thematic areas: opportunity, sustainability and mobility. New Zealand has been invited to participate in the sustainability precinct. […] While trade runs heavily in US favour, Bridges said the New Zealand pavilion would allow Kiwi businesses to highlight their innovative products and services and open doors to new export markets. New Zealand is close to completing a free trade agreement with the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. […] Bridges said participation at the Expo was a carefully calculated strategic investment. “Ultimately this is a pretty hard-headed investment for exporters and the economy. New Zealand being there is essential.” […] New Zealand had signed up early as an exhibitor and it would help its push “against the open door” of trade negotiations.
Read more

ArabianBusiness.com Arabic Published on Apr 3, 2017
Al Wasl Plaza during Expo 2020 Dubai – source :Expo 2020 Dubai
Al Wasl Plaza, the central hub of Expo 2020 Dubai

Expo2020 Dubai Published on Apr 5, 2017
Al Wasl Plaza

Show Me Dubai Published on Dec 7, 2016
8 Billion Dollars Dubai Expo 2020 Master Plan
Dubai’s theme for the Expo is Connecting Minds, Creating the Future. Its proposed schedule is from October 2020 until April 2021, the first Expo to run over two years stretching over UAE’s 49th National Day and touching on UAE’s 50th Jubilee year in 2021. Dubai’s Masterplan proposes a site on 438 hectares of land in Jebel Ali equidistant to the Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport. To support its theme of sustainability, the iconic structure that covers much of the site will have photovoltaic fabric that is planned to generate at least 50% of the Expo’s power on site. Dubai Expo 2020 expects to create 277,149 jobs between 2013 and 2021. 40% of the employment opportunities generated would be in the travel and tourism sector. Dubai Expo 2020 expects to attract 25 million unique visitors and up to 33 million visits over the six-month period. Courtesy: Expo2020 Dubai

█ Expo 2020 Dubai UAE [website]

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Lee Vandervis and the zero-emission Electric Leaf

Promo: Nissan Leaf 30kwh [100hotcars.info]

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Received from Lee Vandervis
Wed, 28 Sep 2016 at 10:32 p.m.

From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2016 09:01:28 +1200
To: Editor ODT
Cc: Nicholas G S Smith, Julian Smith [Allied Press Ltd]
Subject: ZERO Rating – Letter to the Editor

ZERO Rating – Letter to the Editor.

Dear Editor,

When a youth group calling themselves Generation Zero springs a C- Environmental Rating [p4 ODT 27/9/16] on somebody who: generates his own off-grid solar power, cuts mills and builds with his own timber from sustainable macrocarpa forest using off-cuts for low-carbon heating, has been a life-long re-user as well as recycler restoring Heritage buildings and homes, drives a zero-emission electric car, eats veges and herbs from 20 metres of raised bed garden and fruit from a dozen orchard trees, and has always paid for his DCC water connection, it comes as quite a surprise to see this same group giving Mayor Cull an A+ Environmental Rating, presumably because he blamed South Dunedin’s avoidable flooding of homes on Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise. Hopefully it is only this fundamentalist Climate Change Generation Zero group that falls for the fashion of just talking Sustainability while ignoring the facts of those who actually live it.

Kind regards,

Cr. Lee Vandervis

****

Tue, 27 Sep 2016
ODT: Environmental ratings controversial
The group behind a website that is ranking Dunedin mayoral candidates on their environmental stance says it was produced in part to get young people talking about the local government election. […] [JOKE] Mr Cull said he was flattered by the judgement, and thought the organisation had “comprehensively” looked at a range of issues and how candidates had grappled with them.

****

ON THE RECORD
Lee Vandervis purchased a near new electric Nissan Leaf well before Dave Cull and Chris Staynes each bought theirs. What if? Dunedin inspected Mr Vandervis’ car today and went for a quiet ride……….. as you do when chasing down a bad ODT newsflash written by low pond life.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

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

SAVE Sammy’s (former His Majesty’s Theatre & Agricultural Hall)

Agricultural Hall. Burton Brothers studio. Te Papa Archives [C.012324]

His Majesty’s Theatre, Dunedin [render via realestate.co.nz]

Sammy’s portico to Crawford Street [dunedinmusic.com]

REAL ESTATE BLURB | Built 1896 Agricultural Hall 1902 Renamed His Majesty’s Theatre 1983 Sammy’s Cabaret & Restaurant
Time for someone else to take over the reins – with fresh enthusiasm and ideas for this iconic Dunedin property. Located in the heart of Dunedin’s rapidly developing ‘Warehouse Precinct’ it lends itself to a multitude of uses. Building 1500m with frontages to both Crawford & Vogel Streets. http://www.remax.co.nz/10395003

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█ SOUL DESTROYING LACK OF DISTRICT PLAN SCHEDULING
‘An offer pending consent for Sammy’s would more likely mean plans to considerably alter or demolish the building.’ –Glen Hazelton, DCC Policy Planner (Heritage)

█ SHINING LIGHTS
“It’s already protected under our Act, that’s the main thing.” –Matthew Schmidt, HNZ Otago Southland regional archaeologist

### ODT Online Wed, 18 Nov 2015
Uncertain future for venue
By Craig Borley
Demolition could be an option for Sammy’s, one of Dunedin’s most loved live music venues and one of the warehouse precinct’s largest buildings. On the market for “a few months” and with a list price of $240,000, the 1896 building had attracted attention from several potential buyers, owner Sam Chin said yesterday. Interest from one of those potential buyers was contingent on gaining a resource consent, Mr Chin said. He could not name the potential buyer and did not know what that resource consent was for.
Read more

BIG QUEST TO FIND THE RIGHT NEW OWNER – MEANWHILE, CITIZEN DUTY TO PROTECT THE BUILDING AS AN ICONIC PRESENCE IN VOGEL STREET HERITAGE PRECINCT AND WAREHOUSE PRECINCT

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Sammy’s Dunedin NZ 7.9.12 [Sola Rosa via staticflickr.com]

Sammy’s (2011) [alizarinlizard.blogspot.co.nz]

“….we got back to Dunedin by lunchtime and unloaded the P.A gear into Sammys then went home an slept the rest of the day till we had to come back an sound check..
but yeah, played later on that night and had a blast. Sammys looks absolutely amazing now days if you havent seen it already.”
–Alizarin Lizard, Dunedin psych-pop quartet

But what looked good at night under lights in 2011 was profoundly “trouble” due to lack of diligent building repair and maintenance, or any appreciation for fire safety…. and more words from Mr Chin….

