I joined 150 other locals to listen to Opposition Leader John Key at the Community Centre last Friday and found it most interesting. I have known John from business circles before and found him to be intelligent, practical and down to earth in his approach, so I was keen to see how he was as a politician in front of an audience.
Those same aspects of his character came across in his address, which included possibly the most coherent assessment that I have heard of the Kyoto Protocol and its impact on NZ’s economy. He skirted neatly around the extremist views of some in the audience and dwelt on the vexed issue of NZ’s continuing under performance as an economy, giving the overall impression of a leader who will be much more of a challenge to the proven, strong leadership skills of our PM than the hapless Brash ever did.
John Key’s main points about our economy were that in spite of continued good world wide trading conditions we have still slipped down the rankings and were losing too many good citizens to the better wages on offer in Australia, and that there had been insufficient investment in infrastructure, coupled with too much growth of our central bureaucracy in remote Wellington.
As a merchant banker he explained that he is used to looking at companies and deciding whether to invest in them or sell, and investors looked for under performing assets that they could buy and then change the management to get growth and value from them. If NZ was a company he felt that although under performing, it had a lot to offer but it needed a change in management and that is obviously what his party is setting out to convince people before the next election.
That seemed like a good analogy to me, then I thought about the Far North and the same thing applies in a smaller scale. In spite of our climate, beaches, nice towns and attractive lifestyle we also are under performing as an economy losing out to Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and so on in the competition for resources, people and opportunities.
We also have failed to attract the right people including retaining our own bright young ones, failed to invest enough in infrastructure such as sewerage and roading, and lastly we have spent too much on a remote bloated bureaucracy at Kaikohe.
We get our chance to change the management this coming October at the local body elections. I think we should!
Monday, August 06, 2007
KEEPING THE FAR NORTH’S WONDERFUL NATURAL ATTRACTION
What a great weekend that was! Long overdue hot windless weather and clear skies just made for reminding us how lucky we are to live up here. If you didn’t get out on the boat, go to the beach or at least be outside then bad luck or perhaps you might as well shift to the deep-south and take advantage of the cheap housing down there.
A huge pod of dolphins came up the Mangonui harbour on Saturday morning herding smaller fish and bringing the Dolphin charter boats back to where they were moored before they headed out with tourists.
I have the fishing skills of a desert camel and still managed to catch a variety of legally sized fish, so the predictions of no more fish seemed wrong, at least during last weekend as we saw hundreds that didn’t take my bait. Big stingrays were easily seen both in the harbour and among many other species in the clear, clear waters off the Northern coast of the Whatuwhiwhi peninsula where any boatie lucky enough to be there enjoyed the wide empty expanses of blue sea under blue sky.
For those of you lucky enough to follow our coastline from the sea, I can report that long strips of the coastline still remain undeveloped and visually fairly natural, (if one considers open grasslands natural). The built up areas are not nearly as obtrusive as we are lead to believe by various planners whose efforts to keep the built environment contained have been moderately successful.
The preservation of this open unspoilt coastal look of the Far North deserves our consideration. It competes directly with the wishes of rich foreign investors seeking privacy and keen to buy and lock up chunks of our coastal heritage. It also competes with the average Kiwi’s dream of the bach at the seaside.
These two seemingly opposite desires can be managed by policies that promote further development of areas that are already compromised by quarter acre sections by concentrating coastal living into existing residential areas. More intensive subdivision with the necessary sewerage and stormwater services is preferable and allows the currently empty areas to be zoned so they still remain empty looking and real.
A huge pod of dolphins came up the Mangonui harbour on Saturday morning herding smaller fish and bringing the Dolphin charter boats back to where they were moored before they headed out with tourists.
I have the fishing skills of a desert camel and still managed to catch a variety of legally sized fish, so the predictions of no more fish seemed wrong, at least during last weekend as we saw hundreds that didn’t take my bait. Big stingrays were easily seen both in the harbour and among many other species in the clear, clear waters off the Northern coast of the Whatuwhiwhi peninsula where any boatie lucky enough to be there enjoyed the wide empty expanses of blue sea under blue sky.
For those of you lucky enough to follow our coastline from the sea, I can report that long strips of the coastline still remain undeveloped and visually fairly natural, (if one considers open grasslands natural). The built up areas are not nearly as obtrusive as we are lead to believe by various planners whose efforts to keep the built environment contained have been moderately successful.
The preservation of this open unspoilt coastal look of the Far North deserves our consideration. It competes directly with the wishes of rich foreign investors seeking privacy and keen to buy and lock up chunks of our coastal heritage. It also competes with the average Kiwi’s dream of the bach at the seaside.
These two seemingly opposite desires can be managed by policies that promote further development of areas that are already compromised by quarter acre sections by concentrating coastal living into existing residential areas. More intensive subdivision with the necessary sewerage and stormwater services is preferable and allows the currently empty areas to be zoned so they still remain empty looking and real.
IT’S NOT YOUR SUSPENSION, IT’S OUR BLOODY ROADS
It’s easy to think that all roads in NZ are like the bumpy shockers that we endure, but they are not and there are some obvious reasons why not, yet nothing is being done about them.
I recently drove from Wellington up through the Wairarapa, on through the Desert Road and up into Auckland and then up home. It was a lovely cloudless day and the dry brown countryside gave the land and sky a wonderful look like that of a fine landscape painting. Cafes have sprung up and rejuvenated what were once tired country towns making for great touring.
Motoring in such countryside on such a day is a great pleasure added to by the seemingly endless empty ribbons of smooth pothole free highway.
After a night in Auckland the journey continues past roadworks, dodging trucks, avoiding queues where possible and finally getting north of Whangarei where the vehicle starts bouncing and swerving as if something is slightly wrong with it. A quick check and no, it’s not the suspension, it’s our bloody roads.
Every straight, once laid flat is now a series of bumps and hollows, the repaired sections seem to be chosen randomly and don’t mesh with the existing, the traffic is intense and heavy trucks dominate. Why is this?
Well, roading funding is dished out according to population, so all Kiwis get equal access to roading funds. This is not equal access to good roads. Down south, rock is everywhere, roads are cheaper to build and do not settle simply because their geology suits roading better than our soft soils and expensive soft rock.
Also the population that get funded is the same population that use the roads. They don’t have a million Jafas using their roads free like we do.
It’s not as if we don’t have enough MPs up here to argue the case for equal access to good roads, but they’re too busy worrying over parents smacking the kids to bother. They should all be made to get together and fight for equal access to good roads for all Kiwis including those of us who live up here!
That would help
I recently drove from Wellington up through the Wairarapa, on through the Desert Road and up into Auckland and then up home. It was a lovely cloudless day and the dry brown countryside gave the land and sky a wonderful look like that of a fine landscape painting. Cafes have sprung up and rejuvenated what were once tired country towns making for great touring.
Motoring in such countryside on such a day is a great pleasure added to by the seemingly endless empty ribbons of smooth pothole free highway.
After a night in Auckland the journey continues past roadworks, dodging trucks, avoiding queues where possible and finally getting north of Whangarei where the vehicle starts bouncing and swerving as if something is slightly wrong with it. A quick check and no, it’s not the suspension, it’s our bloody roads.
Every straight, once laid flat is now a series of bumps and hollows, the repaired sections seem to be chosen randomly and don’t mesh with the existing, the traffic is intense and heavy trucks dominate. Why is this?
Well, roading funding is dished out according to population, so all Kiwis get equal access to roading funds. This is not equal access to good roads. Down south, rock is everywhere, roads are cheaper to build and do not settle simply because their geology suits roading better than our soft soils and expensive soft rock.
Also the population that get funded is the same population that use the roads. They don’t have a million Jafas using their roads free like we do.
It’s not as if we don’t have enough MPs up here to argue the case for equal access to good roads, but they’re too busy worrying over parents smacking the kids to bother. They should all be made to get together and fight for equal access to good roads for all Kiwis including those of us who live up here!
That would help
Wellington Law Production factory.
I’ve heard from several councillors that most of the delays and difficulties associated with rules, regulations, fees and slow responses are because of Government requirements for councils to meet all sorts of daft laws and requirements coming out of the Wellington Law Production factory.
