SUN MEDIA EDITORIALS

...A regional watchdog view...

by Andrew von Dadelszen

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13^th January 2012

Treaty Settlements are coming in 2012 for Tauranga Moana Iwi

I sympathise with the view of many who are calling for transparency during the settlement process of the Tauranga Moana Treaty claims. Word has it that local Maori can expect a settlement of around $150m (with probably around $50m in cash), and I personally don’t have a problem with this. What is more concerning is the thought of co-governance arrangements for our harbour and waterways. While theoretically not a problem, the ongoing cost to all ratepayers, and “reverse grievance” issues associated with co-governance, threaten to just exasperate our grievances for generations to come. Let’s get this process settled, so that we can all move on as one nation. The Office of Treaty Settlements (and Minister Finlayson) represent all New Zealanders, and an open and transparent process is the only way to ensure that this process is fair to us all. There should be nothing to hide, and local government elected representatives, and the public in general, need to have confidence in this process.

As the Rena slides to the depths…

The best Christmas present we got was that the Rena didn’t break up over our peak holiday period. Watching the stern section slip off the reef into Davey Jones’ locker will give us another short term headache, but at least we are well resourced to deal with it. Volunteers have been once again ringing to offer assistance with the container recovery, but this is not something that the salvors want. There are just too many risks associated with containers and their contents for the public to being involved, but any oil coming ashore is another matter. We believe that the could have been still over 100 tonnes of oil on board (slopping around in the bilge etc) but this is less than one third of what we have already dealt with. Our volunteers were incredible over the past three months, and hopefully with the stern two thirds of the Rena now sinking, the end is in sight.

16^th December 2011

Politics is a fascinating game…

Local Government politics has played second fiddle to Central Government politics in recent times. Political junkies like me have remained glued to the media – awaiting decisions outside my control. The first was the election result – that saw National gain an unbelievable victory with close to 48% of the vote, and yet only able to muster a one seat majority government (four seats including the Maori Party for confidence and supply). This just shows the deficiency in our current MMP voting system. Don’t get me wrong I like the ability to have some specialist “List” members in Parliament – but I am opposed to there being such a large number. Hopefully the review will address this issue.

And then there was the selection of Cabinet – I had high hopes for our local Simon Bridges getting a Cabinet post – but not to be. Never mind – this young man has the temperament to go on to higher office. Just watch this space – Simon is knocking on the door! Locally we have done well over the last three years as far as funding local projects ($495m for roading projects; $5.6m for Tauranga schools; $52m extra for our Health Board upgrades; $15m for six new courtrooms; starting the roll-out of ultra-fast broadband) …and the list goes on. We continue to have high expectations of both Minister Tony Ryall and Simon, and I am sure we won’t be disappointed.

The other Cabinet appointments that I found particularly interesting were Gerry Brownlee taking over Transport and Nick Smith adding Local Government to his portfolio. Roading initiatives in the Bay are pretty well locked in, but no all are, and we need to continue to sell the attributes of the likes of the Northern Arterial if our city and region are to continue to prosper. Will Nick Smith have the resolve to move local government structural reform forward? This really does need to happen – but it will need to be driven locally, and without the vested interests of local government politicians getting in the way of a rational debate.

The selection of a new Labour Party leader will also add a new dynamic to the political landscape. Labour has been very brave in looking for a fresh face, albeit that he lacks experience. David Shearer will have his hands full, competing with an irrational and disruptive Winston Peters, and Labour stalwarts must just hope that he can survive the onslaught from both internal and external forces.

Christmas is nearly here, and it just leaves me to wish all our readers a very merry festive season, so that we can start what is likely to be another eventful (and probably trying) year in good heart.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

2^nd December 2011

Stop procrastinating Tauranga – let’s build a university…

What will make the biggest difference for economic growth in the Bay? A university will. Youth unemployment is a huge issue for us locally, and the answer is education. Young adults can’t be aspirational and ambitious if they are not well educated – and the Bay has a huge opportunity to help, by establishing a “bricks & mortar” university right here in downtown Tauranga. You might ask why a university – but I can assure you that this is a most environmentally friendly industry, that will employ a lot of highly skilled intellectuals (adding wealth to our community) and at the same time provide opportunity and aspiration for our youth.

To build a brick and mortar university will cost around $60m for the infrastructure, and then there will be the ongoing annual operating costs. Don’t expect, in these uncertain economic times, for Central Government to front these costs, but the good news is that we do have the capacity right here in the Bay to supply this “bricks and mortar” funding.

My assumptions include the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (through its $200m Infrastructure Fund) providing $30m; and Tauranga City providing the land (say $10m to $12m). This could well be topped up with substantial funds coming from our local community trusts, such as TECT (our own Energy Trust) and the likes of BayTrust (another community owned trust – that came from the sale of TrustBank). The bottom line is that this project could be up and running, with its infrastructure totally funded locally. Central Government would have a bargain – only funding operating costs – a win-win for all concerned.

For me, the key is for our community funds to be injected not as a grant, but as an equity stake into the infrastructural assets. I would expect it to be interest free for, say, five years and then gradually moving to a fair return at an incremental rate of 1% per annum. Central Government gets both a productivity and an educational lift for the whole country, and the Bay of Plenty community gains a private/public partnership investment that rewards to whole community.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

18^th November 2011

And after the oil, there remains the containers…

Now that most of the oil is off the stricken ship, the Rena, our attention turns to the containers. The sixty tones of oil remaining on board could still pose huge environmental risk, but five weeks into this disaster we are re-opening most of our beaches – a huge accolade to the 16,000 volunteer man hours that have gone into the beach cleanup. When I remember on the 14^th of October watching those 350 tonnes of oil pouring onto Papamoa Beach in literally waves of oil, I thought that we would have our work cut out to get that beach open again within a year – not just 6 weeks!