[via comments at What if? Dunedin]

Elizabeth
June 1, 2011 at 2:58 am
### D Scene 1-6-11
Future of Sammy’s uncertain after eviction (page 3)
The future of notable Dunedin music venue Sammy’s is uncertain, after the eviction earlier this week of the operators of the Crawford St business. Building owner Sam Chin told D Scene yesterday that he had moved into the venue on Monday night and changed the locks. “The venue is closed for now and we’re just cleaning things up.”
{continues} #bookmark [search required]

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Elizabeth
June 2, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Tweet:
(2 June, 8:32pm) @DunedinTV Sammy’s closed down due to being in a complete state of disrepair http://tinyurl.com/43dprnf #channel9 #dunedin #tv #nz

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Elizabeth
June 23, 2011 at 2:33 pm
### ODT Online Thu, 23 Jun 2011
Nightclub owner angry over damage at venue
By Nigel Benson
Sammy’s owner Sam Chin has experienced some wild nights at the nightclub over the years. But he was not prepared for the sight which greeted him when he changed the locks on the building three weeks ago, after not receiving rent from the lessee since November. […] The venue opened in 1896 as the Agricultural Hall, before being renamed His Majesty’s Theatre, and has a long history as a hall, theatre and live music venue. Mr Chin said he wanted to maintain that tradition and reopen it for concerts next month.
Read more

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Elizabeth
August 7, 2011 at 11:36 am
### ODT Online Sun, 7 Aug 2011
Sammy’s set to reopen this month
By Nigel Benson
Sammy’s will reopen this month after being closed in June for refurbishment. Owner Sam Chin shut the venue after the building fell into disrepair. He said yesterday demand had led to him taking bookings again. […] “We had a lot of inquiries about when we were going to reopen. It’s such a good space with plenty of room for 500-plus people. We’ve already got three or four university graduation dinners booked in over the next couple of weeks.”
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Hamilton is here, DUD

Link received from Hype O’Thermia
Sat, 4 Apr 2015 at 10:20 a.m.

█ Message: Local shop owners blame lack of free parking and rising costs for “demise” of Hamilton’s CBD.

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The Central Business District of Hamilton is looking a little gloomy, with for lease signs up in many shop windows.

### Stuff.co.nz Last updated 05:00, April 4 2015
Hamilton central-city retail space sits empty
By Rachel Thomas and Nancy El-Gamel
Twenty per cent of ground level central Hamilton retail space is empty. Local shop owners are blaming lack of free parking and rising costs, while business leaders are pointing fingers at absentee landlords, sub-standard buildings and an inability to compete with lower rents at The Base.

The Base is New Zealand’s largest shopping Centre based in Te Rapa, 7 km North of Hamilton CBD.

To quantify what the average shopper sees [in the CBD], the Waikato Times counted all ground floor premises in the block within Hood St, Victoria St, Angelsea St and Liverpool St, finding that of 524 premises, the 104 empty ones outnumbered the 67 locally owned and operated stores in the area. […] Hamilton Mayor Julie Hardaker acknowledged the CBD needed desperate attention, and said council was taking a “holistic approach” to the problem. […] “For the city centre to be successful it must be commercially and economically successful and over the last few decades most reports have focused on physical changes, so we have started with an economic analysis and looked at the trend since 2001 in terms of the economy.”
Read more + Video

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Read comments to the article.
How many other places – like Dunedin – mirror Hamilton ?

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images: Waikato Times/Stuff – Hamilton CBD [screenshots from video]

Hot particulate air from Greenie Daaave #mayoralrace

Updated post Mon 23.2.15 at 1:40 p.m.

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█ Re: Sustainability Audit Subcommittee

BS ALERT
Mr Cull, who is on the subcommittee, said the targets were partly about following direction from central government and also about being responsible in the face of climate change.

### ODT Online Mon, 23 Feb 2015
DCC aims to reduce emissions
By Vaughan Elder
A target to reduce Dunedin City Council’s emissions 5% by 2018-19 is partly about setting a good example, Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull says. The council’s draft emissions management and reduction plan was presented to members of the sustainability audit subcommittee last week at its first meeting.
Read more

DCC emissions (via ODT)
• The council emits 30,696 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO2e) per year, roughly equivalent to the yearly emissions from 6500 passenger vehicles.
• That equates to 248 kgCO2e per resident and 560 kgCO2e per rateable property.
• Of the council’s emissions 23,039 tCO2e, or 75%, is from landfilled waste.
• The council’s draft emission target aims for an overall reduction of 5% by 2018 19 and a 20% reduction in non landfill emissions.

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The Sustainability Audit Subcommittee comprises:
Janet Stephenson (Chairperson), Mayor Dave Cull, Councillors David Benson-Pope and Jinty MacTavish, Gael Ferguson and Brett Tomkins —see previous post and comments Link

Reports to SA subcommittee meeting held 12 February:

Report – SAS – 12/02/20115 (PDF, 69.9 KB)
Members’ Interest Register

Report – SAS – 12/02/2015 (PDF, 68.4 KB)
Delegation to Sustainability Audit Subcommittee

Report – SAS – 12/02/2015 (PDF, 211.4 KB)
Sustainability Background Paper and “Interim” Stocktake

Report – SAS – 12/02/2015 (PDF, 390.4 KB)
Emissions Management and Reduction Plan (CEMARS)

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Related Posts and Comments:
13.2.15 Daaave Cull keeps SPENDING on #impulse
25.12.14 Daaave stole Christmas from #DUD
[re: Citifleet insurance scam/coverup, losing +152 vehicles and untold cash is REALLY sustainable]

█ For more, enter the term *sustainability* in the search box at right.

****

### investors.com 02/10/2015 06:43 PM ET
U.N. Official Reveals Real Reason Behind Warming Scare
Economic Systems: The alarmists keep telling us their concern about global warming is all about man’s stewardship of the environment. But we know that’s not true. A United Nations official has now confirmed this. At a news conference last week in Brussels, Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of U.N.’s Framework Convention on Climate Change, admitted that the goal of environmental activists is not to save the world from ecological calamity but to destroy capitalism. Read More [564 Comments]

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: Associated Press (AP) – Christiana Figueres during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2014.

ORC: New strategic plan fosters Otago prosperity

### ODT Online Tue, 14 Oct 2014
ORC could take up different ‘posture’
By Rebecca Fox
Enabling “development opportunities” and “unleashing potential to enhance prosperity” through planning could be the new direction of the Otago Regional Council. […] Its vision of a “prosperous and sustainable future for Otago” was expressed in four goals – active resource stewardship, active regional partnerships, realisation of new opportunities and the emergence of an “Brand Otago”. Those goals would be delivered through nine proposed areas of focus covering activities around land use change, rivers, efficient water use, benefits of coastal space, biosecurity, hazards, air and transport.
Read more

See agenda and reports for the additional Ordinary meeting of the Otago Regional Council to be held on 15 October 2014:

█ “For Our Future” – A prosperous and sustainable Otago
Otago Regional Council Strategic Plan 10 October 2014 (PDF, 821 KB)

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Stadium: Liability Cull warns ratepayers could pay more to DVML

### ODT Online Wed, 8 Oct 2014
Ratepayers ‘inevitably’ pay losses
By Chris Morris
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull says the future funding model for Forsyth Barr Stadium will be more transparent to put an end to a “money-go-round” draining the council’s coffers. But it was still too soon to say whether ratepayers would end up carrying more of the cost, before the public release of the review’s findings next month, he said. Mr Cull was commenting after appearing to suggest, in the council’s latest newsletter, that a funding increase could be possible for Dunedin Venues Management Ltd.
Read more

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Mayor’s Desk 03 Oct 2014
The Council has started planning for the 2015 budget. Next year is also a Long Term Plan (LTP) year. The LTP is a 10 year plan that is refreshed every three years. In addition, the Government has imposed new and urgent requirements on councils around certain important policies. The three work streams are interconnected so there is a huge amount to consider and decide on. The extra work wouldn’t be so demanding if the 2015 budget weren’t already challenging.
While the Council has a financial strategy limiting rates increases to 3%, we face reducing dividend streams from our Council companies, probable higher requirements to get the Forsyth Barr Stadium on to a sustainable footing, greater government regulatory requirements and on going Council reviews. These place considerable demands on resources.
We also need to continue to implement our key strategies. For instance, the Economic Development Strategy aimed at job and business creation, the cycleway network addressing safety and transport options, debt reduction and heritage building enhancement. Our strategic framework is the interconnected road map to the future of our city. Without it Dunedin goes backwards. So savings will be made, tough choices taken and development momentum maintained at the same time. The 2015 budget will be a delicate balancing act.
Contact DCC on 03 477 4000. DCC Link

█ FYI Issue 22 October 2014 (PDF, 458.3 KB)

█ Back issues of FYI Dunedin

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Comment by Calvin Oaten
Submitted on 2014/10/05 at 12:39 pm

“FYI DUNEDIN” The latest FYI landed in my letterbox on Friday. Reading from the ‘Mayor’s Desk’ I was taken by Dave’s verbose message. The Council has started planning for the budget. “The work would be demanding if the 2015 budget weren’t already challenging.”