When will the council stand up to the government and either tell them to get knotted or simply ignore them in the same way that the council regularly ignores us, the ratepayers (and increasingly the development contribution payers)?
Anyone bothering to visit www.dbh.govt.nz, the website for the Department of Building and Housing will find volumes of idiotic regulations devoted to stopping us falling over on verandahs or thrusting our way through endless versions of balustrades and guardrails. What is this fixation? Are civil servants and politicians really that clumsy that they need this amount of protection from themselves. We don’t.
Someone, somewhere has to lead a stop to this madness before they fence off the beaches and wharves of Northland in case someone gets in the water and drowns.
Same with pool fences. Get around to inspecting them in a few years time would be a suitable response and in the meantime make it mandatory that all kids learn to swim. That way it won’t matter if they fall in and in fact they’ll all love the fun and benefit from the physical activity.
Apply for a building permit and you will get letters back, (not emails, mate) covering an amazing array of things that don’t matter, including for instance the demand that the plans show the method of extracting cooking fumes. Presumably this is because someone thinks that the hospitals are full of people suffering from inhaling the aroma of bacon and eggs.
Anywhere on the coast now counts as an area for which wind turbulence is so great that specific engineering design is required. This is in spite of the fact that simple old Kiwi baches still survive in droves in the same wind patterns. We have allowed ourselves to be treated as a bunch of complete nannas!
The house I live in will be 100 years old this summer and is as solid as a rock in spite of the fact that it is over the sea and would absolutely fail nearly every clause of the current building code. Nor does it have any subfloor insulation, yet it is warm and cheery through winter and cool and airy in summer. It is just wonderful to live in and will be for another 100 years. Let it go, council!
When will the council stand up to the government and either tell them to get knotted or simply ignore them in the same way that the council regularly ignores us, the ratepayers (and increasingly the development contribution payers)?
Anyone bothering to visit www.dbh.govt.nz, the website for the Department of Building and Housing will find volumes of idiotic regulations devoted to stopping us falling over on verandahs or thrusting our way through endless versions of balustrades and guardrails. What is this fixation? Are civil servants and politicians really that clumsy that they need this amount of protection from themselves. We don’t.
Someone, somewhere has to lead a stop to this madness before they fence off the beaches and wharves of Northland in case someone gets in the water and drowns.
Same with pool fences. Get around to inspecting them in a few years time would be a suitable response and in the meantime make it mandatory that all kids learn to swim. That way it won’t matter if they fall in and in fact they’ll all love the fun and benefit from the physical activity.
Apply for a building permit and you will get letters back, (not emails, mate) covering an amazing array of things that don’t matter, including for instance the demand that the plans show the method of extracting cooking fumes. Presumably this is because someone thinks that the hospitals are full of people suffering from inhaling the aroma of bacon and eggs.
Anywhere on the coast now counts as an area for which wind turbulence is so great that specific engineering design is required. This is in spite of the fact that simple old Kiwi baches still survive in droves in the same wind patterns. We have allowed ourselves to be treated as a bunch of complete nannas!
The house I live in will be 100 years old this summer and is as solid as a rock in spite of the fact that it is over the sea and would absolutely fail nearly every clause of the current building code. Nor does it have any subfloor insulation, yet it is warm and cheery through winter and cool and airy in summer. It is just wonderful to live in and will be for another 100 years. Let it go, council!
HISTORIC PROGRESS
Last Wednesday, the 25th of October at 430pm an historic meeting took place at The Centre, that big opera house thing next to Master Plumbers in Kerikeri.
Gathered in the large meeting room (looking out over what appears to be a recreation of the prisoner’s exercise yard at Robben Island used by Nelson Mandela for all those years,) senior council staff finally sat down with the leading engineers, surveyors, developers and town planners of our region.
Clive Manley, the FNDC CEO and a team of most of his senior managers with the exception of the never-present roading engineer met with leading practitioners to discuss the controversial topic of Development Contributions, which are set to exceed rates as the main form of council income in years to come.
Fearing some sort of unrest FNDC brought a meeting conciliator who outlined what his response to any emotional outbursts would be. So what happened?
Well, exactly what usually happens when grown up business people meet! A sensible meeting took place that involved council outlining their Development Contribution Policy and practitioners asking questions about how it affected their clients and outlining some areas where the policies could be better explained or varied to meet unexpected outcomes.
Quite a few of the engineers, town planners and surveyors present, (including myself) have actually been plying our trades here for much longer than any of the council staff and we found it so useful to actually discuss such issues face to face with council, that all present agreed to hold these meetings at least quarterly and to discuss other issues.
With regard to Development Contributions, which add around $20,000 to the cost of any new house, FNDC were encouraged to publicise this information and directly inform the Real Estate industry so buyers of land and houses will know what’s in-store. For new topics, the subjects of Building Permits, the time taken and why every house also seems to need an excavation permit was suggested along with Engineering Standards.
Then the meeting had a Eureka moment, when council staff discovered that most practitioners are not that interested in formulating policy but are very interested in the implications of any new policy, as these always change behaviours and have different outcomes to those expected. The radical idea of trialling new policies for a test period of 3 to 6 months to see what happens and then adjust the policy settings was floated.
There is hope!
Gathered in the large meeting room (looking out over what appears to be a recreation of the prisoner’s exercise yard at Robben Island used by Nelson Mandela for all those years,) senior council staff finally sat down with the leading engineers, surveyors, developers and town planners of our region.
Clive Manley, the FNDC CEO and a team of most of his senior managers with the exception of the never-present roading engineer met with leading practitioners to discuss the controversial topic of Development Contributions, which are set to exceed rates as the main form of council income in years to come.
Fearing some sort of unrest FNDC brought a meeting conciliator who outlined what his response to any emotional outbursts would be. So what happened?
Well, exactly what usually happens when grown up business people meet! A sensible meeting took place that involved council outlining their Development Contribution Policy and practitioners asking questions about how it affected their clients and outlining some areas where the policies could be better explained or varied to meet unexpected outcomes.
Quite a few of the engineers, town planners and surveyors present, (including myself) have actually been plying our trades here for much longer than any of the council staff and we found it so useful to actually discuss such issues face to face with council, that all present agreed to hold these meetings at least quarterly and to discuss other issues.
With regard to Development Contributions, which add around $20,000 to the cost of any new house, FNDC were encouraged to publicise this information and directly inform the Real Estate industry so buyers of land and houses will know what’s in-store. For new topics, the subjects of Building Permits, the time taken and why every house also seems to need an excavation permit was suggested along with Engineering Standards.
Then the meeting had a Eureka moment, when council staff discovered that most practitioners are not that interested in formulating policy but are very interested in the implications of any new policy, as these always change behaviours and have different outcomes to those expected. The radical idea of trialling new policies for a test period of 3 to 6 months to see what happens and then adjust the policy settings was floated.
There is hope!
Have the Council declared war on the ratepayers and forgotten to tell us?
Earlier this year I was forced to cough up several thousand dollars to FNDC for parking and roading impacts of a completely code complying development in Mangonui.
I spent some money putting in nicely paved footpaths where none existed before and also pointed out that there were more carparks provided than the dwelling owners have yet to use. Nevertheless the money was demanded and duly paid.
I have waited to see what this investment would produce in the way of improved driving or parking experience for my fellow residents of Mangonui and up until last week there was nothing. No sign of the promised roadway widening and additional carparks opposite the Mangonui Boozer. Nothing I could see for the dosh.
Just the usual wide-open spaces as the crowds have flocked elsewhere. With the exception of a few days before Christmas and most of January, there are always more carparks in Mangonui than there are people to fill them. In fact most days of the year you can park a logging truck in Mangonui.
Of course if you are delivering groceries or mail to the Four Square in the morning in a big truck, you have to block the road due to the idiotic paved area with bollards right where the loading bay should be, but even then there are empty parks in other parts of town.
But this week the residents of Mangonui did receive something from FNDC for our rates and development levies. What’s more it arrived unannounced without the public notices and consultation that the rest of us have to go through. To the best of my knowledge it even arrived without consultation with the iwi, a complete no/no for mere mortals.
