Consultants, a robust process, and our bills
It was interesting to read Tim Loan, chairman of Dunedin City Holdings Ltd, saying that we need to hire consultants to ensure there is a robust decision-making process regarding the proposed sale of Aurora Energy.
This is the third attempt at the sale by DCHL. Firstly it was just a proposal put to council that would solve their money worries, then we had a workshop to convince Dunedin residents that the sale is the best option. Both of these appear to have met a brick wall and the opinion of Dunedin ratepayers is still against the sale.
If consultants are needed then why weren't they hired in the first place? Or were we expected to just accept a non-robust decision, one made from the hip?
It was also interesting to see Brian Wood's opinion piece (ODT 15.7.24). Remember, he was one of the team that brought us to this position.
None of the conversation so far has looked at the whole picture and that is what is best for Dunedin ratepayers who in the majority are also Aurora customers.
No matter who owns Aurora, the source of Aurora's income is its consumers who will be funding its operation and profits, so no change for us there — our power network charges will remain the same, apart from regular increases.
If we sell Aurora and remove Aurora from the council's books we will give the council more room for further borrowing, allowing the council to increase its total non-DCHL debt, which leads to a higher percentage of our rates or higher rates going to pay interest on this newly borrowed money.
Selling Aurora will not decrease our network charges, but will lead to higher rates to pay the increased council debt, leaving Dunedin ratepayers worse off in their pockets.
It’s a concern
The Clutha Concerned Citizens submitted and encouraged others to have their say in the recent long-term plan submission process of the Clutha District Council. Mayor Cadogan said he could blame the stop Three Waters campaign for all the increased costs associated with the proposed rates rise.
"This is the tip of the iceberg," was one quote from a soapbox meeting. "We will need $600 million" was another.
I submitted that the residents and ratepayer had lost trust in the council to be in charge of such a mammoth infrastructure and budget operation, stating that even if you got the money ,we don't trust you to spend it properly. The council’s track record is appalling in regards to keeping to a budget and cost overruns.
Who is accountable? Around 200 staff at the council? The Clutha ratepayers have had enough of the incompetence.
Councillors I have spoken to were completely blindsided by the need to authorise more money. If they didn't know, who did? Our elected councillors should have all information on every project that they have previously voted on.
The good old days
I like to watch rugby and wondered why I didn’t feel more enthusiasm for the new guys recently. I missed the old gang. The impish grin of Aaron Smith who always looked as if he was enjoying himself. The hairy caveman Sam Whitelock, the giant Brodie Retallick, the handsome Richie Mo’unga.
Then I got to wondering how much bleach it would take to clean the Englishmen’s oufits and why on earth did they wear white anyway? And as for the ABs’ new jerseys with the white Peter Pan collars?
Change. I guess it’s all a matter of time.
Opinions and the passing of centuries of history
The narrowness of Metiria Stanton Turei’s recent opinion piece (ODT 12.7.24) on her view that special rights and legal privileges be given for special people is gravely concerning simply because such views are coming from an academic lecturing to young minds at the law faculty of the University of Otago.
The university’s role is to present a balanced comprehensive picture of how the past knowledge base evolved to generate the current views of our society.
In the beginning of homo sapiens’ emergence how many different human worlds co-existed? Around 10,000BC there were thousands.
By 2000BC the number had dropped to several hundreds.
By the AD1400s 90% of all people lived in a single mega world. In a mere 300 years, the Afro-Asian world swallowed up all the other worlds — the meso American world in 1500s, the Oceanic world with Ferdinand Magellan, the Andean world and the Inca Empire later in the 1500s, and the Australian and Tasmanian Nations in the 1600s.
Today almost all humans share the same geo-political system, the same economic system, the same legal system; the same scientific system and many speak the same language.
And what does Mrs Stanton Turei advocate in her article? A return to the situation 10,000 years ago.
Her job is to inform her students, and the community for that matter, with an open-minded description of the many past and present systems.
While she is fully entitled to have her own personal view it is, and always should be, up to the recipients to make up their minds in the light of all of the evidence which she should be presenting.
Failure to do that may explain why the university has slipped down to 383rd in the listings and the law faculty is not listed at all.
Practicality needed for signs, cones
I was pleased recently to see a more common sense approach being considered to the currently overmanaged requirement for temporary traffic management. Our experience is typical I'm sure of what many others have been forced to accept.
Under current DCC regulations it was deemed necessary to cap off an out of use foul water connection that had to be accessed by digging up a section of footpath. The night before any site work commenced, the traffic management company placed 48 cones and 10 instructive signs some distance apart along the narrow street.
I'm assuming that this is the minimum requirement for any road regardless of traffic use over the scheduled work period. We live in a very quiet street where most of the traffic consists of residents coming or going. Anyone else would be either a courier, a sightseer, or perhaps lost.
Over the approximately seven hours that the drainlayer was working five cars passed by, maybe three of them being residents. The digger was positioned on the footpath and only the arm of the machine at times extended out on to the road space. The street is two-way but mostly only one lane wide.
Half a dozen cones placed at the extremity of the digger swing was all that was required. Evidence that work was occurring would be obvious on approaching the site from either direction. A sign indicated a maximum speed limit of 30kmh. Only occasionally would anyone reach such a dizzying speed on this stretch of road.
Despite the fact that there is a footpath on only one side, another sign instructed footpath walkers to wait to be guided past safely. The workers were quite disappointed that no-one required such assistance as the few who ever tread this street always walk on the road.
The total administrative charge to us for the application for work, the placement supply and removal of the equipment deemed necessary was $1446 (or $289 per vehicle). I rest my case. Some common sense please.
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