He says: “While the Council has a financial strategy limiting rates increases to 3%, we are facing reducing dividend streams from our Council companies, probable higher requirements to get the Forsyth Barr Stadium on to a sustainable [there’s that word] footing, greater government regulatory requirements and on going Council reviews. These place considerable demands on resources….”

Does he read that stuff? Indeed, did ‘HE’ write it or some muppet in the PR department? A real ‘Churchillian’ rally to the flag entreaty. Nowhere does he address the solution to the main points of the strategies. Are there any real solutions? I don’t know. But I will make some guesses. As I see it, three things are possible.

First, and ideally, there is a massive rush of blood to the head and Dave and all councillors do the right thing and call a halt on all plans, projects and lock the cheque book in the top drawer till future finances allow it to come out again. ‘Fugetaboutit’ it is not in his genome to know anything about prudence.

Second, there will be a massive shift in the rates quotient, on the plea of: ‘jeez’ times have got really tough, and the business cycle has turned against DCHL’s enterprises and the dividend stream is going to be much less than expected. So, it’s shoulders to the wheel and all must do their bit for the good of the city. We must not let it go backwards. Not a hint of reducing the department’s demands and dreams.

Third, a massive change of plan on the debt reduction front. It currently sits north of ($610 million) and we know that the city entered into a ‘multi note facility’ up to but not exceeding ($850 million). So there is around $240 million of freeboard available. Just a silent, unobtrusive drift upwards could be justified, again to tide us over till better times return.

Realistically, there is not one major programme which could not be deferred till the ship is brought back into balance. “Without it Dunedin goes backwards.” News for you Dave, Dunedin is going backwards now! and all your nonsense is accelerating the process.

“STOP!” You already are stuck with the one big “Tar Baby”, in the FB Stadium. If you think you can get that onto a ‘sustainable’ (that word again) footing without pouring vast additional capital into it then you are dreaming. Patronage is the proof in the pudding. It never has reached anything like a feasible level, and is actually in decline at the principal activity, rugby. It is being intravenously dripped to the maximum by around $8 million pa by Aurora now, and we are served notice that this could be in jeopardy due to DCHL’s situation. You have already upped the ratepayers’ input to $2m pa to supposedly shorten the payback period. The rent to DVL is heavily subsidised due to DVML’s inability to generate enough to pay out of revenue. If you look at the DVL reports it is treading water furiously. It has reduced its stadium debt from $146.6 million over four years to $138.586 million, and at the same time brought forward a ($13.656m) deficit. To me that looks like $5.642m backwards. That is notwithstanding capital call ups of the $2 million from the shareholder for the attempt to shorten the loan period. The directors of DVL have comfort in the knowledge that when DVL was established it was capitalised on the basis of 245,000,000 $1 shares, of which to date only 79,688,931 have been called and fully paid up. So you can see that 165,311,069 shares are still available to be called. Dave, you just don’t seem to realise the predicament which the ratepayers (shareholders) are in. That you believe that the FB Stadium can ever crawl out of the financial swamp is tantamount to your understanding of the position.

So, I wonder just how many good folk will be taken in by your ‘glib’ summary as outlined in the FYI bulletin? My guess, not many.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC: Jaunt to USA, explain

Dunedin, March 2010. Benchill (Wikimedia Commons).

### ODT Online Fri, 3 Jan 2014
Streetlight ideas from US trip
By Debbie Porteous
Seeing the bright lights of some major American cities has given the man responsible for a street lighting revolution set for Dunedin some solid ideas. Dunedin city council roading maintenance engineer Peter Standring went to the United States last year to look at different technologies and visit cities that have started updating their street lighting.
Read more

Puzzled. The news story says Peter Standring went to USA.
But lower down, it says (our emphasis):

“Los Angeles was in many ways the world leader in the procurement, installation and development of LED technology, and the group was “very lucky” to have had one and a-half hours of Mr Ebrahimian’s time, Mr Standring said.”

What group? A DCC group? (or a USA group he tagged along with?) What have we paid for? A 2013 trip for one person to Los Angeles, Durham, Racine, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco —or a trip for a group of staff and their wives?
Clarification, please.

****

[via Upstart Incubator (@UpstartDunedin) who tweeted at 9:29 AM on Tue, Dec 31, 2013]

### mckinsey.com September 2013
How to make a city great
By 2030, 60 percent of the world’s population will live in cities. That could mean great things for economic growth — if the cities handle their expansion wisely. Here’s how.

What makes a great city? It is a pressing question because by 2030, 5 billion people — 60 percent of the world’s population — will live in cities, compared with 3.6 billion today, turbocharging the world’s economic growth. Leaders in developing nations must cope with urbanisation on an unprecedented scale, while those in developed ones wrestle with aging infrastructures and stretched budgets. All are fighting to secure or maintain the competitiveness of their cities and the livelihoods of the people who live in them. And all are aware of the environmental legacy they will leave if they fail to find more sustainable, resource-efficient ways of managing these cities.

Explore six diverse initiatives aimed at making cities great places to live and work.

To understand the core processes and benchmarks that can transform cities into superior places to live and work, McKinsey developed and analysed a comprehensive database of urban economic, social, and environmental performance indicators. The research included interviewing 30 mayors and other leaders in city governments on four continents and synthesizing the findings from more than 80 case studies that sought to understand what city leaders did to improve processes and services from urban planning to financial management and social housing.

The result is How to make a city great (PDF, 2.1MB), a new report arguing that leaders who make important strides in improving their cities do three things really well:

█ They achieve smart growth. Smart growth identifies and nurtures the very best opportunities for growth, plans ways to cope with its demands, integrates environmental thinking, and ensures that all citizens enjoy a city’s prosperity. Good city leaders also think about regional growth because as a metropolis expands, they will need the cooperation of surrounding municipalities and regional service providers. Integrating the environment into economic decision making is vital to smart growth: cities must invest in infrastructure that reduces emissions, waste production, and water use, as well as in building high-density communities.

█ They do more with less. Great cities secure all revenues due, explore investment partnerships, embrace technology, make organisational changes that eliminate overlapping roles, and manage expenses. Successful city leaders have also learned that, if designed and executed well, private–public partnerships can be an essential element of smart growth, delivering lower-cost, higher-quality infrastructure and services.

█ They win support for change. Change is not easy, and its momentum can even attract opposition. Successful city leaders build a high-performing team of civil servants, create a working environment where all employees are accountable for their actions, and take every opportunity to forge a stakeholder consensus with the local population and business community. They take steps to recruit and retain top talent, emphasise collaboration, and train civil servants in the use of technology.