And what did we get? Well, not quite what I had in mind for all that money!
What we got was a parking infringement notice writer all dressed up in the uniform of a security company. What the residents got were a series of parking tickets for exceeding P30 and P120 notices that nobody had ever either noticed before or worried about before. Oddly enough you can park 24/7 right outside the Four Square guided by roading lines that the residents put in and paid for themselves, but only for 120 minutes apparently right outside apartments where people dwell and which don’t have any alternative parks.
What is this messenger telling us? What problem is he solving? Why have the council declared war on us without warning us? At least Bainimarama told the Fijians he was coming.
I spent some money putting in nicely paved footpaths where none existed before and also pointed out that there were more carparks provided than the dwelling owners have yet to use. Nevertheless the money was demanded and duly paid.
I have waited to see what this investment would produce in the way of improved driving or parking experience for my fellow residents of Mangonui and up until last week there was nothing. No sign of the promised roadway widening and additional carparks opposite the Mangonui Boozer. Nothing I could see for the dosh.
Just the usual wide-open spaces as the crowds have flocked elsewhere. With the exception of a few days before Christmas and most of January, there are always more carparks in Mangonui than there are people to fill them. In fact most days of the year you can park a logging truck in Mangonui.
Of course if you are delivering groceries or mail to the Four Square in the morning in a big truck, you have to block the road due to the idiotic paved area with bollards right where the loading bay should be, but even then there are empty parks in other parts of town.
But this week the residents of Mangonui did receive something from FNDC for our rates and development levies. What’s more it arrived unannounced without the public notices and consultation that the rest of us have to go through. To the best of my knowledge it even arrived without consultation with the iwi, a complete no/no for mere mortals.
And what did we get? Well, not quite what I had in mind for all that money!
What we got was a parking infringement notice writer all dressed up in the uniform of a security company. What the residents got were a series of parking tickets for exceeding P30 and P120 notices that nobody had ever either noticed before or worried about before. Oddly enough you can park 24/7 right outside the Four Square guided by roading lines that the residents put in and paid for themselves, but only for 120 minutes apparently right outside apartments where people dwell and which don’t have any alternative parks.
What is this messenger telling us? What problem is he solving? Why have the council declared war on us without warning us? At least Bainimarama told the Fijians he was coming.
Great Southern Debate should be done up here
I had the privilege of being one of the invited (and handsomely rewarded) speakers at a conference in Southland called by the combined councils down there to consider the way forward for their province for the next 20 years.
Under the charismatic leadership of Mayor Tim Shadbolt, a crowd of over 300 had paid a nominal entry fee for the day’s discussion aimed at coming up with ideas to lift their already good performance economically and socially. It was great to see the councils and communities focussing out 20 years compared to our 20 day focus on just getting building permits responded to.
First up speaker was an Australian demographer, Bernard Salt who provided fascinating data on the worldwide drift from rural farming provinces to cities and warmer coastal lifestyle communities with the odd exception like Queenstown in NZ and Phoenix in the USA. He linked the population movements to and from Australia over the last few decades showing the drifts reverse from time to time when things get better economically in NZ.
Northland fortunately benefits from the drift to the equator, however Invercargill’s long term population loss is a challenge. The brilliantly successful Zero Fees promotion at the Southland Polytech produced a lift in population of 4500 which turns out to be one of only two such reversals on the planet, the other being a town in rural USA that opened a casino.
Southland benefit from very strong institutions compared to other provinces. The Southland Community Trust puts $10million each year into the community as does the Invercargill Licensing Trust, resulting in wonderful facilities like the vast sporting complex, home to the champion Southern Sting Netballers and the amazing indoor velodrome next door which gives cycling such a boost to go with the famous Tour of Southland.
The unfortunate statistic for Invercargill is the relative absence of young people in the 18 to 35 age groups and the Licensing Trust, although generous in financial terms has resulted in some of the most boring pubs and very few of the small licensed bars and restaurants that places like Mangonui are blessed with. Many of the ideas for the future growth involved making the place more youth focussed.
Their tourism needs seem similar to ours with competition from the big traditional tourist destinations and there was strong support for the idea of the Four Corners of NZ, being Southland, Taranaki, Tairawhiti and the Far North as a type of national tour of the icnic Kiwi destinations.
All in all a thought provoking day lead by an iconic mayor who really promotes his home area.
Under the charismatic leadership of Mayor Tim Shadbolt, a crowd of over 300 had paid a nominal entry fee for the day’s discussion aimed at coming up with ideas to lift their already good performance economically and socially. It was great to see the councils and communities focussing out 20 years compared to our 20 day focus on just getting building permits responded to.
First up speaker was an Australian demographer, Bernard Salt who provided fascinating data on the worldwide drift from rural farming provinces to cities and warmer coastal lifestyle communities with the odd exception like Queenstown in NZ and Phoenix in the USA. He linked the population movements to and from Australia over the last few decades showing the drifts reverse from time to time when things get better economically in NZ.
Northland fortunately benefits from the drift to the equator, however Invercargill’s long term population loss is a challenge. The brilliantly successful Zero Fees promotion at the Southland Polytech produced a lift in population of 4500 which turns out to be one of only two such reversals on the planet, the other being a town in rural USA that opened a casino.
Southland benefit from very strong institutions compared to other provinces. The Southland Community Trust puts $10million each year into the community as does the Invercargill Licensing Trust, resulting in wonderful facilities like the vast sporting complex, home to the champion Southern Sting Netballers and the amazing indoor velodrome next door which gives cycling such a boost to go with the famous Tour of Southland.
The unfortunate statistic for Invercargill is the relative absence of young people in the 18 to 35 age groups and the Licensing Trust, although generous in financial terms has resulted in some of the most boring pubs and very few of the small licensed bars and restaurants that places like Mangonui are blessed with. Many of the ideas for the future growth involved making the place more youth focussed.
Their tourism needs seem similar to ours with competition from the big traditional tourist destinations and there was strong support for the idea of the Four Corners of NZ, being Southland, Taranaki, Tairawhiti and the Far North as a type of national tour of the icnic Kiwi destinations.
All in all a thought provoking day lead by an iconic mayor who really promotes his home area.
FNHL
Far North Holdings have received some well deserved criticism in recent weeks from a wide range of ratepayers, airport users, foreshore users and even a few pretend mayors.
For those who haven’t noticed, Far North Holdings is a council owned company that pleases itself at our expense while it engages in activities that ultimately supply a good standard of living to the Chief Executive and the one director from Auckland.
In theory it should be quite a good business acting in all of our interests but we have no say and no contact other than at the end of its food chain as ratepayers or users of various facilities that they have given themselves the right to charge us for.
Far North Holdings doesn’t hold an annual meeting to which we are invited to question the board and hear from them about next year’s plan in the way that a publicly owned company would. Questions usually result in some form of release from the Council’s spin doctor along the lines that there exists some form of secret agreement between FNHL and FNDC the details of which are too important for the likes of us to know about.
FNHL recently incurred the wrath of all users of Kerikeri Airport by not only implementing pay for use carparking before it is implemented in any of our busiest streets, but also doing it in a truly dumb manner.
Airport users are supposed to follow complicated directions from a machine that will issue a paid parking ticket for the period nominated. This assumes that passengers know when they are returning which they may well not, if off for a business or other trip and given that they are flying Air NZ the chances of arriving back even when you do expect to are low.
Vacuous statements from FNHL state that income will be used to pay for the carpark at the airport. What has actually resulted is that the airport carpark is now empty as a local person now offers a much cheaper and more convenient park and pick-up service which produces the same airport income that no charging would produce, NONE.
Given that ratepayers are levied to encourage tourism into the area it is bizarre that a council subsidiary should introduce carparking charges to reduce tourism.
And don’t get me onto FNHL charging mooring fees in addition to those already charged by Northland Regional Council who have managed moorings for years and installed them in the first place. Surely we could have an independent board of Northlanders monitoring FNHL so it does what we want!
For those who haven’t noticed, Far North Holdings is a council owned company that pleases itself at our expense while it engages in activities that ultimately supply a good standard of living to the Chief Executive and the one director from Auckland.
In theory it should be quite a good business acting in all of our interests but we have no say and no contact other than at the end of its food chain as ratepayers or users of various facilities that they have given themselves the right to charge us for.
Far North Holdings doesn’t hold an annual meeting to which we are invited to question the board and hear from them about next year’s plan in the way that a publicly owned company would. Questions usually result in some form of release from the Council’s spin doctor along the lines that there exists some form of secret agreement between FNHL and FNDC the details of which are too important for the likes of us to know about.
FNHL recently incurred the wrath of all users of Kerikeri Airport by not only implementing pay for use carparking before it is implemented in any of our busiest streets, but also doing it in a truly dumb manner.
Airport users are supposed to follow complicated directions from a machine that will issue a paid parking ticket for the period nominated. This assumes that passengers know when they are returning which they may well not, if off for a business or other trip and given that they are flying Air NZ the chances of arriving back even when you do expect to are low.
Vacuous statements from FNHL state that income will be used to pay for the carpark at the airport. What has actually resulted is that the airport carpark is now empty as a local person now offers a much cheaper and more convenient park and pick-up service which produces the same airport income that no charging would produce, NONE.
Given that ratepayers are levied to encourage tourism into the area it is bizarre that a council subsidiary should introduce carparking charges to reduce tourism.
And don’t get me onto FNHL charging mooring fees in addition to those already charged by Northland Regional Council who have managed moorings for years and installed them in the first place. Surely we could have an independent board of Northlanders monitoring FNHL so it does what we want!
FNDC TAKES FIRST STEP ON JOURNEY TOWARDS THE CUSTOMER
It can be almost satisfying to see large organizations take little steps in a sensible direction when one has been prodding them in that direction for a while, so it is worth acknowledging that last Friday our council hosted a number of business influencers to a meeting seeking better ways to do things for the ratepayer.
As Chairman Mao once famously said, “The thousand mile march begins with the first step” and they have taken it. Good on them but there is still a long way to go.
It was pleasing to hear that complaints over the phoning in system have been heard and that someone is working on having the 0800 council number set up so that it can be rung from a cell phone. Seeing as most enquiries come from builders on sites that have yet to have a full time landline this is very sensible, (to the point that one wonders why they didn’t have this facility in the first place).
We look forward to this and hope that a more even spread of staff who actually do return calls might follow. Next step will be getting hold of the right person with the right answers without listening to all that recorded stuff.
Many of the things that council annoy their customers with are not that hard to fix, so it is pleasing to see this new attitude and it is hoped that more staff do see ratepayers as customers rather than victims.
It will undoubtedly take a long sustained campaign to rectify some deep seated behaviours but it was good to see that there is a will among some of the more enlightened of council’s senior managers, (notably ones who have come from private companies), to get processes in place that will support an improvement to our economy.
Better, faster, simpler processes to support projects of a higher quality standard, both visually and in relation to environmental performance, is a sure fire way to lift our economic performance and I support these first few steps by council and hope they gain traction to benefit us all.
As Chairman Mao once famously said, “The thousand mile march begins with the first step” and they have taken it. Good on them but there is still a long way to go.
It was pleasing to hear that complaints over the phoning in system have been heard and that someone is working on having the 0800 council number set up so that it can be rung from a cell phone. Seeing as most enquiries come from builders on sites that have yet to have a full time landline this is very sensible, (to the point that one wonders why they didn’t have this facility in the first place).
We look forward to this and hope that a more even spread of staff who actually do return calls might follow. Next step will be getting hold of the right person with the right answers without listening to all that recorded stuff.
Many of the things that council annoy their customers with are not that hard to fix, so it is pleasing to see this new attitude and it is hoped that more staff do see ratepayers as customers rather than victims.
It will undoubtedly take a long sustained campaign to rectify some deep seated behaviours but it was good to see that there is a will among some of the more enlightened of council’s senior managers, (notably ones who have come from private companies), to get processes in place that will support an improvement to our economy.
Better, faster, simpler processes to support projects of a higher quality standard, both visually and in relation to environmental performance, is a sure fire way to lift our economic performance and I support these first few steps by council and hope they gain traction to benefit us all.
SOME BEAUTIFULLY PREPARED HOLIDAY READING
I’ve just had a week doing important government research with my surfboard in Rarotonga, well actually we had a holiday to celebrate the fact that one of the houses we are building in Kerikeri got a permit from the FNDC Building Permit Prevention Division. It was such a shock that we needed a week off to get over it and the permit only took, er… well ages.
Just before I left my beloved Northland, I was given a packet containing what I was told would be interesting reading. On opening I discovered a beautifully printed set of five volumes of text and lovely colour photos of various views of the Far North including one of my home in Mangonui. There were sepia photos of a model couple on beaches and in cafes used as back drops to a series of tables of depressing statistics such as our continuing 9th place in unemployment rates.
This gorgeous set of volumes turns out to be the FNDC Long Term Community Something-or-other Plan (LTCCP), a door stop of truly heroic magnitude, right up there with the Royal Commission on Social Policy. A number of countries don’t spend as much on the print quality of their banknotes as this document, and on reading it one immediately came to the conclusion that we will be missing out on a fair bit of tar seal to pay for it.
I doubt if many of you have read it so over the next few months as I resolutely plough through it, I will summarise bits. I only managed volume one over the break and this is entitled Our Community, but I couldn’t help thinking it should have been called Expensive Drivel. It is written in the style of a blue sky “Janet and John” school reader and has enough meaningless one liners to allow me to quote a different one weekly for years.
In essence the whole of volume 1 can be summed up as follows:- FNDC will consult with our people, both Pakeha and Maori to do better in providing roads, water supply, sewerage and storm-water management.
I can just see some spin-meister will tell us that the government made the council do it. Yeah right! Just like they make themselves pay for pledge cards! It could all be on one sheet of black and white paper with the money saved going on stuff we can actually use.
Just before I left my beloved Northland, I was given a packet containing what I was told would be interesting reading. On opening I discovered a beautifully printed set of five volumes of text and lovely colour photos of various views of the Far North including one of my home in Mangonui. There were sepia photos of a model couple on beaches and in cafes used as back drops to a series of tables of depressing statistics such as our continuing 9th place in unemployment rates.
This gorgeous set of volumes turns out to be the FNDC Long Term Community Something-or-other Plan (LTCCP), a door stop of truly heroic magnitude, right up there with the Royal Commission on Social Policy. A number of countries don’t spend as much on the print quality of their banknotes as this document, and on reading it one immediately came to the conclusion that we will be missing out on a fair bit of tar seal to pay for it.
I doubt if many of you have read it so over the next few months as I resolutely plough through it, I will summarise bits. I only managed volume one over the break and this is entitled Our Community, but I couldn’t help thinking it should have been called Expensive Drivel. It is written in the style of a blue sky “Janet and John” school reader and has enough meaningless one liners to allow me to quote a different one weekly for years.
In essence the whole of volume 1 can be summed up as follows:- FNDC will consult with our people, both Pakeha and Maori to do better in providing roads, water supply, sewerage and storm-water management.
I can just see some spin-meister will tell us that the government made the council do it. Yeah right! Just like they make themselves pay for pledge cards! It could all be on one sheet of black and white paper with the money saved going on stuff we can actually use.
FLOWERS IN THE CULTURAL DESERT
Who would believe that the Far North has a film festival at all, let alone one held over a three week period, not just in one theatre but in two cinemas both with very historic pasts? Well we do and it’s still going, so if you haven’t visited either Swamp Palace at Oruru or the Cathay Cinema in Kerikeri, then you’ve really missed something.
We can thank that delightful eccentric, Richard Weatherly whose love of cinema keeps us up to date with films released from all over the planet.
Richard has hunted out 17 great films from 11 countries, battling distributors for whom small far flung cinemas h are a harder way to make money than simply supplying the big multiplexes. So far Jindabyne, an Australian film about four guys whose annual fishing holiday trip into the real outback is disrupted by the discovery of a murdered girl’s body in the river is my favourite. They make the sort of poor choices that a few blokes here might make and the ensuing hassles remind us of the complexities of community life.
Swamp Palace at Oruru remains the most unlikely site for a cinema, particularly as much larger Kaitaia has not managed to screen movies for years in spite of a suitable venue at the Community Centre where territorial issues with the live theatre folk have deprived locals of films. Swamp Palace was once at Cable Bay where the Trans Tasman cable came ashore and was shifted to Oruru where it is wonderfully run- down, giving it a certain old world charm and providing fodder for council inspectors.
The Cathay is Kerikeri’s most important historic building but goes unrecognised by Historic Places Trust who are lost in the pc world of missionary history. Built in 1930 by expats from China it has had a colourful history including a long council battle over parking so the excellent restaurant there could open (at night when there are heaps of carparks unused).
We should all support both of these great old buildings and the fun that is in them.
We can thank that delightful eccentric, Richard Weatherly whose love of cinema keeps us up to date with films released from all over the planet.
Richard has hunted out 17 great films from 11 countries, battling distributors for whom small far flung cinemas h are a harder way to make money than simply supplying the big multiplexes. So far Jindabyne, an Australian film about four guys whose annual fishing holiday trip into the real outback is disrupted by the discovery of a murdered girl’s body in the river is my favourite. They make the sort of poor choices that a few blokes here might make and the ensuing hassles remind us of the complexities of community life.
Swamp Palace at Oruru remains the most unlikely site for a cinema, particularly as much larger Kaitaia has not managed to screen movies for years in spite of a suitable venue at the Community Centre where territorial issues with the live theatre folk have deprived locals of films. Swamp Palace was once at Cable Bay where the Trans Tasman cable came ashore and was shifted to Oruru where it is wonderfully run- down, giving it a certain old world charm and providing fodder for council inspectors.
The Cathay is Kerikeri’s most important historic building but goes unrecognised by Historic Places Trust who are lost in the pc world of missionary history. Built in 1930 by expats from China it has had a colourful history including a long council battle over parking so the excellent restaurant there could open (at night when there are heaps of carparks unused).
We should all support both of these great old buildings and the fun that is in them.
DOES ANYONE REALLY KNOW WHAT THE SEA LEVEL WILL BE IN 50 YEARS TIME?
Thanks largely to former presidential Al Gore reinventing himself as a movie narrator the whole world has suddenly become concerned about global warming. This may or may not be a fine thing and at least might curb some questionable environmental behaviour, whether the link turns out to be as solid as some think.
I have long campaigned against poor earthworks processes that lead to massive erosion each time we get a heavy downpour and the need for better sewerage treatment to prevent ocean spills of sewage has been evident for decades. Not that these two are quite within the latest pro environment flavour or fashion, but you get the picture that general better care of the planet can’t be a bad thing.
Accompanying this hype is the usual sudden over-reaction from the powers that be who, now require ridiculous reports from anyone contemplating any development near the coast. By all means protect the coast and attempt to minimise damage but please, is requesting engineering reports to define the exact height of the next 100 year flood really sensible. Who could possibly know such a thing and what sort of engineer would put in writing any meaningful level.
I have lived through a number of floods supposedly called 100, then 150 year events and I am nowhere near that old. Our house is 100 years old and according to some alarmists the sea has risen all sorts of heights during this time. Fortunately for me the tidal marks on the old piles and seawall under the house don’t show anything like that, so either they are being alarmist or the seabed is moving up too.
It is interesting to see how accurate our weather forecasts have become now that we have satellite pictures, internet linked weather stations, computer predictions, whole government departments such as NIWA and so on beavering away predicting the future and worrying us all. Well not very accurate actually. Easter springs to mind when thousands cancelled their holiday plans for trips North because of dire weather warnings and what did we get, just the finest clearest skies with the best weather for Easter in years.
I don’t want to be labelled a denier or some other silly term, but personally when the authorities can’t get the next 3 days right I’m not ready to abandon the house for higher ground just yet based on their predictions for 50 years time, which is very unlikely to be much of a concern to me then anyway.
By the way wasn’t December freezing!
I have long campaigned against poor earthworks processes that lead to massive erosion each time we get a heavy downpour and the need for better sewerage treatment to prevent ocean spills of sewage has been evident for decades. Not that these two are quite within the latest pro environment flavour or fashion, but you get the picture that general better care of the planet can’t be a bad thing.
Accompanying this hype is the usual sudden over-reaction from the powers that be who, now require ridiculous reports from anyone contemplating any development near the coast. By all means protect the coast and attempt to minimise damage but please, is requesting engineering reports to define the exact height of the next 100 year flood really sensible. Who could possibly know such a thing and what sort of engineer would put in writing any meaningful level.
I have lived through a number of floods supposedly called 100, then 150 year events and I am nowhere near that old. Our house is 100 years old and according to some alarmists the sea has risen all sorts of heights during this time. Fortunately for me the tidal marks on the old piles and seawall under the house don’t show anything like that, so either they are being alarmist or the seabed is moving up too.
It is interesting to see how accurate our weather forecasts have become now that we have satellite pictures, internet linked weather stations, computer predictions, whole government departments such as NIWA and so on beavering away predicting the future and worrying us all. Well not very accurate actually. Easter springs to mind when thousands cancelled their holiday plans for trips North because of dire weather warnings and what did we get, just the finest clearest skies with the best weather for Easter in years.
I don’t want to be labelled a denier or some other silly term, but personally when the authorities can’t get the next 3 days right I’m not ready to abandon the house for higher ground just yet based on their predictions for 50 years time, which is very unlikely to be much of a concern to me then anyway.
By the way wasn’t December freezing!
COASTAL CONSERVATION, ARE YOU DOING YOUR BIT?
Every so often when a low tide takes place on the weekend, I wander around the foreshore under and beside our home in Mangonui and have a clean up of rubbish and other stuff left by the low tide. It is quite satisfying and is sort of like the occasional lawn mowing for people with normal grassed sections.
I can usually guarantee to fill a couple of shopping bags with bits of pipe, clothing, tyres, general rubbish and mostly glass. It is truly amazing how many bottles and glass shards are just dumped into the harbour to find their way onto the foreshore. A fair bit of this comes from fishing boats tied up at the wharf, which is disappointing as these are the very folk who make their living from the marine environment and you’d think that of all people they would show a bit more sense.
Kids play in this area at low tide so keeping the glass out of it has an immediate payback. Tourists often gather to watch the scene as they eat their fish and chips and in too many cases nonchalantly toss the wrappings straight into the scene that they are admiring.
The good news is that slowly the rubbish load is declining and there is definite evidence that mussels are increasing along the foreshore. In decades gone by sewerage effluent was simply discharged into the harbour by all residents of lower Mangonui, but thankfully the Doubtless Bay sewerage system eliminated this appalling practice.
We should all be pleased that slowly our coastal waters are cleaning up and the main problem now, other than over fishing, is completing the sewerage systems that have been oh, so slowly implemented in places like Russell.
The Russell sewerage scheme was first started back about the time I began my career as an engineer in the Far North. Sadly, in the time it has taken for me to have a complete career, and start other businesses, the council still haven’t got the Russell system completely functioning and who knows what our exposure is as ratepayers to various environmental claims by oyster farmers and others still upset by the ongoing pollution of the Bay of Islands from various sources.
Real practical everyday solutions to improving our coastal water quality will have long term positive payback for all ratepayers and each one of us can help by taking a bit more responsibility with what we chuck out.
I can usually guarantee to fill a couple of shopping bags with bits of pipe, clothing, tyres, general rubbish and mostly glass. It is truly amazing how many bottles and glass shards are just dumped into the harbour to find their way onto the foreshore. A fair bit of this comes from fishing boats tied up at the wharf, which is disappointing as these are the very folk who make their living from the marine environment and you’d think that of all people they would show a bit more sense.
Kids play in this area at low tide so keeping the glass out of it has an immediate payback. Tourists often gather to watch the scene as they eat their fish and chips and in too many cases nonchalantly toss the wrappings straight into the scene that they are admiring.
The good news is that slowly the rubbish load is declining and there is definite evidence that mussels are increasing along the foreshore. In decades gone by sewerage effluent was simply discharged into the harbour by all residents of lower Mangonui, but thankfully the Doubtless Bay sewerage system eliminated this appalling practice.
We should all be pleased that slowly our coastal waters are cleaning up and the main problem now, other than over fishing, is completing the sewerage systems that have been oh, so slowly implemented in places like Russell.
The Russell sewerage scheme was first started back about the time I began my career as an engineer in the Far North. Sadly, in the time it has taken for me to have a complete career, and start other businesses, the council still haven’t got the Russell system completely functioning and who knows what our exposure is as ratepayers to various environmental claims by oyster farmers and others still upset by the ongoing pollution of the Bay of Islands from various sources.
Real practical everyday solutions to improving our coastal water quality will have long term positive payback for all ratepayers and each one of us can help by taking a bit more responsibility with what we chuck out.
CAN WE REALLY JOIN THE BROADBAND AGE?
Much has been said about the need for relatively remote countries such as NZ and relatively remote areas within, such as the Far North needing to be connected to the world via high speed broadband. The internet does offer ways of overcoming the tyranny of distance and keeping us not only informed, but actual players in the rush the world has taken in connectivity.
It cab be easy to ignore all the developments occurring, but we just cannot afford to if we hope to stay competitive and offer opportunities for our young folk. Some commentators feel the need to understand the future and map it out on a business plan, but this is just not possible with the speed of technological change.
Just think how recently you heard of Youtube, and some of you still might not have, yet Youtube and other personal video traffic is already accounting for the majority of world internet use.
Auckland City Council are determined that their city will not to be left behind so they have formed an advisory group to lead discussions on what the city needs to keep it at the forefront of economic activity. Even though most councillors don’t really understand what the issues and the technologies are they have bravely backed this group of influencers to guide them on their journey.
I have the privilege to be one of the team members and we have wide ranging discussions on rapidly changing events. The obvious options do not readily reveal themselves with some seeking to roll out fibre and others waiting to see if Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) really happens and opens up the Telecom network to new players.
Some new services have arrived such as Wifi hotspots in Newmarket and Parnell allowing people to connect their laptops to the internet in most cafes and shopping areas in these two parts of Auckland. Queen Street will follow shortly and users on the Kordia backed system can easily open an account which will also allow them to surf the net in downtown Whangarei and several other NZ cities on the same account.
We need to be aware of these trends so that we are not left behind up here in the Far North. Imagine if our council lead such a group so that we just didn’t rely on Telecom, who to be fair have brought DSL to many via their rollout of broadband to those near an upgraded cabinet.
It cab be easy to ignore all the developments occurring, but we just cannot afford to if we hope to stay competitive and offer opportunities for our young folk. Some commentators feel the need to understand the future and map it out on a business plan, but this is just not possible with the speed of technological change.
Just think how recently you heard of Youtube, and some of you still might not have, yet Youtube and other personal video traffic is already accounting for the majority of world internet use.
Auckland City Council are determined that their city will not to be left behind so they have formed an advisory group to lead discussions on what the city needs to keep it at the forefront of economic activity. Even though most councillors don’t really understand what the issues and the technologies are they have bravely backed this group of influencers to guide them on their journey.
I have the privilege to be one of the team members and we have wide ranging discussions on rapidly changing events. The obvious options do not readily reveal themselves with some seeking to roll out fibre and others waiting to see if Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) really happens and opens up the Telecom network to new players.
Some new services have arrived such as Wifi hotspots in Newmarket and Parnell allowing people to connect their laptops to the internet in most cafes and shopping areas in these two parts of Auckland. Queen Street will follow shortly and users on the Kordia backed system can easily open an account which will also allow them to surf the net in downtown Whangarei and several other NZ cities on the same account.
We need to be aware of these trends so that we are not left behind up here in the Far North. Imagine if our council lead such a group so that we just didn’t rely on Telecom, who to be fair have brought DSL to many via their rollout of broadband to those near an upgraded cabinet.
BUILDING WARS
Much has been made of the apparent increase of local body costs due to central government passing legislation requiring local government to carry out new and expensive tasks for which no additional revenue has been provided.
There are examples of this, but in many cases these costs do not fall on local government. Instead they are passed on directly to end users like you and me. The council then hires more bureaucrats and the associated delays and costs are then blamed on central government.
Our council has recently admitted that there are severe short-comings in timing and delivery of consents and has stated things will be fixed (by the same team that let it get like this!). While this is laudable you have to be a bit suspicious of the timing with an election due soon.
Ever wonder why a PIM (project information memorandum) is needed by FNDC before an application for a BC (building consent). Told that this was a government requirement, I waited ten weeks to get the last PIM at the direct cost of $270 plus the indirect costs of several hundred dollars, so I rang the Minister who said that it wasn’t required, so FNDC have agreed now that these two bits of paper can be applied for simultaneously. Given that the PIM only told me the colour that could be used for the house, the PIM itself is a waste of time.
FNDC also told me that a house could not be occupied until a certificate of compliance (COC) was issued, meaning that nobody could build the frame, clad it, then move in and finish the house in the sweat-equity way that my generation did. A check with the minister showed that this was not the case either and the COC is apparently only needed for sale purposes.
All this is very confusing so the Minister flew up for a meeting and, bingo we’ve now got a direct line to query silly rules from central government and silly interpretations at local government level. Silly rules abound in the building sector from compulsory extractor fans in kitchens to stop anyone dieing of the smell of bacon and eggs to sloppy rules allowing on site effluent disposal systems that just won’t work.
Hopefully we can look forward to faster simpler processes and keep up the dialogue with the Minister that should have been there years ago before FNDC allowed itself to get in such a tangle. I do hope that this is not just a ploy to fend off angry ratepayers until after the election!
There are examples of this, but in many cases these costs do not fall on local government. Instead they are passed on directly to end users like you and me. The council then hires more bureaucrats and the associated delays and costs are then blamed on central government.
Our council has recently admitted that there are severe short-comings in timing and delivery of consents and has stated things will be fixed (by the same team that let it get like this!). While this is laudable you have to be a bit suspicious of the timing with an election due soon.
Ever wonder why a PIM (project information memorandum) is needed by FNDC before an application for a BC (building consent). Told that this was a government requirement, I waited ten weeks to get the last PIM at the direct cost of $270 plus the indirect costs of several hundred dollars, so I rang the Minister who said that it wasn’t required, so FNDC have agreed now that these two bits of paper can be applied for simultaneously. Given that the PIM only told me the colour that could be used for the house, the PIM itself is a waste of time.
FNDC also told me that a house could not be occupied until a certificate of compliance (COC) was issued, meaning that nobody could build the frame, clad it, then move in and finish the house in the sweat-equity way that my generation did. A check with the minister showed that this was not the case either and the COC is apparently only needed for sale purposes.
All this is very confusing so the Minister flew up for a meeting and, bingo we’ve now got a direct line to query silly rules from central government and silly interpretations at local government level. Silly rules abound in the building sector from compulsory extractor fans in kitchens to stop anyone dieing of the smell of bacon and eggs to sloppy rules allowing on site effluent disposal systems that just won’t work.
Hopefully we can look forward to faster simpler processes and keep up the dialogue with the Minister that should have been there years ago before FNDC allowed itself to get in such a tangle. I do hope that this is not just a ploy to fend off angry ratepayers until after the election!
Ban Graffiti and Brainless Behaviour before Fireworks
As a kid I really liked Guy Fawkes night. Dad and his mates would organise a bonfire and beers, Mum and her mates did the kai and all of us kids had great fun letting off crackers and rockets, a fair few of which have subsequently been banned.
Politics had their part to play in this with that shocker Muldoon passing a law to ban skyrockets in response to a petition from some ill advised concerned mother worried that every year or so some dopey kid looked into the beer bottle as the rocket came charging out. That law was interfering with natural selection. If that kid hadn’t copped the skyrocket it would have no doubt grown into a dangerous driver. All right don’t get too excited, but who raises kids that would do that!
Anyhow my point is that with all the relative danger of dads on the booze, bonfires without permits, rockets available, there were relatively few serious injuries or schools burned down. Compare that to these nanny state days when sales are limited, skyrockets banned, rules for Africa, stern Ministers threatening us with tennis balls and Fire chiefs admonishing us, yet the statistics of letter boxes blown up, fireworks dopily thrown into shops or at people, and all the paraphernalia of appalling behaviour things have got worse.