So – where to from here? The next priority is to recover the containers. There were 1363 containers on board, of which 474 were empty and 11 were registered as containing dangerous goods. That first big storm saw 88 containers lost overboard, of which 56 remain unaccounted for. 38 of the 88 that were lost overboard were empty, and only one empty container having been recovered to date. With a bit of luck all 37 unaccounted for empty containers have now sunk to the ocean floor. It is these empty containers that are most at risk of floating (either on or just below the surface), but given the time that has since elapsed it is more than likely that they have now sunk, and are no longer a threat to our boating fraternity. The salvors will now undertake the equally dangerous task of offloading the vessel of its remaining containers. We only expect a recovery rate in the single figures, so it is likely to be many months (assuming the ship doesn’t break up) before this stage of the operation is complete. I’m sure the naysayers will complain that things aren’t going fast enough, but working alongside the Rena Incident Command team I have only admiration. The level of collaboration is huge and the professionalism outstanding. The Bay might have been hit hard, but it can stand proud in what is a “whole of community” response.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

4^th November 2011  

A view from inside the Rena ICC...

For the past couple of weeks I have been privileged to be working inside the Incident Command Centre for the Rena. I say privileged because it really is amazing to see so many people, from so many different walks of life (and country) working in a focused, yet collaborative, way to try to restore and minimize the damage that this grounding is causing to our environment. The salvors really are the heros, as they are working aboard this stricken ship - risking their lives every minute as she continually bellows out her death groans, as she slowly but surely tears her shelf apart. This ship will break in half - it is just a question of when, and not if - and as I write this we are all now on high alert as the weather turns bad, and the swell rises.

My role is co-ordinating the business and group offers, as part of the Volunteer Engagement team, I am in awe of our community for their generosity. This country has faced more than its fair share of tragedy this past year, and yet the offers of assistance continue to come from both our local community (both business and personal) as well as from across this nation. From the kind elderly lady in Greerton - who is on an oxygen tank, yet produces endless litres of soup and stews for our volunteers - to the businesses that donate or loan hugely expensive supplies and vehicles, this tragedy shows that our community really has a huge heart.

This response has been first class, and the ill informed criticism of a few must have been so disappointing to the experts who are heading up this operation. It is a mammoth task co-ordinating this operation, and I can assure you that it is meticulously planned and executed with regimental precision. No one is sitting on their hands in this recovery – it might seem painfully slow from the outside, but from inside the Command Centre I can just see professionalism.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

21^st October 2011

Rena likely to overshadow us for months to come…

The news for the past two weeks has been dominated by the stranding of the Rena on Astrolabe Reef. I was fortunate enough to witness the stranding on the morning of this event, when I accompanied the Sunlive news crew in a one hour flight over of the stricken ship. As soon as I saw how far up onto the reef that the Rena had run I knew that this ship was going nowhere any time soon. Believe me there are still no easy answers for this disaster, and we can expect disastrous environmental effects for months, if not years, to come.

Directly after my flight I personally phoned both Simon Bridges, our local MP, and Hon Dr Nick Smith, the Minister for the Environment. I can assure you that the government understood the implications and environmental risks, and I was assured that an emergency recovery plan had already been enacted. It annoys me to listen to that uninformed chatter about inaction, and I find it deplorable that certain parties were (and are still) trying to get political gain out of this tragedy. My only criticism would be the early paralysis on keeping the public properly briefed on the facts. The media are always willing to sensationalise matters, but Maritime NZ now is supplying very good regular updates on their website (www.maritimenz.org.nz) – and as usual Sunlive is also ahead of the pack.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

7^th October 2011

I was looking for vision – not hip shooting

Dear oh dear – when I called for vision from Tauranga City Councillors, it was not for a knee jerk decision to suddenly consider a “Big Screen” for the Strand. That opportunity was long gone, but if local bars want to band together to do so then that will be their commercial decision. No – I am looking for Councillors to recognise that once again they missed a huge opportunity, but they need to get some vision for the future. As I said the “Nay-sayers” will always oppose spending ratepayer funds, but sometimes you have to pre-invest to get strong long-term economic benefit for our city.

Enough is enough

There are times when Councillors should say “ENOUGH”, and never more so than for our Regional Councillors when they review the Quayside directorship remuneration at the upcoming Quayside AGM. In my 12^th August editorial I highlighted the outrageous fees that Quayside Directors got paid, and low and behold the 2011 Accounts have now been released and independent directors Michael Smith (Tauranga) and John Green (Rotorua) each voted themselves a $4,000 increase to $91,000 and $75,000 respectively. Of course Michael Smith also got a further $49,000 as a Port of Tauranga director. And all this at a time when Quayside Holdings reported a net profit after tax of just $57.1m. I say JUST because the Port of Tauranga has previously announced a stunning net profit after tax of $58.4m. This indicates that the Quayside Group made a net loss after tax of $1.28m (to be fair this included a revaluation loss on its property investments of $5.13m). I note that Regional Councillor directors Jane Nees and Jim Mansell didn’t get a fee increase (receiving $53,000 each annually – on top of their Regional Council salaries) but this result just doesn’t justify these rates of director remuneration – let alone the $4,000 increases for Michael Smith and John Green. The level of director remuneration is a matter for Regional Councillors to set, and ratepayers should demand that our elected regional councillors protect ratepayers funds, and dramatically reduce this total remuneration pool (I would suggest that based on Quayside’s performance over the past three years, it should be halved).