Mayors are only too aware that their tenure will be limited. But if longer-term plans are articulated — and gain popular support because of short-term successes — leaders can start a virtuous cycle that sustains and encourages a great urban environment.
Link to source

● McKinsey&Company The material on this page draws on the research and experience of McKinsey consultants and other sources. To learn more about their expertise, visit the Infrastructure Practice, Public Sector Practice, Sustainability & Resource Productivity Practice.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: commons.wikimedia.org – Central city view of Dunedin, New Zealand, at night from Signal Hill lookout. The dark horizontal band above the centre of the photo is the Town Belt. Some landmarks including First Church of Otago and the Dunedin Railway Station are visible near the centre. Photo by Benchill, 9 March 2010.

RMA and Key’s right-wing slashers

BACKWARD STEP: Our environment is at risk if the Resource Management act is watered down.

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 05:00 21/07/2013
Gutting the RMA – it’s time to be concerned
By Anton Oliver
Source: Sunday Star-Times
OPINION | The Resource Management Act (RMA) has sadly become a much maligned and misunderstood piece of legislation: a kind of universal public punching bag – if mentioned in conversation, it is almost obligatory to put the slipper in. To most Kiwis it represents bureaucracy and inefficiency – pen-pushing do-gooders and paper shufflers who engage us in excessively long and costly processes that get in the way of us Kiwis doing stuff.
In fact the RMA – passed in 1991 – was a means of rectifying mistakes and providing at least some environmental and social integrity to development and planning process. It was recognised by legal minds to be a world-leading piece of legislation. It protected our environment and our economy based on the premise of sustainable resource management. What’s more, it was politically robust in that it received the blessing of both major parties.
It also gave New Zealanders a chance to be heard and it facilitated local decisions made by local people. While the country’s environmental indicators such as water quality and biodiversity loss have still gone backwards – the RMA has stemmed what would otherwise have been fatal haemorrhaging.
Similarly, the RMA has protected a set of fundamental Kiwi values: the notion of fairness and equity in regard to everyone having a right to their say; industry and other activities being required to take responsibility for avoiding, remedying or mitigating adverse environmental impacts; and developments being required to have regard to effects on such things as recreation, scenic values, private property rights, and the public’s access to rivers, lakes and beaches.
That’s all about to change.
The Government plans to alter the Act to give greater weight to economic development over environmental considerations, granting to itself the right to veto any issue. You don’t have to be legal-minded to see the impact of subtle word changes. While the consideration for the “benefits” of a project remains, gone are any references to the “costs”, making a cost-benefit analysis redundant because environmental “cost” is out of the equation.
Gone, too, are the words: “maintenance and enhancement of amenity values”. That’s basically any recreational activity – walking, running, swimming, fishing, kayaking. Who likes doing that stuff anyway? Thankfully the “importance and value of historic heritage” stays. But its cobber, “protection from inappropriate subdivision and development” gets the boot – making the first clause meaningless. And my personal favourite, “maintenance and enhancement of the quality of the environment” has been politely asked to leave. Clearly such an unruly clause has no place in a legal act that’s trying to protect the environment.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Jan Wright, has a different interpretation. She thinks the changes “muddy the overwhelming focus of the RMA, to protect the environment, and risk turning it into an Economic Development Act”. Similarly alarmed, the architect of the RMA, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, concludes: “The [proposed changes] will significantly and seriously weaken the ability of the RMA to protect the natural environment and its recreational enjoyment by all New Zealanders.”

The changes also grant considerable new powers to central government, giving it the ability to take individual consent decisions away from local councils and place them in a new national body. The changes go further still, by allowing government the right to insert provisions in local council plans without any consultation.
Read more

● Former All Black Anton Oliver is an ambassador for Water Conservation Order NZ.

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Related Posts and Comments:
21.4.13 *fashionable* Heritage Dunedin and the RMA holocaust
17.3.13 RMA Bill: Public meeting 21 March
6.7.12 Recommended changes to RMA explode environmental protection

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: stuff.co.nz – Anton Oliver

Chongqing, Southwest China

### news.xinhuanet.com | English.news.cn 2013-01-26 21:27:26
Chongqing sets new roadmap in post-Bo Xilai era
CHONGQING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) — Chongqing’s municipal government vowed Saturday it would shake off the impacts of the Bo Xilai scandal and make law-abiding governance the priority alongside further reform. Huang Qifan, mayor of the metropolis in southwest China, described 2012 as an “extremely extraordinary year” for Chongqing’s development in his report on the work of the municipal government, which was delivered to the 4th Chongqing Municipal People’s Congress.

The local legislature convened its annual session on Saturday with aims to outline the city’s future blueprint for the next five years. The mayor said the government has endeavoured to maintain steady economical and social development despite the severe toll of the incidents involving Bo Xilai, with the city recording an annual economic growth of 13.6 percent. “It turned out that Chongqing citizens have weathered storms and withstood ordeals,” he said.

The government published the full text of its work report, in which it placed governing in accordance with the Constitution and the law as a main focus for this year, while references to Chongqing’s previous high-profile crackdowns on organised crimes are notably absent. In 2009, when Bo Xilai was the CPC (Communist Party of China) chief of Chongqing, the city launched a massive anti-crime campaign, prioritising fighting local mafia-style gangs. Though Bo and Chongqing’s police were credited with reducing crime, concerns were raised about abuses of power and the neglect of due legal process.

The government should rule in accordance with the law, and “no organisation or individual has the privilege to overstep the Constitution and the law,” the work report said. A power reshuffle in this session is set to usher in new local leaders, higher requirements are posed for the municipal government to further intensify reform, Huang told the lawmakers, adding that improvement to work style should be made following the central leadership’s call for eradicating bureaucracy and formalism in December.

Officials in Chongqing are urged to remain low-key and down to earth, talk less and work more to better serve the people.
Read more

****

“Amazing city… but without spirit… is a City with many construction. Don’t have the beauty of Brasilia… is a new city of construction.” —Cidade_Branca (architect) at SkyscaperCity CHONGQING | Projects & Construction (2.11.07 03:36 AM)

Wikipedia: Chongqing

“One river is naturally brown from the silt, the other is normal dark blue.”
—the spliff fairy at SkyscraperCity (28.2.13 01:54 PM)

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### nytimes.com September 26, 2011
Built in a Dirty Boom, China’s Biggest City Tries to Go Green
By Coco Liu – ClimateWire
CHONGQING, China — Wandering around in downtown Chongqing, it is hard to imagine that this is a city that is going green. Vehicles clog roads in every direction. Construction cranes stretch to the horizon. And huge posters displaying locally produced industrial goods show where the city’s exploding economic growth is coming from. But Chongqing (population 28,846,200) is more than meets the eye. After living with acid rain and toxic smog for decades, the city has been scrambling for ways to clean up the air. It is also overhauling its power-hungry economy and rebuilding it on a base of industries that use less energy.

Chongqing isn’t alone on such a transformation path. It is one of several pilot provinces and cities that Chinese leaders picked last year in an attempt to find a low-carbon growth model that can be spread to the rest of the nation. Experts attribute this new Chinese desire to the fact that China’s environment and natural resources can no longer afford the blights of heavily polluting, energy-intensive growth. Moreover, there is growing pressure from the outside world to reduce emissions.