Banning fireworks won’t help. These are aimed at the same people who regularly pull up the nice native plants on our subdivisions, spray badly spelled graffiti on our walls, pull down anything they can topple, burn rubber on our roads, all generally while tanked on alcopops.
We’re not going to ban native plants or walls, so we need to have a look at why this is happening.
No personal responsibility coupled with alcopops too readily available is certainly one of the leading reasons. Progressively more non achievement orientated schooling hasn’t helped and removing the old whack around the ears of those acting stupidly removes the one thing the aggrieved party had left as a way to at least vent their displeasure.
I watched Guy Fawkes this year from the balcony of a multi storey apartment building in Auckland and it was a wonderful sight with flashes of bright colour bursting across the night sky and the joyful sound of kids in the park over the road enjoying the fun of fireworks.
Before the usual curmudgeons complain and call for bans, we should all look at the wider problem of poor behaviour that goes on all year long and just gets more press on Guy Fawkes night. If we could stop graffiti, thoughtless damage and theft we wouldn’t need to ban anything.
Politics had their part to play in this with that shocker Muldoon passing a law to ban skyrockets in response to a petition from some ill advised concerned mother worried that every year or so some dopey kid looked into the beer bottle as the rocket came charging out. That law was interfering with natural selection. If that kid hadn’t copped the skyrocket it would have no doubt grown into a dangerous driver. All right don’t get too excited, but who raises kids that would do that!
Anyhow my point is that with all the relative danger of dads on the booze, bonfires without permits, rockets available, there were relatively few serious injuries or schools burned down. Compare that to these nanny state days when sales are limited, skyrockets banned, rules for Africa, stern Ministers threatening us with tennis balls and Fire chiefs admonishing us, yet the statistics of letter boxes blown up, fireworks dopily thrown into shops or at people, and all the paraphernalia of appalling behaviour things have got worse.
Banning fireworks won’t help. These are aimed at the same people who regularly pull up the nice native plants on our subdivisions, spray badly spelled graffiti on our walls, pull down anything they can topple, burn rubber on our roads, all generally while tanked on alcopops.
We’re not going to ban native plants or walls, so we need to have a look at why this is happening.
No personal responsibility coupled with alcopops too readily available is certainly one of the leading reasons. Progressively more non achievement orientated schooling hasn’t helped and removing the old whack around the ears of those acting stupidly removes the one thing the aggrieved party had left as a way to at least vent their displeasure.
I watched Guy Fawkes this year from the balcony of a multi storey apartment building in Auckland and it was a wonderful sight with flashes of bright colour bursting across the night sky and the joyful sound of kids in the park over the road enjoying the fun of fireworks.
Before the usual curmudgeons complain and call for bans, we should all look at the wider problem of poor behaviour that goes on all year long and just gets more press on Guy Fawkes night. If we could stop graffiti, thoughtless damage and theft we wouldn’t need to ban anything.
ARE WE SAFELY POWERED UP HERE IN THE NORTH?
Have you noticed how sometimes things completely off your radar suddenly crop up as a problem and you wonder how did that happen, or how did I miss that. Like suddenly discovering that you have to pay for carparking at the Kerikeri airport and you don’t have any cash or time to understand the complexities of the parking machine before your flight goes.
Parliament is always passing some new law that adds complexity to life without us actually noticing it coming, so wise people try to scan the horizon regularly for things that might adversely impact us up here in the Far North.
We get so much consultation these days that one gets inured to the messages and some quite important things get through. Luckily for me I have always had business interests both here and elsewhere which coupled with being on a few boards of national organizations forces me to see trends from outside that many here might miss.
What this is leading me to, is one quite scary resource consent hearing that is taking place in Auckland soon which could have very adverse impacts on our lives up here and which no locals that I know have even seen, but which showed up in my board papers for Transpower, the country’s electricity transmission backbone.
Northland has only got the one main electricity supply feeder through Auckland and this has recently been upgraded to allow more power to be transmitted to Northland to meet the steadily increasing demand here. Due to one of the many quirks of the Resource Management Act (RMA) the Auckland City Council (ACC) have the right to consider whether these existing and recently upgraded power lines can operate at the newly designed figures of 220 KV or have to stay at the old rating of 110KV.
Nobody looking at these lines can tell what capacity they are running at or even if they are on at all, yet the ACC could actually limit the power to Northland at this hearing and nobody here even knows. This is because they only have to consult with neighbours, yet it is the consumers of Northland who need this increased capacity.
Accordingly the hearing will take place with no Northland support for Transpower’s upgrade to benefit Northland because the RMA system alerts the wrong people and we don’t have systems to ensure that our main organizations such as lines companies, major power users and councils get input on our behalf.
My hope is that this story will wake up those with responsibility for our needs and ensure that our voice is heard.
Parliament is always passing some new law that adds complexity to life without us actually noticing it coming, so wise people try to scan the horizon regularly for things that might adversely impact us up here in the Far North.
We get so much consultation these days that one gets inured to the messages and some quite important things get through. Luckily for me I have always had business interests both here and elsewhere which coupled with being on a few boards of national organizations forces me to see trends from outside that many here might miss.
What this is leading me to, is one quite scary resource consent hearing that is taking place in Auckland soon which could have very adverse impacts on our lives up here and which no locals that I know have even seen, but which showed up in my board papers for Transpower, the country’s electricity transmission backbone.
Northland has only got the one main electricity supply feeder through Auckland and this has recently been upgraded to allow more power to be transmitted to Northland to meet the steadily increasing demand here. Due to one of the many quirks of the Resource Management Act (RMA) the Auckland City Council (ACC) have the right to consider whether these existing and recently upgraded power lines can operate at the newly designed figures of 220 KV or have to stay at the old rating of 110KV.
Nobody looking at these lines can tell what capacity they are running at or even if they are on at all, yet the ACC could actually limit the power to Northland at this hearing and nobody here even knows. This is because they only have to consult with neighbours, yet it is the consumers of Northland who need this increased capacity.
Accordingly the hearing will take place with no Northland support for Transpower’s upgrade to benefit Northland because the RMA system alerts the wrong people and we don’t have systems to ensure that our main organizations such as lines companies, major power users and councils get input on our behalf.
My hope is that this story will wake up those with responsibility for our needs and ensure that our voice is heard.
NORTHLAND AGE 1 – A FRESH APPROACH
Welcome to the first of many columns. I’m transferring my attention from nationwide issues in the Sunday Star Times to Far North issues in the Age.
For those who don’t know me, I thought I’d background my experience so you can get an impression of the things I’m well versed in. I have had the pleasure of decades of living in the Far North firstly at Kerikeri, then Mangonui right over the seabed.
I have raised kids here, done my time on school committees, played, coached and administered Rugby, Surfing and Sailing here, started businesses that have succeeded and employed Northlanders in engineering, horticulture, construction, and apparel.
I have had the great fortune to have also had a career chairing and directing significant companies in NZ and Australia, including Northland Health, Tairawhiti Health, Land Transport Safety Authority, Vector, TVNZ and currently I am still the Chairman of Auckland District Health and Transmission Holdings which has 600 staff here and in Australia where it operates the Vodafone network among other things.
Many of these companies required serious fixing and you certainly learn from this experience. Transpower accidentally turned the power off to Aucklanders in June not long after I had predicted this would happen in the Sunday Star Times, and subsequent events have seen me appointed to Transpower to sort out reliable power delivery to both Auckland and Northland.
Nature has been very kind to Northland with a great climate, wonderful coastlines and endless gorgeous scenery. Although blessed by nature, somehow I can’t help feeling we should be more prosperous than we are. Are we putting in stumbling blocks somewhere?
On thinking about this I realise that I have spent the last decade mainly fixing things in the rest of the country and it is time to address some of the problems back here at home.
Several trends are working in our favour. People are moving to warmer climates, the advent of broadband is allowing a more mobile skilled workforce to live in the regions and infrastructure problems are driving Aucklanders to consider secondary towns.
We need to grasp these trends, improve our own infrastructure and get the new businesses and skills that these people will bring so that our children can have the prosperous bright future we would love to give them.
This will take vision, fresh ideas and leadership and I hope this column will be a trigger to this new positive attitude.
For those who don’t know me, I thought I’d background my experience so you can get an impression of the things I’m well versed in. I have had the pleasure of decades of living in the Far North firstly at Kerikeri, then Mangonui right over the seabed.
I have raised kids here, done my time on school committees, played, coached and administered Rugby, Surfing and Sailing here, started businesses that have succeeded and employed Northlanders in engineering, horticulture, construction, and apparel.
I have had the great fortune to have also had a career chairing and directing significant companies in NZ and Australia, including Northland Health, Tairawhiti Health, Land Transport Safety Authority, Vector, TVNZ and currently I am still the Chairman of Auckland District Health and Transmission Holdings which has 600 staff here and in Australia where it operates the Vodafone network among other things.
Many of these companies required serious fixing and you certainly learn from this experience. Transpower accidentally turned the power off to Aucklanders in June not long after I had predicted this would happen in the Sunday Star Times, and subsequent events have seen me appointed to Transpower to sort out reliable power delivery to both Auckland and Northland.
Nature has been very kind to Northland with a great climate, wonderful coastlines and endless gorgeous scenery. Although blessed by nature, somehow I can’t help feeling we should be more prosperous than we are. Are we putting in stumbling blocks somewhere?
On thinking about this I realise that I have spent the last decade mainly fixing things in the rest of the country and it is time to address some of the problems back here at home.
Several trends are working in our favour. People are moving to warmer climates, the advent of broadband is allowing a more mobile skilled workforce to live in the regions and infrastructure problems are driving Aucklanders to consider secondary towns.
We need to grasp these trends, improve our own infrastructure and get the new businesses and skills that these people will bring so that our children can have the prosperous bright future we would love to give them.
This will take vision, fresh ideas and leadership and I hope this column will be a trigger to this new positive attitude.
2007 First Article for Northland Age
Welcome to 2007. As a hopeless optimist I feel that this year may well lead to increased prosperity for all Far North residents, but as a realist I recognise that we will all need to do something positive to get this to happen.
Back about 50 years Martin Luther King had a big dream which was to move America to being a country where all people had the same rights, regardless of their colour and religion. They haven’t quite got there but a very large part of his dream is now reality. Sadly his dream cost him his life, but thousands live better because of it.
I have a small dream compared to Martin’s but it would lead to a lot of our residents
being better off and it just might happen with help from everyone. I dream that we can live with a council whose main aims are to promptly deliver well-priced and well-valued services to the ratepayers who will be respected for their financial contributions by council staff who have a customer focus and see themselves as there to serve the citizens, rather than the other way round.
Imagine a council that we were proud of where staff met us at times that suited us rather than suiting them, who could explain the district plan to us in clear language and then not have someone else reverse that advice later on. Imagine being able to ring the council and actually get through to the person you want, and if not, being able to leave a message that actually resulted in being rung back promptly. Imagine knowing exactly where the file concerning your property or request actually was rather than chasing it around the various district offices.
Imagine a council with policies that grew the local economy sufficiently to be able to offer our children interesting well paid future prospects here in the Far North, while preserving and improving our environment.
It must be possible, although it certainly isn’t what is happening now.
Does this vision ring a bell with you? I am sure that is what most councillors themselves would like to deliver, but sadly what we are being delivered is frustration, costs, fees and delays, which are holding back our economic development. We are losing opportunities to other areas. I’m not in favour of runaway development but I am in favour of a strong local economy that enables improved services and infrastructure to be delivered at a level that improves both our environment and the well being of our population.
Back about 50 years Martin Luther King had a big dream which was to move America to being a country where all people had the same rights, regardless of their colour and religion. They haven’t quite got there but a very large part of his dream is now reality. Sadly his dream cost him his life, but thousands live better because of it.
I have a small dream compared to Martin’s but it would lead to a lot of our residents
being better off and it just might happen with help from everyone. I dream that we can live with a council whose main aims are to promptly deliver well-priced and well-valued services to the ratepayers who will be respected for their financial contributions by council staff who have a customer focus and see themselves as there to serve the citizens, rather than the other way round.
Imagine a council that we were proud of where staff met us at times that suited us rather than suiting them, who could explain the district plan to us in clear language and then not have someone else reverse that advice later on. Imagine being able to ring the council and actually get through to the person you want, and if not, being able to leave a message that actually resulted in being rung back promptly. Imagine knowing exactly where the file concerning your property or request actually was rather than chasing it around the various district offices.
Imagine a council with policies that grew the local economy sufficiently to be able to offer our children interesting well paid future prospects here in the Far North, while preserving and improving our environment.
It must be possible, although it certainly isn’t what is happening now.
Does this vision ring a bell with you? I am sure that is what most councillors themselves would like to deliver, but sadly what we are being delivered is frustration, costs, fees and delays, which are holding back our economic development. We are losing opportunities to other areas. I’m not in favour of runaway development but I am in favour of a strong local economy that enables improved services and infrastructure to be delivered at a level that improves both our environment and the well being of our population.
A Committee for the Far North?
As Chairman of Auckland District Health Board, I was recently approached by members of the Committee for Auckland, an organization that I knew little about. They wanted to work with the health sector to institute a program of direct intervention for a small number of very expensive problem members of the community.
This work was based on research entitled “Million Dollar Murray,” where a detailed study of one of life’s derelicts had noted that over a four year period this guy had run up a bill of around a million dollars for costs met by the taxpayer to cover his many arrests, court appearances, referrals to hospital emergency wards, drug and alcohol counselling, emergency accommodation grants, various benefits and so on.
The program looks promising and no doubt some form of follow up integrating health with this committee will take place. It was, however the general work of this Committee for Auckland that really got my attention and forced me to think about whether there was merit in such a group up here.
The Committee is made up of leading Aucklanders covering the main business groups, universities, poly-techs and mayors. They haven’t allowed democracy to mess things up, and members cover a wide range of leadership roles. They don’t meet as a hopelessly large talk-fest but utilise the skills they have around a chosen set of tasks all leading to making Auckland a better city.
The handouts that they gave me were clear, simple and very powerful tools analysing the strengths and weaknesses of our largest city. In one very powerful graph they have demonstrated that Auckland actually contributes $4billion of revenue more to the government that it receives back in services, giving strong support to calls for more spend on roading and transport.
They have looked at similar cities and what should be expected as economic measures and this has lead them to identify projects and opportunities. They have lead pressure on the disparate Auckland councils to unite and do something about urban design access to the harbour-side.
Surely we could do with such a group providing accurate defendable information to move the Far North up the economic stakes of our nation. Any takers?
This work was based on research entitled “Million Dollar Murray,” where a detailed study of one of life’s derelicts had noted that over a four year period this guy had run up a bill of around a million dollars for costs met by the taxpayer to cover his many arrests, court appearances, referrals to hospital emergency wards, drug and alcohol counselling, emergency accommodation grants, various benefits and so on.
The program looks promising and no doubt some form of follow up integrating health with this committee will take place. It was, however the general work of this Committee for Auckland that really got my attention and forced me to think about whether there was merit in such a group up here.
The Committee is made up of leading Aucklanders covering the main business groups, universities, poly-techs and mayors. They haven’t allowed democracy to mess things up, and members cover a wide range of leadership roles. They don’t meet as a hopelessly large talk-fest but utilise the skills they have around a chosen set of tasks all leading to making Auckland a better city.
The handouts that they gave me were clear, simple and very powerful tools analysing the strengths and weaknesses of our largest city. In one very powerful graph they have demonstrated that Auckland actually contributes $4billion of revenue more to the government that it receives back in services, giving strong support to calls for more spend on roading and transport.
They have looked at similar cities and what should be expected as economic measures and this has lead them to identify projects and opportunities. They have lead pressure on the disparate Auckland councils to unite and do something about urban design access to the harbour-side.
Surely we could do with such a group providing accurate defendable information to move the Far North up the economic stakes of our nation. Any takers?
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