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

23^rd September 2011

Shame on you Tauranga City

The Rugby World Cup is proving to be a stunning opportunity to showcase our country and our region. New Zealanders and tourists alike are just buzzing – everywhere that is except in Tauranga. It is a total disgrace that New Zealand’s fifth largest city, and what should be the country’s tourist mecca, has not embraced this World Cup. There is just no evidence that our city is engaged, and we are all the losers from this. This is a disgrace, and an embarrassment that will hang over this city for years to come. The blame must land squarely on ALL Tauranga City Councillors, who were so small minded and penny-pinching that they wouldn’t fund the promotion of this city. It is no good asking Councillors to wake up – because they are comatosed and have no strategic thinking in their armoury.

Tauranga has plenty of inspirational people, who work tirelessly to put our city on the map, and in this I commend Andrew Coker and Priority One. You don’t have to agree with all of their ideas, but at least they are thinking laterally, and not out of self-interest. It is time for the Mayor to step up and show real leadership. It hasn’t been easy for him, with a dysfunctional Council last triennium (and not much better today), but if we are to move ahead we need visionaries leading us. We have the opportunity to have a genuine “bricks and mortar” university in our beautiful city, and it just needs a courageous leader to get it “over the goal posts”. What better environmentally friendly business would a marine science based university be for our whole region. Dunedin (now with a smaller population than Tauranga) has just built a magnificent roofed stadium (at a cost of $200m), and look at the instant spin off from that for them. Yet Tauranga Councillors didn’t have the guts to make sure they built an events centre that would cater for international tests. They built Baywave without future-proofing it by including an Olympic sized pool; and they got conned into Clarkson’s Baypark stadium, that has now proven that it just won’t cut the mustard as a test match rugby venue.

Think laterally Tauranga City Councillors, and get out of your caves – your residents and ratepayers need vision. Sure there will always be the nay-sayers, but you have to be bigger than to cower to them. VISION is what is needed, not seat warmers.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

9^th September 2011

Mangroves once again under Regional Council’s spotlight

The Regional Council can be rightly proud for being the first to mechanically remove mangroves from our harbour. This week’s Operations Committee has received a report that boasts the successful removal of 110 hectares of mangroves (of a total of in excess of 900 hectares of this pest). The challenge for Regional Councillors will be how to manage the exponential spread (estimated to have the potential to grow to 2000 hectares) if further interventions aren’t initiated.

Mangrove removal is an expensive exercise, but should be seen within the perspective that (a) there is overwhelming community support for containing and in fact reducing mangrove distribution, and (b) that through the revenues created from dividends from the Council’s shareholding in the Port of Tauranga, there should not be a funding constraint. If you take the thesis that putting back a few hundred thousand dollars into a harbour that generates around $25m annually to the Regional Council, this appears reasonable to me.

The staff report to the Operations Committee is only offering containment (and minimal removal to tidy up the current mangrove boundaries), and no continuation of any substantial mangrove reduction in the next three years. For me I would like to see a much more bold approach.  Getting consent to remove a further 100 hectares, as soon as possible, would seem to be the least that our community should accept. I don’t think that many people are asking for every last mangrove to be removed, but we should be aiming at getting mangrove levels back to where they were in the mid 1970’s (see attached graph), as a bare minimum.

I applaud the Regional Council for continuing to look at mechanisms to remove not only mature mangroves, but also seedlings. This is a battle that won’t be easy to win, but we must keep going to protect our visual amenity, recreational access and to prevent the further loss of kaimoana – all at threat from this rapid mangrove spread. Research into mechanical seedling removal is applauded, but let’s not give up on the big challenge – turning back the degradation of our harbour. Your Regional Council has been magnificent in getting the mechanical removal process successfully proven, and now is not the time to take the foot off the pedal.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

    Mangrove canopy cover within a number of estuaries in the Tauranga Harbour

 SOURCE:  Park (2004) Aspects of Mangrove Distribution and Spread in Tauranga Harbour.

Environment Bay of Plenty Environmental Report 2004/16

 If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

12^th August 2011

Should the blow torch now go onto Quayside Holdings?

Bay of Plenty Regional Council can be rightly proud of the way it has protected and grown it’s investments. However 99% of this success can be directly attributed to its investment in the Port of Tauranga. Quayside Holdings, the 100% Regional Council owned company that manages the Council’s investments (including the 54.96% shareholding in the Port of Tauranga) last year boasted a surplus after tax of $39.886 million in its Annual Accounts (to 30^th June 2010). However this is consolidated with the Port which made $38.016 million - showing that Quayside made less than $2 million from its other investments. These other investments include $54 million in share market investments, $20 million in direct property investments (Rangiuru & Tauriko) and another $4 million in “other”. So the bottom line last year was a $1.87 million profit on $78.4 million in assets – a return of just 2.38%.

Looking at Quayside Holdings’ cost structure – they are spending around $1 million on administration to produce this $1.87m profit. This includes (according to the 2010 Annual Report) $352,000 on director fees. Michael Smith, the HOBEC lawyer, chairs the Board as well as sitting as a director on the Port of Tauranga Board. Last year he received $87,000 as Chair of Quayside, and a further $51,000 as a Port Director ($138,000 in total). John Green, an independent director from Rotorua, received $75,000; Athole Herbert, independent director received $53,000, as did Regional Councillors Jane Nees and Jim Mansell. These fees are well above the fees that Port of Tauranga Directors received, and yet it is that company that makes all the money for Quayside! Quayside Directors will argue that they need rewarding for their fiduciary risk, but the reality is that Quayside pays Directors Indemnity Insurance to protect them from this. It is interesting to note that John Green is also a Director of Perpetual Capital Management Limited – a company that manages the investments for the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust, and he, and his three other directors, received $35,004 as his 2010 Director Fee for this – a figure that I would have thought was probably prudent and a guide to what Quayside should be paying.