Chongqing, controlled demolition 30.8.12

Cities will play a major role in that effort. During the next 20 years, more than half of global greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to come from the developing world’s cities, and more than half of that will come from Chinese cities, says Michael Lindfield, a lead urban development specialist at the Asian Development Bank. “So the importance of making Chinese cities energy-efficient is really a global issue, not just a Chinese issue,” Lindfield added.

But none of this comes easily. For one, it is hard for cities to uproot decades-old economic foundations. In addition, cities risk revenue losses. Energy-guzzling factories that are shut down, in many cases, can’t be immediately offset by low-carbon industries that are still in their nascent stage. Moreover, the switch from traditional industries to green businesses claims jobs, at least for a short term. While cement makers can hire people with few skills, solar panel producers can’t.

Chongqing [became] one of the nation’s industrial hubs. It is China’s biggest producer of motorcycles. It leads in aluminum production. Every day, containers of made-in-Chongqing steel, chemicals and machinery are loaded on cargo ships and then sent from here to destinations along the Yangtze River. All this came at a heavy price.

Data from the World Bank showed that in the early 2000s, one-third of crops in the Chongqing area had been damaged by acid rain — the result of sulfur dioxide and other industrial pollutants. Breathing here became a dangerous thing to do. The World Bank reported that in 2004, residents in Chongqing were inhaling six times more lung cancer-causing pollutants than the World Health Organization considers safe.

“The city was always enveloped by fog and smog,” explained Li, the local economist. The mountain terrain around it helped concentrate Chongqing’s murky air, he said, “but pollution from heavy industries was the key.”
Read more

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Chongqing Planning and Exhibition Centre. The city model shows a concept idea of the future of Chongqing. Most important skyscrapers aren’t added until they have a definitive design. —z0rg at SkyscraperCity CHONGQING | Projects & Construction (6.8.06 09:32 PM)

100 towers taller than 200m including 20 supertalls in one city.
Chongqing 200+ metre List —z0rg at SkyscraperCity (6.7.08 10:05 AM)

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[ODT] The project was being advanced on their behalf by Betterways, of which Ms Jing Song was also a director.

### ODT Online Sat, 23 Mar 2013
Betterways, Diamond Heights link
By Chris Morris
DUNEDIN — The construction company linked to Dunedin’s proposed $100 million waterfront hotel is building the tallest tower in western China. The building will be the tallest for the time being, at least. It has been confirmed the company linked to Dunedin’s proposed hotel is Diamond Heights Construction Engineering Co Ltd, which is based in Chongqing, China, and employs more than 1000 staff. The company is owned by Ping Cao, who together with wife Jing Song, of Queenstown, wants to build Dunedin’s five-star hotel on industrial land at 41 Wharf St.

While it was said Diamond Heights would not be directly involved in construction of Dunedin’s hotel – should consent to proceed be granted – Mr Cao and Ms Song planned to fund it together and contract a New Zealand company to build it.

Mr Cao’s company is responsible for the construction of the 65-storey Shangri-la Hotel in Chongqing, which at 290m high will, when completed, be nearly three times the height of Dunedin’s proposed hotel. It was almost finished, with only the exterior cladding to be added, and was an impressive sight when visited by Betterways Advisory Ltd director Steve Rodgers last year, he told the Otago Daily Times.
The company was also involved in other projects in China, including two sprawling mixed-use developments comprising hotels, other commercial buildings and housing.
Read more

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is said to be Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group. Four Shangri-La hotels are projected for Chongqing.
Image: businesstraveller.asia

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Related Posts and Comments:
16.3.13 Hotel: COC jollies and sweet cherry pie
23.1.13 Proposed hotel: Council and submitters await detailed information
28.12.12 ‘Low-rises are great for the community and the residents’
24.12.12 A Christmas Tale
21.12.12 Proposed hotel – ODT graphic indicates building height
19.12.12 Hearing for proposed hotel – competencies, conflicts of interest?
16.12.12 Proposed Dunedin Hotel #height
10.12.12 Proposed hotel, 41 Wharf St – “LEARNING FROM LAS VEGAS”
7.12.12 Proposed hotel – Truescape shenanigans
6.12.12 Dunedin Hotel – revised design
2.12.12 Roy Rogers and Trigger photographed recently at Dunedin
26.11.12 Proposed hotel, 41 Wharf Street – indicative landscape effects
20.11.12 City planner’s report recommends against consent for hotel
10.11.12 Dunedin Hotel, 41 Wharf Street (LUC 2012-212)
4.10.12 DUNEDIN: We’re short(!) but here is some UK nous…
8.9.12 Waterfront Hotel #Dunedin (Applicant names?)
7.9.12 Waterfront hotel: DCC to notify resource consent application
23.6.12 Mis(t)apprehension: website visits, not bookings?
16.5.12 Dunedin Hotel

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Growth fetish ? Urban sprawl v Higher density living ?

### onenesspublishing.com March 20, 2013
Urban sprawl isn’t to blame: unsustainable cities are the product of growth fetish
By Brendan Gleeson
In a recent article on The Conversation Robert Nelson argues we are all morally culpable for unsustainable urban sprawl. He goes on to suggest we fix this by taking advantage of opportunities for higher density development in sparsely populated inner suburbs. But his argument is based on a false opposition: mounting evidence shows that high density development in inner areas performs very poorly in terms of resource consumption and greenhouse emissions. The idea that outer suburbs are inherently less sustainable than inner ones doesn’t bear scrutiny. The key question is not where we accommodate growth; it’s our slavish pursuit of growth itself.
Read more

● Brendan Gleeson is Professor in Urban Policy Studies at University of Melbourne.

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The Conversation hosts in-depth analysis, research, news and ideas from leading academics and researchers.

Read two articles by Robert Nelson at The Conversation:

The grass isn’t greener in the outer ‘burbs (7 March 2013, 6.43am AEST)
“For a long a time real estate close to the palace was socially desirable, and anyone with aspirations didn’t want to know about the rest. Today in Melbourne inner-city people are embarrassed to reveal knowledge of the outer suburbs such as South Morang, like 17th century Parisians who would mispronounce the street-names of poorer areas or affect not to know them at all. Throughout history, the distribution of wealth has had a geographical expression. Snobbery, however, is only part of the challenge of urban geography. Power and privilege are concentrated within 10kms of the city centre.”

The devaluing dream; why Australian suburbia is an economic disaster (11 January 2012, 6.22am AEST)
“In spite of what everyone believes through natural pride and vanity, the family house is an asset that depreciates. Don’t be deceived that the value of property goes up and up, which of course it does. The rising prices are caused by the land becoming more expensive, not the house itself.”

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: shutterstock.com – urban expansion

RMA Bill: Public meeting 21 March

INVITATION TO MEETING — ALL WELCOME

UPDATED POST 20.3.13 at 7:14pm

Received.

—– Original Message —–
From: Jocelyn Harris
To: Ann Barsby ; Elizabeth Kerr ; Judith Medlicott
Sent: Friday, March 15, 2013 9:56 AM
Subject: RMA Bill

Dear Ann, Elizabeth and Judith

The proposed revisions to the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) allow for the setting up of a central commission to over-ride environment court and local council decisions. That includes decisions about heritage.

On Thursday 21 March 2013 at 7pm in the Burns Hall, a quickly assembled group of people will hold a public meeting to discuss our concerns and encourage submissions on the revised RMA and reforms to water management.

As the submission date is 2 April that doesn’t give us much time.

I would be grateful if you could alert your networks to the provisions in the proposed Bill as they affect heritage.

Best wishes
Jocelyn

Professor emerita Jocelyn Harris
Co-chair, Sustainable Dunedin City Inc

[ends]

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Resource Management — Reform Bill [2012]
Government Bill 93—1
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2012/0093/latest/whole.html

Click on the link, type “heritage” in the Search box at the top of the webpage.

Download: RMAFlyer_10 (PDF, 1.77 MB)

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What ORC is thinking… (page 9)

ODT Link

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

New Zealand Urban Design Awards

“The importance of upfront investment in the public domain, whether by a public authority or private developer.”

### idealog.co.nz Fri, 9 Nov 2011 @ 9:24am
Auckland tops at brand new Urban Design Awards
By Design Daily team
Wynyard Quarter’s Jellicoe Precinct and the Auckland City Centre Masterplan have taken the top awards in the first-ever New Zealand Urban Design Awards, a new biennial programme that acknowledges the importance of high quality urban environments.

Jellicoe Precinct, Wynyard Quarter – Winner, Built Projects category

Wellington waterfront – Highly Commended, Built Projects category

[Images via Idealog]

Jury convenor, former New South Wales government architect Peter Mould, said they looked for projects “which established or reinforced urban initiatives and executed them with demonstrable design excellence”. “Urban design is concerned not so much with individual buildings, but with the building of a city. It’s about place making, and it’s also about the public realm.”

Mould said that if a trend emerged from the first Urban Design Awards, “it was the importance of upfront investment in the public domain, whether by a public authority or private developer. Such investment sets the agenda for excellence in the future”.

Waterfront Auckland’s Jellicoe Precinct, stage one of the development of Wynyard Quarter, was an exemplary case of agenda-setting urban design for which consultants Architectus and Taylor Cullity Leathlean and Wraight + Associates deserved congratulation as winner of the Built Projects category.

The New Zealand Urban Design Awards are supported by the New Zealand Institute of Architects, the Urban Design Forum, the New Zealand Planning Institute, the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects and the Property Council of New Zealand.

Joining Mould on the jury were planning consultant David Mead, landscape architect Sally Peake, deputy head of the University of Auckland’s School of Architecture and Planning, Lee Beattie, and property developer Patrick Fontein.
Read more + Images

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

The End of The Golden Weather?

Received from Calvin Oaten

Are we coming to the end of the ‘Golden Weather’? I say this, not in the meteorological sense, but rather in the sense that perhaps our society and its economic construct might be on the verge of a catastrophic change. Why? Well it seems that many signposts are pointing to an approaching collapse of the present model of the economy as constructed. This requires constant growth in order to sustain an ever increasing social budget. That in turn requires full or near full employment, a buoyant consumer market and a consequent ever increasing supply of energy and raw materials. None of these are finite, neither in New Zealand nor the Planet. The current model has, in order to foster this growth, taken upon itself to ‘jazz up’ consumption by cultivating a culture of instant gratification, fueled by intensive marketing, planned obsolescence, and last but not least, very easy credit.

This easy credit has been promoted heavily by governments, local bodies, banks, retailers and all manner of financial institutions. This has brought about a dynamic shift in society’s attitude to debt. It has encouraged folk to spend beyond their immediate ability, to the point where their indebtedness is assuming dangerous proportions. This is manifested by ‘economic bubbles’ forming, none more so than our own housing market. The people in the industry, real estate companies, banks, financial institutions all rev up the market by convincing people that property is a great investment which will always hold its value. But we only have to look at Ireland, the UK, the USA, and lately Australia to see the lie of this claim. Property can always go down just as it can go up. Take a look at Japan. Its property bubble burst in 1989 and has never recovered. Off by as much as 70-80%.

The result of all this is a hugely indebted developed world, including NZ. What caused this to happen? It seems to date back to around 1971, when then President Nixon was experiencing difficulty in financing the Vietnam war. At that time printing of money was constricted with the dollar being pegged to what is known as the gold standard. This meant that the amount of currency in circulation was limited by how much gold was held by the federal government. By leaving the gold standard the federal treasury was free to set its own parameters and to print accordingly. That resulted in a vast increase in all paper currencies around the world with a burst of inflation throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Historically, all monies eventually revert to the mean, and this has always been to a standard unit of value, GOLD. Throughout history, even before Roman times this has always prevailed. Trust in paper currencies sooner or later fail and there is a collapse.

We’ve seen it in modern times with Germany (in the 1920-30s), Argentina (several times), Greece, and very recently Iceland. The USA federal government has just breached its self-imposed debt ceiling of $16 trillion. If anyone wonders what $1 trillion represents, look at it as a time equivalent. Let’s say one was to repay $1 trillion at the rate of $1 per second. Working 24/7, 360 days per year it would take “32,000 YEARS”. So multiply that by 16 and it is easy to see that this debt will never be repaid. Worse, it is growing as we speak.

Those with the power are unbalancing the fairness factor.

This reckless attitude has permeated into the human psyche and we see evidence of it here in little old Dunedin. Our society has degenerated into a selfish me world. Those with the power are unbalancing the fairness factor.

Take remuneration for example, fewer and fewer people are taking a greater share of the economic cake, and are quite blatant about it. Wealth is flaunted while many are moving into poverty. Financial rewards are all out of line with production balance.

It is noticeable that many of the highest remunerated are drawing their rewards from the public’s purse, without so much as a blush. Here in Dunedin we have a local MP tabling a bill in Parliament seeking a minimum wage of $15 per hour. This, on a 40-hour week equates to $600 per week. It would be up from $13.50 per hour or $540 per week. This is being vigorously opposed by many. But on the other hand we see public servants and others receiving enormously higher rewards. We have seen several instances in the last few weeks.

The retiring CEO of the Otago Museum with a salary of $310,00 per annum (pa) or $5,961 per week (pw). The DVML CEO receives $250,000 pa or $4,807 pw. The council owned company Delta, where the CEO is paid $380,000 to $390,000 pa or $7,500 pw. 41 additional staff paid over $100,000 pa or $1923 pw. Our own DCC CEO is rewarded with between $340,000 and $360,000 pa or $6,730 pw. The Vice-chancellor of our University of Otago receiving over $500,000 pa or $10,000 pw. Our DCHL group of companies last year paid its 7 directors $725,444 for what would optimistically involve about four weeks equivalent work each. This is repeated up and down the country and if anyone thinks this is sustainable they have to be in “cloud cuckoo land”.

On our local public scene we have seen the city’s debt burgeon from $212.486 million as at 30 June 2005 to $602.008 million at 31 December 2011. We now know that this has considerably changed for the worse, since. The stadium is a financial disaster, in serious damage control, the Otago Settlers Museum is over $40 million, the Town Hall/Conference Centre is over $50 million, and we are looking at somewhere near $100 million for the Tahuna upgrade. No-one in office seems to either understand, or simply passes it off as someone else’s problem.

We elect these people to conserve and look after our treasure, and what happens? It just goes from bad to worse, with all manner of rascals leaching off us in different ways. If only someone in office had the intestinal fortitude to stand up and say, “enough, this has got to stop”. But sadly, it gets back to that culture I mentioned. “I’m OK Jack”, never mind anyone else.