Let me be clear that while I was a director of Quayside between 2005 and 2008 all the figures quoted are from the published Annual Returns. Both Quayside and the Port of Tauranga will soon be reporting their 2011 Annual Returns, and I will report on these once out. However I am not hopeful of any improvement for Quayside, as in 2010 they employed a full time CEO who is probably costing them $250,000 a year, and just adding to the overheads!

This all begs the question – is there a place for the Regional Council operating this CCO (Council Controlled Organisation), and the even bigger question as to whether councils should be owning and operating large infrastructural assets at all. Yes it subsidises our rates, but it also keeps the true costs of operating the council below the radar. This is a discussion for another day.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

29^th July 2011

Is it a Strategy or just a Plan?

What a disappointment to see that our Regional Councillors haven’t taken a strong stand to protect water quality – The Regional Pest Management (Strategy) Plan goes before full council this week for ratification, and it has failed to address the issue that science now shows that gorse leaches that same amount of nitrogen into our waterways on a per hectare basis as dairy cows. They site fairness and equity for sidestepping this, but with the amount of both regional ratepayer and central government taxpayer funds going into the Rotorua Lakes cleanup (with very limited success to date) it is time that the Regional Council took some hard decisions and got on with the job – shame on you for not addressing this issue head on. This also impacts for the Tauranga Harbour, where increased nutrification encourages the flourishment of sea lettuce. We need gorse banished from our harbour catchments as urgently as the Rotorua Lakes do!

It is also astounding to note that council staff has recommended that the title of the “Regional Pest Management Strategy” be changed to a “Regional Pest Management Plan”. The report to council explains this as aligning to the requirements proposed in the “Biosecurity Law Reform Bill”, but for me – Strategy is vision, and Planning is execution. Research feeds strategy and strategy informs planning. Therefore you need both a strategy (a longer-term vision) which will be followed up with a definitive (shorter-term) Action Plan. I know our planners like to wordsmith documents to death, but I would much prefer more affirmative action against pests and weeds like gorse, which will result in better environmental outcomes.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

15^th July 2011

Putting a mark in the sand in the 1080 debate …

I have to congratulate the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Jan Wright, for her report tabled in Parliament last month, evaluating the use of 1080. This is a very emotional issue, but it is pleasing that a science based approach was taken, with a sensible outcome. In her view 1080 must not be banned, and she went on to comment:  “Possums, rats and stoats are chewing up our forests to the point that we are only a generation away from seeing regional extinctions of kiwis and other native species where no pest control is carried out. While there may be an alternative to 1080 one day, if we want to keep our forests for future generations we simply cannot afford to stop using 1080. Time is not a luxury we have.”

Those opposing the use of 1080 need to read this report carefully, and understand that if we are really concerned about our loss of biodiversity, then this science based approach must be taken. It is easy to be persuaded by highly emotive radical views that make good headlines, and so it is courageous for Dr Wright to present such a definitive report. In local government we put a lot of credence in recent years on community views, but the reality is that while local government politicians should show empathy to these views, they still need to maintain a focus on good science. Idealism will not preserve our planet – in fact if you want good environmental outcomes then you need to build a strong economy; because it will always take a strong economy to fund our environmental wish lists.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

1^st July 2011  

Regional Council still have to learn how to say NO …

I was disappointed to see any rate rise from the Regional Council this year. They might be proud at holding the increase to 2.54%, but with the strong increase in investment income, there doesn’t seem to have been a lot of “naval gazing” to ensure “value for money” for our ratepayers. Our city ratepayers are really struggling in the current economic climate, and this is an “opportunity lost” to show some real empathy. Based on the figures published this week the Regional Council is planning to spend $87.2m on operational expenditure, and a further $18.6m on capital expenditure (total: $105.8m). This is in fact close to an 11% increase in the total 2010-11 spend.

Another note of concern was the decision to inject $100,000 into the current budget towards a pilot iwi secondment programme to build iwi capacity. This is on top of a budgeted $588,000 for direct “Maori engagement”. Political correctness seems to be out of control, and with local iwi now receiving very large Treaty Settlements, it is time that they put up their own hand, and took over this role of iwi capacity building.

On a positive note, having read the agenda for the Finance & Corporate Committee Meeting last week, I noted that solid efficiency gains have been made in the vehicle usage. Staff reported that purchasing decisions are smarter, with fleet utilisation showing improved efficiency, and although council staff are travelling greater distances per annum they have still managed to reduce their vehicle fleet by almost 10% over the past three years without hindering the effectiveness of our service delivery.  The total vehicle fleet has reduced from 123 in 2008-09 to 113 currently, and noting that the use of “pooled vehicles” has increased (within that overall total) from 12 to 40. That is all good.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

17^th June 2011

 Regional Council doesn’t need a rate increase

Paula Thompson, in her editorial last week, indicated that our Regional Council has flagged a desire to move the balance of its funding base from the current 24% of its operating expenditure being funded from investment income (with approximately 13% coming from general rates, and a further 11% coming from targeted rates) to a much higher proportion of rating revenue. In principal this is sensible, because if there is a “hiccup” from it’s investment income, such as an unexpected drop in the Port of Tauranga dividend (the Port of Tauranga dividend accounting for more than $20m of investment funding into Council’s coffers), this would suddenly require a massive increase in rates to offset such a drop. Bay of Plenty ratepayers have been blessed by the strong performance of our Port shares for the past twenty years, and there is always a risk that this might not continue. However we must not “manage this risk” by unnecessarily burdening ratepayer with high rating increases (as a substitute for the current investment income) because this will just build an unacceptably high nest-egg for the Regional Council, funded by ratepayers. We need to celebrate the successful management of the Port, and continue to monitor that investment and continue to carry enough reserves to mitigate a risk of a “one off” event, without unduly increasing rates revenue.