Is all this sustainable? Ask yourself. We don’t know when the situation will break, but it is certain that it will. The whole developed world is awash with debt and frantically creating more by the day, in a desperate move to save the situation. But it is pretty simple, how can more debt solve a chronic debt malady? It is pretty much synonymous with supplying a chronic alcoholic with more whisky. We are in for very interesting times.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Deloitte ‘State of the Unions’ report

Download Deloitte Rugby Union Sports Review 2012 (PDF, 682.12 KB)

Deloitte
Media Release

July 31, 2012

Community participation and support crucial to sustainability of Rugby Unions

Deloitte ‘State of the Unions’ report highlights decline in provincial rugby unions’ revenues

Community participation and support are crucial to the on-going viability of the country’s provincial rugby unions and the continued success of the nation’s favourite game at the highest levels, according to a Deloitte Sports Review released today.

The ‘State of the Unions’ Deloitte Sports Review examines the annual financial accounts over the last five years of the 14 semi-professional and amateur rugby unions competing in the ITM cup. It shows that collectively revenues are falling and reserves are being eroded, potentially threatening the future success of the game in New Zealand.

Revenue earned by the 14 rugby unions competing in the ITM Cup (excluding the professional rugby franchises competing in Super Rugby) dropped 11% from $77 million in 2010 to $68 million in 2011. This is 19% down on the $84 million earned five years ago.

On average, over two-thirds of total revenues in 2011 were from grants and sponsorships from the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU), the corporate sector and others. The remaining revenue streams for the unions include match related revenues, retail sales, event management and other sundry incomes.

Of particular concern is the decline in match related revenues, which include gate takings and hospitality. This revenue has fallen 58% in the past five years from $21 million to $9 million, accounting for the lion’s share of the total $16 million decline in revenues.

However, Deloitte partner Grant Jarrold said there are signs unions are working harder to contain costs in a difficult environment and have made some progress in turning the financial picture around. Only five of the 14 ITM Cup unions posted profits in 2010 with this improving to nine unions in 2011 and the combined deficit falling from $2.3m to $630,000 over the same period.

Mr Jarrold added that the large corporate sponsorships and other grants that have filtered into the grass roots game in the past can no longer be relied upon in the current commercial climate.

“Now more than ever, the unions need to look for innovative ways to build community support and encourage increased attendance to reverse the worrying trend of declining match related revenues. Otherwise changes to the structure of the game in this country will become inevitable,” says Mr Jarrold.

He points to the fact that a relatively small increase of 500 spectators paying an average price of $20 per ticket at each of the regular season games of the ITM Cup would have eliminated the combined net deficit in 2011 with all other things being equal.

“The importance that our provincial rugby unions hold for the on-going success of our national team should not be forgotten as they are responsible for fostering the development of the game and its players throughout New Zealand,” Mr Jarrold concludes.

The full State of the Unions Deloitte Sports Review can be found at www.deloitte.com/nz/stateoftheunions.

For more information, contact:

Matt Huntington
Communications Manager
Deloitte
DDI: 04 470 3771
Mob: 021 812 210
email: mhuntington@deloitte.co.nz

www.deloitte.com/nz/about

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Larry Mitchell: 2012 Local Govt League Table Summary

Press Release
Councils continue to struggle and spend … May 25th Release of the League Table

2012 Local Government League Table Executive Summary

• The 2012 LGLT covering all 67 New Zealand territorial local authorities ‘fits’ neatly within the Government’s recent announcements of local government reforms and validates (from its data) public concerns of some poor Council performance. No Council scores higher than 36 out of 50 for the financial and economic metricated measures of the LGLT;

• The bulk of Councils score only ‘Fair’ results (with scores of from 23 to 30 on the 50 point metric scale) and are ranked in a range from 31st to 57th out of 67 compared to their peers;

• Auckland Council has yet to provide meaningful public information on its financial performance improvement programmes. No useful Auckland Council comparisons with the pre-amalgamation financial and economic status of its seven predecessor Councils has been provided by which the Auckland Council’s comparative post-amalgamation performance could be gauged;

• ‘At risk’ Councils – the ten poorest performers – whose ‘stats’ indicate a combination of unsustainable Council finances and/or unaffordable rates or charges include the Kaipara District (whose present difficulties are well known). Kaipara is the biggest downgrade dropping 49 places to 65th out of 67 for its metric results – plus it receives a double red traffic light downgrade warning;

• Hauraki and Upper Hutt have regressed, the latter has dropped 15 places to 58th … in spite of recent announcements that the Mayor and Council have declined their increased salaries! Kaipara and Tararua have yet to file audited accounts;

• The ‘Southern Scots’, Clutha and Southland Districts have swapped the top two places at the head of this (parsimonious) League Table;

• The LGLT uses financial and economic assessment ratios closely allied to the measures that by law will soon be introduced for all Councils relating to their financial management performance and public reporting;

• The 2012 League Table indicates little overall performance improvement in 2011-2012;

• The metric measures have scarcely moved from an average of 30 out of 50 last year to 29 out of 50 in 2012. The consistency of these results over the three or more years of the assessments suggest a reliability and robustness of the methodology;

• Two Councils – Queenstown and Carterton are the biggest improvers both making the top 10 for the first time.

All enquiries to Larry.N.Mitchell, Finance & Policy Analyst (Local Government)
Phone 09 4220598, email larry at kauriglen dot co dot nz or see website www.kauriglen.co.nz/larry select BASE STATS WITH TRENDZ/LEAGUE TABLE.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Milwaukee regeneration project: The Brewery

### switchboard.nrdc.org Posted September 22, 2011
A spectacular green neighbourhood is brewing in Milwaukee
By Kaid Benfield (Blog)
Milwaukee’s newest trendy neighbourhood is likely to become one of its best, and almost certainly its greenest. The Brewery, an environmentally sensitive restoration and adaptation of historic structures among the decaying wreckage of the former Pabst Brewing Company, is already home to striking residential lofts, a great beer hall, a range of offices, Cardinal Stritch University City Centre, and a small urban park. Soon it will add a senior living facility and the School of Public Health of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Look for more residential and commercial presence, including a boutique hotel, retail and restaurants, over time.

The Brewery, when built out (courtesy of The Brewery)

The seven-block, 20-acre project [plans] involved the restoration and adaptive reuse of an amazing 26 structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places, surely making it one of the most ambitious historic preservation projects in the country. It also involved extensive brownfield cleanup; had a great location within walking distance of Milwaukee’s downtown; planned aggressive use of green infrastructure to manage stormwater; planned to set aside some apartments for qualifying low-income families; and included standards for high-performing green buildings.