Your Regional Council, in 2008, set up an infrastructure funding mechanism (using the $200m Quayside Perpetual Preference shares), and to their credit that have managed these funds very well (to date having spent at least $45m, yet growing the residual fund to over $220m). In these current tight economic times it is appropriate for the Council to now make some substantive economic development investments to stimulate our local economy. I have previously advocated that a $30m investment to seed fund a new bricks and mortar a tertiary institution in Tauranga would be huge for the Bay, and it really needs a “champion” at Council to make this happen. It is time to stop talking and get some action happening.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

3^rd June 2011 

Tsunami warning system – yeah right

At a local Government level it is interesting to see that our local City Councillors have finally agreed to install Tsunami sirens. However the penny pinchers seem to have won again, with a shoddy attempt to appease the ratepayers. I don’t profess to be an expert on this, but to limit the sirens to just 75 decibel’s seems inadequate, and just a token attempt to appease locals. Come on TCC – if you believe that you are finally doing the right thing, then do it properly.

Culling the Black Swan in our Harbour

The 4000 to 5000 black swans that live on the Tauranga Harbour have both a positive and a negative environmental impact – they do eat sea lettuce, but they also foul the water’s edge, if their numbers get too high. It could be argued that there should be a more humane way of culling excessive bird populations, but the likes of poison is too indiscriminate (both within and inter species). Fish and Game NZ is a very reputable organisation, and a great ambassador for our environment. Their annual swan “drive” on the Tauranga Harbour is designed to keep this environment in equilibrium. These game birds are managed under the Wildlife Act 1953. Fish and Game NZ, under this Act, are tasked with administering this by licensing recreational hunters, and it also monitors their numbers to ensure sustainability. Fish and Game, contrary to some public commentary, do ensure that wounded and dead birds from these “drives” are retrieved and dealt with humanely. The Regional Council works closely with Fish and Game NZ, but any change to the population levels or methods of control is not a matter that the three Councils can manage. Life is often about compromise, and this is another example where pragmatism outweighs dogma, for better environmental outcomes.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

20^th May 2011

 Annual Plan time

It is Annual Plan Submission time again, and I hope that our Councillors continue to be mindful to cut their cloth to meet the tight economic environment. You may remember that your Regional Council, when developing its 2009 to 2019 Ten Year Plan, signaled an increase in rating per dwelling of 113% (over that ten year period) against a regional council average country wide of just 45%. It is great to see that they have cut $17.4m from their original 2011/12 estimates; now planning to spend $82.6m (previously $100m) on its operating costs.

Efficiencies in Tauranga’s Public Transport contract will see a $2.2m savings translated into a reduction in the targeted rate for Tauranga ratepayers. However I am concerned that once again there is a zero rate struck for diary discharges into the iconic Rotorua Lakes. I understand the need for good science to base decision making, but we have known of the serious degradation of Lake Rotorua (in particular) for over 20 years. Regional ratepayers are becoming increasingly frustrated with the “softly softly” approach, that is not showing an action driven programme to address this issue. It is good to see that “promoting land management change” in the Lake Rotorua catchment is a priority action for the 2011/12 Plan, because until we get land use change we will make little long-term progress in Rotorua Lake’s cleanup.

In the past ten years we have seen a doubling in the cost of services at the Regional Council - this has to be seen alongside a considerable step-up in action orientated outcomes (public transport initiatives, Lake Rotoiti cleanup, Tauranga Harbour mangrove mechanical removal, Eastern Bay flood mitigation to name a few). However we still see huge staff time taken in writing reports – what we really want is action orientation. This should include Tauranga Harbour initiatives (resolving sedimentation issues, as well as mangrove and sea lettuce issues); making progress in the cleanup of Lake Rotorua; and ensuring both regional development and transportation issues are actively addressed. It is not about spending more money in total, but about better redirection to ensure effective outcomes. Perhaps it will take the change in leadership (CEO) to drive this change management further. Whoever the income CEO is, his or her challenge will be to finish off the change in culture initiated by outgoing CEO Bill Bayfield.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

6^th May 2011  

Is it time to rationalise local government?

For the past couple of years the debate has been brewing as to whether we need a double structure (District & City Councils as well as Regional Councils) in local government. With the introduction of the Super City (Auckland City Council) we now have a situation where 50% of New Zealand is governed at a local government level by a single structure (unitary councils). Is it now time to cut the bureaucracy and expand this structure New Zealand wide?  In the Western Bay we have been discussing this informally, but there doesn’t appear to have been any serious SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats) of this proposition.

This is no simple proposition, as we not only have to consider the effectiveness of the various roles of local government under the unitary model (gamekeeper versus poacher), but any change would also address the age old issue of council amalgamation, and where these boundaries should be. Once we talk about amalgamation we get into “patch protection”, but ratepayers are fed up with unsustainable staff and cost increases forcing up rates, so let our local government politicians be brave, and make substantive progress on analysing the options. Without sound analysis we can’t have a serious debate.  

It seems to me that there is a high degree of urgency to have this debate, because it would be much better that this region finds a solution, rather than it being enforced upon us by central government. The obvious agency to instigate this research is our Regional Council (in collaboration with all the Territorial Authorities), so let’s get this work done so that we can have a transparent and rational debate on all of the issues.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

  Bay of Plenty Population Growth

 NOTE:     Tauranga City’s territorial authority area 2010 population is 114,300; Tauranga’s Urban population is 120,000

                Rotorua DC’s territorial authority area 2010 population is 68,600; Rotorua’s Urban population is 55,900

SOURCE: Statistics New Zealand

21^st April 2011

Charity begins at home…

As a host ambassador for a Christchurch family, as part of the “Ten days in Tauranga” project, I got far more than I gave. This wonderful initiative, driven by Mayor Stuart Crosby and our local Member of Parliament Simon Bridges, has been a huge success, if my hosted family is anything to go by. The generosity of Bay of Plenty people has been huge, and the appreciation of the recipients shows on their faces. Maree and I have been privileged to look after the Maynard family; father Mark, his two daughters Molly (just 4) and Matilda (aged 2), plus Mark’s niece Laura, who came up to help look after these energizer bunny (and delightful) children. This is a family that lost their mother in the collapse of the PGG building, and their positivity is inspirational. It won’t be easy for Mark and his family going forward, and this interlude to Tauranga might have been just a small thing, but I am sure that it has helped to confirm his faith in humanity, and helped to cement his positive attitude.  We all owe a huge bouquet to Stuart and Simon, and to their wonderful staff, for making this all possible. Tauranga City staff often cop flack through “letters to the editor”, but I can tell you that Elizabeth Hughes and her team should be attributed sainthood for their tireless commitment to helping our newfound Christchurch friends.

Port dredging…

Changing the subject completely – I spent a few hours attending the Environment Court appeal of the consent for Port of Tauranga to deepen and slightly widen its shipping channel. The Environment Court has allocated one month for this hearing, and I am sure that there will be little change out of $1 million by the time it is over. This appeal is being heard by two judges and two Commissioners, and I am very concerned that local Maori are being given unrealistic expectation - making suggestions regarding future Port ownership appears right outside the jurisdiction of this hearing. I will read the final decision with interest!

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

8^th April 2011

 The Port is our golden goose…

Port of Tauranga has an enviable track record with consistent outperformance over many years against other listed NZX companies. Its shareprice has doubled in the past five years, despite a tough economic environment, and through the Regional Council’s 55% stake, has returned around $20m per annum to the Council in the form of a dividend. This has directly fed into lower rates for local ratepayers. Our friends in Auckland are very envious of these returns, with Ports of Auckland barely turned a profit over the same timeframe, as it struggled to remain solvent. The 2009-10 financial results for Ports of Auckland show a significant turn-around, but the political interference over that period did not go un-noticed.

Port of Tauranga’s Chief Executive and Chairman have both been on record many times crediting the strong relationship with its cornerstone shareholder (Bay of Plenty Regional Council), as a differentiating success factor. I was saddened to hear a couple of weeks ago of concern by senior executives that this was now at risk. This set off alarm bells to me, but backed up murmurs that I have heard that one of our new Councillors is pushing for more Board representation. The Regional Council has two representatives on the Board of Port of Tauranga, currently (Council Chairman John Cronin and Quayside Chair Michael Smith), and this representation (two of seven) has worked well for many years. The last thing we need is to upset the relationship between the Regional Council and the Port – this is our region’s “golden goose” which allows the Regional Council to be a well funded action orientated organisation. This company now has a market capitalization of over $1.1billion, producing around $50m in after tax profit. This is a great company and a huge asset to our region, and Regional Councillors must monitor its performance, but not interfere in its day to day operations.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

25^th March 2011

A changing regional guard…

Five years ago I, along with John Cronin, Philip Sherry and Athol Herbert, were the pre-selection committee that shortlisted Bill Bayfield for the CEO role at the Regional Council. I had just read Jim Collins book “Good to Great” and we were looking for just that. BOP Regional Council was a good company, but its management was “siloed”, and it was full of bureaucrats that loved to write reports - with actions and outcome few and far between. We selected Bill Bayfield as a “change manager”, and we were not disappointed. Bill got in and changed structures; changed the senior management team; and quickly built an ethos of action orientation. Your Regional Council has come a long way; but the job is not yet finished. With Bill leaving to take up an even bigger challenge in Canterbury, the current Council will have an enormous task to find a replacement that can move this business transformation forward. BOP Regional Council still has the potential to be a great company, but it will take a lot more courage and determination.

 So what are the challenges going forward. The first has to be the restoration of water quality for the Rotorua Lakes. After 20 years of having identified the base issues we have seen some good results in some of the smaller lakes, but the “monkey in the cage” is Lake Rotorua, and we have yet to really address this iconic lake’s water quality. It is time that the Regional Council made some hard decisions, and the first is to recognise that Lake Rotorua will not be restored without land use change. Farmers have been resisting this, and the “softly softly” approach has failed. Central Government has partnered in this cleanup, but I sense frustration in Wellington that not enough is happening, so this will be the first challenge for an incoming CEO.

 The second challenge is the Tauranga Harbour. To give Bill Bayfield credit, he recognised this issue and prioritised it. The NIWA modeling on sedimentation has given us the tools for resource prioritisation, and the innovative mechanical removal of mangroves (a first for New Zealand) is proving a huge weapon towards reversing the degradation. There will always be the “naysayers”, but without substantial mangrove removal we won’t reduce the ever increasing sedimentation. That said mangroves are just a symptom of the problem, and we have to get serious about catchment care as well. We have to reduce the nutrification of our harbour waters if we want to get on top of the sea lettuce issue, and getting rid of gorse from our harbour catchments will be a big start. Our scientists have recently shown that gorge leaches as much nitrogen per hectare into our waterways as does a hectare in dairy production. With this knowledge we expect both Tauranga City and Western Bay District Council to play their part in eradicating gorge from their land within the harbour catchment.

 If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

11^th March 2011

Bay Hopper continues strong growth…

At the Regional Council’s Public Transport Subcommittee meeting, a couple of weeks ago, staff reported another outstanding quarter with not only a 20% increase in patronage, but this while also decreasing the level of subsidisation (by around 10%) that ratepayers and taxpayers equally contribute - this despite an October GST and inflation price increase of around 5%. The 417,008 passengers carried in the latest reported quarter (October to December 2010) annualises at nearly 1.7m passengers per annum. This is an outstanding performance, and needs to be recognised.

Rotorua Airport …

Last week Rotorua District Council’s CEO Peter Guerin stated that “We also remain confident that the Bay of Plenty Regional Council will accept it has a responsibility to financially support the airport’s development because of the benefit it brings to the wider region and beyond. The airport is not just a facility for Rotorua residents.” I find it incredulous that he would expect Eastern Bay, Western Bay and Tauranga ratepayers to contribute to an airport in Rotorua. It has recently been revealed that Rotorua’s Airport has stacked up loans totaling $60m – a figure that has shocked many of Rotorua’s District Councillors. Your Regional Council, in partnership with Central Government, is commendably pouring tens of millions of dollars into the restoration of the Rotorua Lakes, recognising their iconic regional significance, but the presumptuousness

of the RDC CEO telling us that we have a responsibility to financially support their airport’s development is endemic of the attitude of Rotorua’s Council. Injecting funding to help this infrastructure as a quid pro quo for using the Regional Council’s infrastructure fund to help kick-start the bricks and mortar of a new university for Tauranga is one thing, but please Mr Guerin - let’s not talk about it being a responsibility.

 If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.  

25^th February 2011

Let’s be clear…

Before I start I want to make one thing clear. Contrary to a couple of criticisms on the Sunlive website, I reiterate that I was not re-elected to the Regional Council in the October election - but after serving our community as a councillor for the previous six years, I have given a lot of time (at a low recompense) to this city’s benefit, and on top of this I have written regular editorials on financial and council matters for over ten years. As such I feel that I am in a good position to monitor what our territorial and regional councillors are doing, and that is why I have continued this column.

Smartgrowth Implementation Committee …

Last week I attended the first Smartgrowth meeting this year (as a member of the public). I was pleased to see an increased level of engagement from Tauranga City Councillors, with Cr Baldock and Cr Molloy joining Mayor Crosby, representing the City’s interests. Cr Baldock might have slightly misconstrued Smartgrowth’s role with regards to “Affordable Housing”, but his passion is certainly welcome.

The Smartgrowth Strategy is due for a substantive review in 2012 and while this won’t be inexpensive (costing around $155,000 over the next two years), it is essential that this 50 year strategy is periodically reviewed, to ensure that it remains focused and relevant.

Smartgrowth was initiated in 2001, adopted in 2004, and first reviewed in 2007. I often hear criticism about the concept, but a substantive sub-regional growth strategy has been an essential component of the more than three quarters of a billion dollars that Central Government has committed to the Western Bay of Plenty in recent years. Since its inception Smartgrowth has employed consultant Ken Tremaine as its “Implementation Advisor”, but at the end of last year determined to take the administration within the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. I believe that this will lead to even higher costs, with an “in house” Project Manager having to cover council overhead costs as well as the base salary. Having an independent advisor and chair has been a “key success factor” for the Smartgrowth concept, and both Ken Tremaine and Bill Wasley (the Independent Chair) have served our community very well.  

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

11^th February 2011

It’s time to get tough…

The working relationship between Tauranga City Council, Western Bay District Council and our Regional Council is generally very good. While it is important to have this rapport that doesn’t mean our environment should suffer – and I think that is exactly what is happening with the Regional Council taking a “softly softly” approach to environmental monitoring. A classic example is the numerous sewerage spills into our harbour over the past couple of years (and more). The cyclone a couple of weeks ago is the exception, but it just hasn’t been, and it’s time for the Regional Council to harden up. Your Regional Council is happy to prosecute a dairy farmer (rightly) to around $100,000 for a major effluent spill, but it is yet to prosecute our City Council for even more serious sewerage spills into our “at risk” harbour.

Those opposed to the concept of merging regional, city and district councils into one unitary council argue that you shouldn’t have the “game keeper”(Regional Council) and the “poacher”(City & District Councils) as the same entity, and yet as we have it now we have the Regional Council not doing its monitoring and policing role properly because if seems to fear upsetting the collaborative approach that has been developed as part of Smartgrowth. It is the harbour that is suffering, and it is time to say “enough is enough”. I know this is not easy, but our harbour has to come first.

While I am on the subject of pollution getting into the harbour, I wrote a couple of years ago about engine waste oil from a Triton Street autowrecker contaminating that site and ultimately our harbour. The Regional Council bent over backwards to give this polluter a chance to clean up his site, and after much frustration and very little progress the Council issued an abatement notice. I understand that the site owner appealed to the Environment Court, who overturned the notice, saying that the Council hadn’t given reasonable time, but it is interesting that a year one there is very little evidence of environmental improvement. I understand Council staff frustration, but we just can’t let contaminants seep into our already degraded harbour. This site is a disgrace, and it is compounded by the City Council allowing the road verge to also be used as a defacto part of his site. The City and Regional Council need to harden up and shut this business down if they don’t get serious compliance.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me. 

28^th January 2011

The Regional Policy Statement is critical for our region…

The second generation Proposed Regional Policy Statement (RPS) was released for discussion last November, and submissions close in 10 days time. The RPS is the foundation document of our Regional Council, seeking to address the sustainable management of the natural and physical resources in the region. It is a requirement under the Resource Management Act, and is extremely important because it gives direction (and in fact binds) territorial authorities (the City & District Councils) in their planning processes. It also gives direction for resource consents processes. I have to say that I was on the sub-committee that spent a huge amount of time developing this proposed RPS, and I am very pleased with the thrust of this document. However this is the most critical document that guides our region, and as such it is well worth residents ensuring that your Regional Council has got it right.

One of the interesting issues for me is the question of housing density. The proposed RPS (at the request of Tauranga City Council) determines a minimum density for new city developments of 15 dwellings per hectare. While this is laudable from an urban sprawl perspective, I am concerned that locking this in via the RPS is just too prescriptive, and risks forcing our city into having future “less than desirable suburbs”. For me this is a city issue, and not a regional issue, and should not be addressed through the RPS. To do so has the added risk of locking in a decision which becomes extremely hard to overturn.

Another issue that caused a lot of debate has been the term for water take consents. I argued strongly (and successfully) for it to be amended from the originally proposed 10 tears to 15 years. Businesses looking for water takes often have high capital investment requirements, and it is essential that they get some certainty so that they have a consent that will allow “payback” for their proposed investment. Water, in my opinion, isn’t a scarce resource in the Bay of Plenty, but it does need to be managed to ensure effective use. We need much more information on water availability because water allocation is becoming a big political and environmental issue.

If you have any interest in the long term welfare of our city and region, it is strongly recommended that you scan this proposed RPS, and let your viewed be heard through the submission process. This is too important to leave for future regrets. Submissions close on 8^th February.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

14^th January 2011

 It’s time to get serious about regional development…

As they enjoy a warm summer break I hope that our Regional Councillors are making a New Year resolution to use some of the $200m that was raised in early 2008 to make a real difference for our region. This money was raised with the stated intention “to undertake various infrastructure projects in the Bay of Plenty region.” I reiterate past accolades that I have given as to the management of this fund over the past 2 years. Now the time is right to get serious about helping our ailing regional economy

I believe that one of the best ways to help our whole region would be to accelerate that move for tertiary provision for our youth. To me a mainstream university (based in Tauranga) is just what our economy needs. Building a university capable of catering for at least 3500 students would give an environmentally friendly lift to our economy, and transform the region into a vibrant centre of excellence for tertiary education. Our city fathers have been working on this for many years now, and an input of regional council infrastructure funding would be just the boost that central government would need to get this dream into a reality. $20m to $30m invested by the Regional Council into bricks and mortar infrastructure would ensure that they have “skin in the game”, and would prove to be a very astute long term investment for its shareholders (us ratepayers).

66% of rates are collected from the Western Bay, so if we invested $30m into a university site in Tauranga, I would assume that we should also be allocating $5.4m to the Rotorua region (12% of the rate take) and $10m into the Eastern Bay (it contributes 22% to the rate take). Options need consultation but could include investment into Rotorua’s Airport and aquaculture facilities in the Eastern Bay. An investment of $45m out of the $200m Regional Infrastructure Fund shouldn’t pose any funding issues, and the sooner we get this regional infrastructure development underway the bigger the reward will be for our region. Annual Planning will commence within the next month so come on Councillors – get brave and get going with urgency.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.

17^th December 2010

 The Regional Council needs to get serious about our harbour

As we head into the festive break our attention focuses more and more on Tauranga’s jewel, its harbour. Recreation time is here, but with another bad bout of sea lettuce in our harbour, not to mention all too many sewerage spills, our Tauranga harbour needs a lot of attention from our Regional Council. Recent Councillor comments in your publication talk about improved liaison and communication, but we expect more. Spending $1.5m (more on planning rather than actions) is a bit of a joke. The people of Tauranga, while appreciating the benefits that the port brings this city, also suffer the negative impacts like heavy traffic and loss of recreational space. This is offset by our Regional Council receiving over $21m in dividend income. Isn’t it time for them to take our harbour cleanup seriously. The harbour generates the funds, and yet so little is reinvested for this ongoing jewel. In light of the dividends received, $30,000 doesn’t seem a lot for sea lettuce control – this sea lettuce scourge is symbolic of a wider problem, and our residents want results, not excuses.

 In the New Year it will be Annual Plan time again, and our local councillors need to focus a lot more attention locally. We made a great start on mechanical mangrove removal this year, but we have only scratched the surface. At present there are no substantive plans for further removal beyond the current consented area, and it is time for council to detail a substantive plan for our harbour. The Regional Council needs an annual budget of at least $100,000 for mangrove removal, and need to urgently modify their Regional Coastal Policy Statement to ensure that they aren’t spending another $100,000 for each resource consent.

 If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.                                                    

19^th November 2010

 No longer a Regional Councillor – but I still care…

There are currently two key regional council policy issues out for consultation. The first, for which submissions close on 30^th November, is the Draft Regional Pest Management Strategy. The second, not due to close until 8^th February 2011, is the next Proposed Regional Policy Statement. Both have wide implications to us all, and I strongly recommend that you read up on them and put in a submission. I know many of you will consider this a waste of time, but I can assure you that if you want change you need to act. My advice is to limit your submission to just a handful of key points, and that you should wish to be heard. Those who are heard do have the ability to affect the outcome. Just sending in a written submission won’t necessarily mean that the hearing panel give your submission the same level of attention as it does for those who appear in person. Again if you do appear, only highlight a couple of key points, so that your submission is really focused.

My main concern with the Draft Pest Management Strategy is that while your regional council retained gorse as a “boundary pest” across the region, and a “control pest” in priority catchments, this does not include the catchments of all of the Rotorua Lakes, nor within the catchment of the Tauranga Harbour. Scientific research indicates that gorse fixes nitrogen at a similar level to intensive dairying, and with the nutrification issues (including sea lettuce proliferation) facing our harbour it is essential that we remove gorse from all our sensitive catchments – and this includes the catchments feeding into our harbour.

Your Regional Council staff has often been reluctant to seek landowner compliance for weeds and pests, saying that enforcement would be problematic. I have never agreed with this. They need sound policy, backed up with a strong enforcement policy, if we are to ensure a sustained environment. We need to strengthen the tool-box for council action in this area – not walk away from the problem. If you agree with me I ask you to put in a submission. Time is short – you only have until the end of the month…

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me.