The site before construction (image by Jeramey Jannene)

The Brewery was also strongly supported by the city government in what has been the largest public-private partnership in Milwaukee’s history. When the site is fully built out, it is expected to include at least 300 homes and some 1.3 million square feet of office and retail property.
Read more

-Kaid Benfield writes (almost) daily about community, development, and the environment.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

BLAME Dunedin City Council

… for overreaching its role in liquor licensing by allowing a staff officer to give unsolicited ‘business advice’…

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### ODT Online Wed, 5 Oct 2011
‘Don’t blame us for shop closure threat’: DCC
By Eileen Goodwin
Some people are wrongly blaming the Dunedin City Council for the “frustrating” potential threat of closure of the Macandrew Bay Store, DCC liquor licensing and projects officer Kevin Mechen says. The council had received several highly critical emails and letters since the store’s plight was highlighted by the Otago Peninsula Community Board last week. The store’s liquor licence has been referred to the Liquor Licensing Authority, because of a crackdown on dairies having liquor licences, which makes it doubtful the store will be eligible for renewal.
Read more

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### ODT Online Thu, 29 Sep 2011
Fears for Macandrew Bay store
By Eileen Goodwin
Macandrew Bay Store’s liquor licence may not be renewed, sparking concern the community could lose the store. The dairy appeared unlikely to get its licence renewed because of a clamp-down on dairies having liquor licences, Dunedin City Council liquor licensing and projects officer Kevin Mechen said when contacted.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Solar roof claddings

### idealog.co.nz 28 Sept 2011 at 3:39 pm
Polymers could be key in affordable uptake of solar in homes and office buildings
By Sustain Team
We’re used to seeing massive solar panels strapped to the roofs of houses and office buildings, but a Victoria University lecturer says a process that incorporates solar cells into roofing materials could serve us better. According to Dr Justin Hodgkiss, these cells could provide all the energy used in a home or office building in New Zealand, at a more affordable option. Hodgkiss, a lecturer at the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, said conventional solar cells use silicon to absorb light and convert the energy into electricity. But processing silicon into a working solar cell is very expensive, with the high costs limiting the uptake of the technology by consumers. Hodgkiss is one of a number of local and international scientists who are investigating an alternative option of making solar cells from polymers or plastics. They are building on the work of Nobel Prize winning New Zealand scientist and Victoria alumnus Alan MacDiarmid who discovered the electronic conductivity of polymers. Hodgkiss said the major advantage of using polymers is that they can be dissolved to make an ink and then printed in sheets.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

UIA2011 TOKYO: 24th World Congress of Architecture

25 September – 1 October 2011

The World Congress of Architecture, a triennial event hosted by the UIA, is taking place for the first time in Japan. The self-proclaimed ‘olympics of architecture’ will be focusing on ‘design 2050: beyond disasters, through solidarity, towards sustainability’.

Built from a mixed program of lectures, competitions, exhibitions and workshops, this year’s initiative seeks to create a vision for architecture and communities of the future. Questioning the role and responsibilities of architects, engineers, and designers, the poignant topic aims to investigate the creation of sustainable societies, attractive cities and the protection of human lifestyles.

10,000 international architects/engineers/designers are gathering for Design2050.

http://www.uia2011tokyo.com/en/

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Kevin McCloud interview

Interesting comments on contextual housing, and more…

### radio.co.nzSat 24 Sep 2011 at 11:05
Saturday Morning with Kim Hill
Kevin McCloud: grand designs
Architectural historian and designer Kevin McCloud is best known for the television series Grand Designs, and has also made series about Europe, the slums of Mumbai, and urban blight and regeneration. He writes about architecture and people, most recently in the book Kevin McCloud’s 43 Principles of Home: Enjoying Life in the 21st Century (Collins, ISBN: 978-0-00-726548-0), and runs HAB (Happiness Architecture Beauty), building sustainable and contextual housing schemes. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Foresters. Kevin McCloud visits New Zealand for the first time for One Night Only, an evening of design and anecdotes, on 26 October at Auckland’s Civic Theatre. (35′28″)
Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3 | Embed

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Kathryn Ryan interviews agribusiness pioneer George Harrison

BRILLIANT INTERVIEW (if Ryan didn’t interrupt)

### rnz.co.nz Wed 22 Jun 2011 10:06 AM
Nine To Noon with Kathryn Ryan
Agribusiness pioneer Sir Graeme Harrison
Newly-knighted founder and chair of meat company Anzco Foods, which has annual sales of more than $1.2 billion, making it one of New Zealand’s largest exporters. He is also a director of dairy co-operative Westland Milk Products and fishing firm Sealord.
Audio Ogg Vorbis MP3 (32′50″)

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Related:

[comment] 25.5.11
Prof Sir Paul Callaghan, physicist, entrepreneur, and New Zealander of the Year, was in Dunedin yesterday. Link

Sir Paul’s vision for New Zealand is a knowledge-based economy producing high-quality exports that do not strain the environment. Looking after the environment created the kind of society in which highly skilled people wanted to live. It helped reverse the brain drain, and attracted people from overseas. -Otago Daily Times

[post] 22.5.11
Audacious idea: New Zealand X-Prize Environmental and Energy

Hyperfactory founder Derek Handley said $1b is less than a tenth of what the current government has committed to infrastructure projects in the next few years and about the same amount spent bailing out South Canterbury Finance investors. It is also “about twice as much as the amount we hope to lose by hosting the Rugby World Cup”, he said and about the same as our bill for six weeks of imported oil. -Sunday Star Times

[post] 2.4.11
At last, PRODUCTIVITY is?

The Productivity Commission’s inquiry into international freight transport services is of high importance to Otago and Southland, Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie said yesterday. -Otago Daily Times

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

SAVE Dragon Café / Barron Building – Sign the Online Petition

175 Rattray Street, Dunedin, New Zealand

Please support the retention and restoration of Dunedin’s iconic Dragon Café / Barron Building by signing the online petition at this link:

http://www.gopetition.com/petition/42203.html

A paper petition is currently being prepared for circulation.

From an earlier post, following a recent site visit to “the first and second floor interiors of the Barron and Co building . . . The [architect] Owen Macfie interiors are still in existence and although in some places in poor condition are for the most part unaltered and therefore pretty special”.

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Photo: Paul Le Comte (January 2011)

Photo: JW Allen, Barron Building c. 1880
Hocken Collections [c/n F405/16]

Related Posts, Comments and Photographs:
13.1.11 Barron Building and Rattray Street
13.1.11 Banks, Barron & Co Building Collapse pics
12.1.11 Demo by neglect? Save the facade?

Latest Update 22.1.11 Dunedin Heritage Fund

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Photo: Elizabeth Kerr (January 2011)

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

‘Outfitting buildings to save energy’

Tweet:

@NatGeoSociety New ‘Winter Clothes’ for China Homes http://on.natgeo.com/gYXF0H #energy
(via SocialFlow)

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Landscape urbanism + ‘larger infrastructure of the territory of our cities and towns’

“Landscape is doing some serious environmental heavy lifting.”
–Adriaan Geuze, West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture

### architectmagazine.com October 6, 2010
Source: ARCHITECT October 2010
Urban Design
Systems, Not Icons: The unstoppable rise of landscape urbanism
By John Gendall
Not long ago, landscape architects were often dismissed as the consultants who put finishing touches on a building site—the broccoli around a steak. But with landscape architects increasingly taking lead positions on large-scale projects, winning urban design competitions around the world, and expanding the design market share, broccoli, clearly, is a thing of the past.
In many ways, the bellwether for these changes was James Corner’s career arc. As a young designer in Richard Rogers’ office, he grew frustrated by a lack of collaboration between disciplines on the postindustrial London Docklands project. Setting out on his own, he founded Field Operations, which has transformed itself from a boutique landscape practice turning out small projects and academic essays into a significant urban design firm with high-profile projects around the world. The critical step in that transition was when Corner won the competition to turn Freshkills, a huge former landfill in New York City, into a public park.
Underscoring this trend, the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) is in the midst of expanding its landscape faculty by six professorships over two years, and its landscape student body by 50 percent. And landscape architecture’s academic expansion holds up with the most tried-and-true indicator: It’s following the money. Large corporate architecture firms are ramping up their urban design and landscape divisions, as AECOM notably did in 2005 when it acquired EDAW, then among the world’s largest landscape firms.
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr