Still trying to introduce evidence-based pragmatism in place of what is currently fashionable in green circles, Cr Lee Vandervis wrote to "decision-makers and Councillors".
[my bolding for emphasis]
Why ‘Pedestrianisation’ works in ancient European capital Downtowns but won’t work here. Subject: Re: Cycleways and pedestrianisation [#ABE06C]
Dear decision-makers and Councillors,
As well as reading the suggested stories about pedestrianisation in
Oslo – Norway’s Capital of nearly 700,000 of the most oil-rich people in
Europe, or reading similar stories of equally dissimilar to Dunedin
ancient Capitals like Copenhagen, Berlin etc. it would be in the
interests of relevance to consider the pedestrianisation experiments of
two small English University cities of similar population to Dunedin –
Ipswich and Norwich.
Closer to home, the pedestrianisation of Christchurch’s Cathedral
Square had already banished the vibrancy and character that existed in
the Square before the earthquakes permanently unsettled the whole city
centre.
Christchurch’s Square was the functional equivalent of our
Octagon, the intersection and crossroads of the cities’ two main central
streets, a portent of what is to come for Dunedin if our most
successful George st is to become a cycleway using the biggest
debt-funded street ‘surface treatments’ budget in our history.
I
caution careful consideration, not of population-dense ancient European
capital city centres designed before automobiles, but of how much we
will certainly lose financially, as well as lose functionally, by
removing parking and motorised transport from the heart of Dunedin.
Kind regards,
Lee
His follow-up Facebook post, 22 December 2019:
PEDESTRIANISATION,
George st, soon the Octagon, then lower Stuart st, to the new Hospital positioned to further choke One-Way traffic flow.
Party politics in the DCC has an agenda to take Dunedin back to the 1950s...
Those of a Pollyanna disposition may be glad that this was a cheap (80 bucks each) try-out ahead of permanent kerb. So much has been learned since Hargest Island - or has it?
"Tightening turning radii" is not without its own risks as Ian Smith points out, though taken too far i.e. even farther than it is now, it will result in a flock of Oozlum birds adding to Dunedin's avian diversity.
Wayne Butson is fed up with traffic micro-managing too. His letter to the editor was in yesterday's ODT (19 Dec 2019):
AgResearch is refusing to answer questions about its commitment to
keeping key staff at Invermay, as concern mounts that staff at the
Dunedin research campus are being kept in the dark.
Former Invermay head Jock Allison said yesterday he was aware staff
at Invermay had been told the campus was safe, but not specifically that
sheep genetics and genomics staff would remain in Dunedin.
‘‘Some of the staff are pretty cynical about where we are, as there
has been no communication with any staff, saying they will not have to
shift to Lincoln,’’ Dr Allison said.
It appeared AgResearch was still ‘‘hell-bent’’ on building a new
facility at Lincoln, and there was no detail on whether the building
plan was being scaled due to the decision to keep staff in Dunedin, he
said.
If the Crown Research Institute continued to ‘‘obfuscate’’ over the
issue, that would ‘‘indicate the need for more political action’’, Dr
Allison said.
‘‘There is enormous obfuscation from AgResearch who have refused to
discuss their [Future Footprint plan] with all and sundry for years.’’
Despite that, AgResearch would not answer specific questions from the Otago Daily Times last week or again yesterday.
The questions included exactly how many staff remained at Invermay,
whether they had been specifically told they would no longer have to
move, or under what circumstances they could yet be asked to relocate.
The organisation’s media liaison person declined the ‘‘offer’’ to
answer questions, saying AgResearch did not have ‘‘anything further to
add’’.
On Friday, the ODT reported a letter of expectation sent to
AgResearch by Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods,
stressed the need to maintain Invermay as ‘‘a centre of research for the
primary sector, especially in respect of sheep genetics and genomics’’.
‘‘I expect you to maintain human and physical capital already developed at this site,’’ she wrote.
AgResearch acting chairman Dr Paul Reynolds wrote back to the
minister, confirming the organisation was ‘‘committed to maintaining our
human and physical capital’’ at Invermay.
Dr Allison said yesterday the letter of expectation had gone to
AgResearch in July, but only recently emerged on its website, and months
later staff at Invermay were ‘‘still being given the mushroom
treatment’’.
He said it was ‘‘disgraceful’’ that AgResearch’s management and board
‘‘have not, and do not seem able to, communicate with staff [about]
what the Megan Woods letter means to them’’.
It was a continuation of poor communication with staff in the six
years since the proposal to relocate up to 85 Invermay staff to other
campuses, as part of the Future Footprint plan, was first revealed, he
said.
‘‘This has resulted in considerable staff unrest, and has meant that
many staff have moved on, and the uncertainty has also cause problems
with recruitment ... all of this eroding any career structure in Science
with particularly toxic effects down here.’’ chris.morris@odt.co.nz
future, replied: "Do what common sense tells you."
.....Campaigners are declaring victory in the six-year fight to save
Dunedin’s Invermay research campus and the dozens of top science jobs
still based there.
Dunedin North Labour MP David Clark yesterday revealed a letter of
expectation sent to AgResearch — which runs Invermay — by Research,
Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods.
AgResearch, as part of its Future Footprint plan, had intended to
relocate top scientists and support staff — particularly those focused
on sheep genetics and genomics — from Invermay to Lincoln.
But, after years of campaigning in Dunedin and in Parliament, the
letter of expectation from Dr Woods stressed the need to maintain
Invermay as "a centre of research for the primary sector, especially in
respect of sheep genetics and genomics".
"I expect you to maintain human and physical capital already developed at this site," she wrote.
AgResearch acting chairman Dr Paul Reynolds wrote back to the
minister, confirming the organisation was "committed to maintaining our
human and physical capital" at Invermay.
Dr Clark said the letter was "as clear as the Crown gets about its
intentions", and AgResearch’s response showed it got the message.
He was "delighted" by the outcome, which meant Invermay "has been saved".
"The Coalition Government has made its position on Invermay clear as day — Invermay is here to stay," he said.
AgResearch acting chief executive Tony Hickmott said Invermay would
"remain integral" to land-based research and "crucial" to AgResearch’s
four-campus plans.
And, if AgResearch continued to collaborate and deliver "quality
research", "the future looks really bright for Invermay, as it does for
all of our research centres".
The developments came too late for more than 40 staff who had already
quit Invermay since the Future Footprint plan was announced in 2013.....
.......... Councillors at Tuesday’s full council meeting voted 13-0 to censure
Cr Vandervis, after an investigation concluded he had been "loud,
aggressive and intimidating" towards a Dunedin City Council staff
member.
Cr Vandervis has continued to dispute the investigation’s findings,
saying the complaint was "trumped-up" and politically motivated.
He also told Tuesday’s meeting his legal adviser, Len Andersen QC,
had "advised me that I have good grounds for applying for a judicial
review of any adverse decision made by the council".
That was because of "the failure of the investigator to adhere to the basic principles of natural justice".
It was a view rejected by council legal representative Michael
Garbett, who was "satisfied that the process has been fair and
consistent with the code of conduct"......
-------------------------- Apparently
the video does not capture sound, which is convenient when it comes to
playing the Get Vandervis game and explains Cr Jules Radich's otherwise
odd term "loud-looking behaviour".
It's
refreshing to see a member of the public objecting to the word
"violence", which conjures mental pictures of blood, bruises, broken
bones and ambulances, to mean "words that upset" someone.
Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Vandervis censured over 'aggressive' parking ticket exchange
Dunedin
city councillor Lee Vandervis has been censured by his colleagues after
a investigation found he engaged in "loud, aggressive and intimidating
behaviour" towards a staff member.
Lee Vandervis
Councillors at today's full council meeting voted unanimously in
favour of issuing Cr Vandervis with a written censure to demonstrate his
conduct was unacceptable.
That was despite Cr Vandervis continuing to dispute key parts of the
investigation’s findings, insisting he had not been afforded "natural
justice" and maintaining the complaint against him was politically
motivated.
...
..The Code of Conduct complaint against Cr Vandervis alleged he had
engaged in "an uncalled-for verbal attack" on a DCC customer services
staff member during an exchange at the Civic Centre reception on
September 13.
....
The resolution to censure him at yesterday’s meeting came from Cr
Mike Lord, who said he had also spoken to a trusted staff member who
detailed the exchange.
Cr Vandervis had been "loud", and the situation "embarrassing" ...
Cr Jules Radich spoke in support of Cr Vandervis, saying if the
exchange was over a $12 parking ticket — as the complainant had claimed
and Cr Vandervis had denied — then it was "a very small matter".
He also questioned whether the video showed "much shouting or
loud-looking" behaviour, and said he was "very reluctant" to censure Cr
Vandervis over the incident.
"We have quite a lot of complaint going on here about not very much," he said.
Once
again DCC focusing attention on a verbal spat that occurred 3 - 4
months ago. I had hoped the new council would focus on current issues
and bring some openness to council workings. But then seemingly we are
stuck with the same internally focused stuff while keeping real
decisions hidden as much as possible.
A new broom with the same old bristles.
His conduct "is violence — and we should have no tolerance for violence of any kind", she said. Violence: 'behaviour involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something'
In case it needs to be pointed out, hurting someone's feelings is not violence, so please stop misusing the term.
If I
trousered $16.9million I would have rather a lot to show for it by the
time Mr Plod put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Come quietly,
sunshine. You've been nabbed." My bubble: "Curses! If only I had more friends."
Friday, 13 December 2019
Boat once linked to fraudster puzzles harbour master
.....In 2014, the Otago Daily Times reported the then Dunedin-based vessel was used in work on a harbour basin slip.
And at that time, it was reported Kapala was owned by Harold Cave, of Christchurch.
Mr Cave had appeared at Mr Swann's parole hearing in 2013. Mr Cave drove Mr Swann from prison on his release a month later.
The ODT then received a tip-off that Mr Swann could be sailing the vessel to Christchurch to live on.
Mr Swann spent four years and eight months in jail for his part in
defrauding the former Otago District Health Board of $16.9million.
Social media reports last month identified Glen Perham as the owner
of the boat; Mr Perham did not immediately respond to a request for
comment yesterday.......
The thing that first puzzled then infuriated me was accusations of racism.
That's taking determination to be offended to insane levels. If the
epidemic had been in Tasmania how would they have managed to obtain
their "fix" of outrage - yet it would have been the same cartoon.
On facebook, many comments along the lines of "How would you feel if it was your baby that died?"
Devastated, and guilty
as hell at my own stupidity for not getting the poor little babe
vaccinated ... but it's so much easier to shift the anger onto a
cartoonist by screaming "Racist! Ban! Apologise!" I was
disappointed that the ODT's response to this was to double down on
apologising for hurting people's feelings, without giving the causes of
the epidemic a thorough examination. The need for governments and
individuals to admit responsibility for suffering and death from
preventable diseases should not be ignored. Intelligent mature
examination, with the aim of informing so as to learn from the Samoan
tragedies, is what the dead deserve as a tribute, not cowering at an
onslaught of emotionalism and misplaced blame. Easier
to scream for vengeance against a cartoonist and a newspaper editor than
against the anti-vaxxers who had disproportionate success spreading
their lethal message in Samoa, compared with other Pacific Islands. They
have done well in parts of NZ too:
The Northland town where parents refuse immunisation, despite kids dying
The Detail today talks to two editorial cartoonists about the fine line they tread between satire and offensiveness
On Twitter, Tremain’s Otago Daily Times piece was dubbed insensitive, offensive, and racist. ... Tremain himself was initially less apologetic.
“In this politically correct atmosphere that we’re now being bloody
suffocated by, you have to be aware there’s a growing number of people
who wake up every morning and their first intention is to find something
to be offended about.”
“Being contentious – there’s no value in that. You want people to
think and you want to stimulate some sort of debate,” says Rod Emmerson,
the New Zealand Herald’s editorial cartoonist.
If he’s drawing a piece he suspects some will take umbrage to, he
makes sure he knows why he’s pursuing that angle and is prepared to
defend it, before it goes to print.
... The editorial cartoonist for Stuff newspapers, Jeff Bell, disagrees with Tremain’s notion that political correctness is hampering cartoonists.
“I feel like the biggest problem there is is that Tremain’s possibly
just gotten a little bit out of touch with how society has moved
forward. I don’t think that’s about political correctness, I just think
it was a bad cartoon.
“I don’t think at all that cartoonists are overly restrained by
political correctness I just think there’s a lot more sensitivity on
certain issues.”
If
you have noticed an unusual number of tufty-headed people within
Aurora's (monopoly) region look at the occasions for tearing hair out. Frinstance "an ancient and dangerous substation (or anything else) gets awarded the same nominal value as a brand new one". Take a deep breath and read on.......
Today,
three years too late, CODC Mayor Tim Cadogen has finally woken up to
the disaster that is Aurora. It occurs to me that he would have
reached this point long before now if he had simply answered my emails
or phone calls.
Cadogan has called for the people of Central Otago to go to Aurora's drop in sessions. Here is my reply to his post.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Nice to see you finally comment. The fact is that the published
Aurora "guestimates" are completely meaningless. Why? Because Aurora
haven't told us what they have used as a starting point for calculating
the price rise and they haven't defined what an "average consumer" is.
Line charges are volumetric. This is not a "fixed sum" price rise.
What we do know is that the projected rise in line charges for the three
years is circa 80% - so far. The document in circulation right now is
"only for discussion", the reality will be quite different.
At
the time Aurora created these projections, the Commerce Commission had
announced that this years price rise (for Aurora) would be 9%. It has
since trimmed that back to 3%. It is worth noting that every other
consumer in New Zealand affected by the Commissions price setting
mechanism will get a price CUT.
You seem to have missed a few
crucial facts when describing Aurora's pricing policy. Aurora have
CHOSEN to separate pricing according to GXP's ( effectively regionally).
It's important to note that the pricing strategy is entirely a creation
of Aurora. There is nothing in either legislation or regulation that
dictates this methodology.
That decision by Aurora impacts
severely on Central Otago consumers - as I have consistently pointed
out for three years. The way in which Aurora calculate charges is
however even worse than it seems. Aurora don't look at the actual value
of the network in each area - which is how the Commission determines the
overall line charges - they effectively look at what a new network
would cost and then compare each area.
That means that an
ancient and dangerous substation ( or anything else) gets awarded the
same nominal value as a brand new one. Effectively Central Otago is
paying the same price for a clapped out Morris Minor as Queenstown is
paying for a Range Rover.
Because Aurora haven't told us what the
percentage price rises will be, or what they think the starting point
will be in 2022, it is impossible to accurately calculate the effect of
the price rise for any individual. If you are a Pioneer customer however
you can have a good crack.
Pioneer are the only company who
publish the actual line charges on their accounts. If you accept that
Aurora has used the provisional ComCom rise of 9% at April 1 2020 as
their starting point then the price rise at April 1 2023 will be circa
90%. Look at your current line charges for any given month and multiply
that by 1.9, you now know what the increase would be in that month.
Remember, the more power you use, the more line charges you pay.
But what happens when the three year period comes to an end? That's up
to the Commerce Commission - and they can't tell you. There are no
rules around this, but they have told me what they think might happen.
At the end of three years they think the process will be similar to the
process they used for Orion. That is not good news. That would mean
that Aurora would keep all of the price rises at that date AND it would
get the same PERCENTAGE rise that it would have received if the new,
massive, rises had never been put in place. In effect, from the end of
the price rises they have already told you about, Aurora will get the
standard price rise plus a bonus 80% of that figure each year.
I've looked at a few bills from Alex and the figures are frightening.
Are the price rises justified and inevitable? They are not. You have a
right to expect that any repair is well targeted and performed in a
cost effective manner. Aurora's systems are simply incapable of
identifying the condition of the asset and repair costs are out of
control. Events in Alexandra are the perfect proof of that.
Look at the number of poles which have fallen in your town in the last
year, the last one was at the netball courts, one earlier was at the
gates of Clyde Primary, does that indicate to you that Aurora accurately
monitor the condition of its asset? The pole at Clyde had been tested
only weeks before collapse.
Aside from the fact that Aurora has
proven over and over that it is prepared to put the lives of you and
your family at risk, it has also proven that it can't identify the most
at risk assets reliably. That means that poles, and other equipment,
that are in good condition are being replaced while dangerous equipment
is left to fail.
And you are paying for it - handsomely.
Central Otago, you are three years behind in this argument. Time to get out there and have your voices heard.
John EvansIncompetence,
Overpaid salaries, the DCC extracting $100 million annually, DCC
councillors, DCHL Directors, Auroral Chief executives and Aurora
chairmen all must be held to account. If we do not hold those public
figures responsible for breaches of fiduciary
duty we allow future public figures to rob us continuously and without
repercussions. Start now, lobby the commerce commission and National.
Labour and the greens don’t want public servants criminalised thats
their bread and butter.
The whole ODT article hasn't a word about WHY they are striking. Perhaps this is the achievement of April Strategy - see Zzhuzhing up the culture, first SDHB now OU - "improving the culture". By decreasing visibility? I had to find the reason at Stuff.co.nz
....APEX Southland MIT delegate Shahn Smith said the removal of backpay and
higher wages for more advanced positions were the two issues that were
not resolved in last round of negotiations.
Those who work in CT or MRI or nuclear medicine have a more
stressful job than someone working on X-rays and under negotiations they
are not being rewarded for the larger workload, Smith said....
I'd have picked the stream of media revelations about nastiness, muddles and XOS egos damaging all the hard-working people within a clapped-out workplace running on the smell of an oily rag got a few people to pull their heads in and fingers out.
Perhaps a few bum-kickings took place. Them's my thinks.
Yet possibly it was due to a squad of imported consultants improving the culture.
Me, if I wanted some culture improved I'd look at SDHB and go, "Nah, I want heaps more improvement than that for the money." But then, I'm looking at it from the point of view of someone spending their own money.
The
University of Otago has engaged a UK-based consultancy firm previously
hired by the Southern District Health Board in a bid to improve its
culture.
odt.co.nz
The University of Otago has engaged a UK-based consultancy firm
previously hired by the Southern District Health Board in a bid to
improve its culture. April Strategy is involved in an exercise branded "Shaping Our
Culture, Together - He Waka Kotuia", led by the university's HR
department.... ...[T]he Tertiary Education Union (TEU) has said the mood at the
university is at "a low ebb" following that review and others, with both
academic and general staff worried about job security.... ...TEU Dunedin organiser Phil Edwards said staff had experienced a period of "constant change and disruption" in recent years. A TEU survey had found the support services review had entailed
"three years of considerable uncertainty about the future ... and a
significant loss of organisational knowledge caused by redundancies,
redeployments and workload and workflow changes". Other university reviews in recent years have involved humanities,
physical education, human nutrition and the centre for material science
and technology, and the current review into the Department of Marine
Sciences. https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/campus/university-of-otago/university-hires-uk-firm-improve-culture
Wouldn't the culture be more effectively enhanced by not continuously
reducing education provided, by not restructuring services such that the most
effective experienced support staff were replaced by less experienced
appointed to roles above their competence level?
Is hiring a firm to improve the culture, after mishandling the basics of respect
for people and education brought the mood to "a low ebb", not so much
a problem-solver as a mission to put lipstick on a pig?
Steve
Thompson is the Chair of both Aurora Energy and it's South Canterbury
counterpart Alpine Energy. It's becoming clearer to me by the day that
his management style has produced the same results for both sets of
ratepayers - total disaster.
Read this piece and the attached
report. It seems to me that this man has the reverse Midas touch -
everything he touches turns to crap. FIFTY PERCENT lopped off the value
of Alpine in just a couple of years.
Could this be the reason
that the Office of the Auditor General recently spent a month and a
half in the Alpine offices? I hope the people of Timaru are smarter than
the people of Dunedin when it comes to wrenching back control of their
floundering power company.
This could have massive consequences for Aurora and Dunefin. What is the
true "fair value" of the company? One thing is for certain, no one at
the DCC has a clue.
Heavily redacted Alpine Energy valuation report 'almost meaningless'
Matthew Littlewood, Oct 25 2019, Stuff.co.nz https://tinyurl.com/y52n3xqq
See what he means?
Tbere are numerous pages of this kind of thing so for simplicity the text
has been omitted leaving only a representative sample of redactions.
Admire this as creative use of bold stripe motif,
or make up your own fragments to fill in the blanks.
You could even go to the link and see the redacted pages,
just for the lols.
A
report which provided part of the basis for the proposed sale of lines
company Alpine Energy has finally been released - almost a year after it
was requested - but most of the information it contains has been
blacked out.
The report was commissioned by EY (formerly Ernst Young) for Timaru
District Holdings Ltd - the Timaru District Council's holdings company
- which owns a 47.5 per cent share of Alpine Energy.
The other shareholders are Lines Trust South Canterbury (40 per cent),
Waimate District Council (7.54 per cent) and Mackenzie District Council
(4.96 per cent).
Business commentator Rod Oram says the heavily redacted EY report is "almost meaningless".
The EY report says "our assessment of the Fair Value of 100 per cent of
the equity in Alpine Energy Ltd lies in the range of $182.4m to $206.1m
with a mid-point of $194.1m".
In 2017, Deloittes valued Alpine Energy at $362m-$423m.
Joseph Kelly/Supplied
Economist Shamubeel Eaqub says the extent of the redactions of the EY report were "farcical".
However, the EY report is so heavily redacted that it does not give
much of an indication as to why there is such a big discrepancy in the
values.
Stuff
asked the Timaru District Council for a copy of the report under the
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) in
November 2018 - a request which was initially declined by the council at
the request of Alpine Energy.
Stuff
then complained to the Ombudsman's office in December 2018 arguing that
the information was in the public interest, as the company was publicly
owned. This week a heavily redacted version of the report was finally
released.
Supplied
Newsroom journalist Bernard Hickey says 'commercial sensitivity' is often invoked for political means.
Alpine Energy chief executive Andrew Tombs would not be drawn into what
was blacked out, other than to say it was "commercially sensitive"
information.
When approached for further comment, he said he had "nothing else to add".
In a letter to Stuff,
released this week, council chief executive Bede Carran explained that
the EY report was originally withheld "at the request of Alpine Energy".
"We have been liaising with the officials from the Ombudsman's Office
on the matter, and have also consulted with Alpine Energy," the letter
says.
"We are comfortable that the attached redacted version balances the
interests of disclosure of information with protecting the legitimate
commercial interests of Alpine Energy."
However, business commentator Rod Oram says the heavy redactions "make the report meaningless."
"It's difficult to tell what is genuinely 'commercially sensitive' and
what isn't, because the report is so heavily blacked out," Oram said.
Last year, the Timaru District Council proposed to sell down TDHL's
47.5 per cent share in lines company Alpine Energy, but this was
abandoned after a major public backlash, with hundreds of submissions
against it.
"The council says the business is no longer up for sale. Even if it
was, potential buyers would do their own valuation anyway, so to invoke
commercial sensitivity is a bit of a stretch," Oram said.
Oram said the appendices of the EY report, which were not redacted,
listed a series of 'comparable companies' and 'comparable transactions'.
These, though, would have been of little if any use to the council or
TDHL.
"EY are not comparing apples with apples. They're mentioning huge
international electricity companies alongside smaller lines companies.
"Likewise, their comparisons of New Zealand lines company transactions
range from $2.7m to $2.7billion in value, with a wide range of price to
earnings multiples across those acquisitions. What the council got out
of the report is really hard to determine."
Economist Shamubeel Eaqub said the extent of redaction was "farcical - but common in my experience"
"It speaks to some bigger issues in terms of how council staff appear
not to understand where the boundaries are between public interest and
confidentiality," Eaqub said.
Newsroom journalist Bernard Hickey said the level of redaction signalled that the LGOIMA was "broken".
"The information shouldn't be secret but commercial confidentiality is often used and abused for political ends," Hickey said.
When you look at how the electorate's No 1 choice for mayor was overtaken at the last minute by transferred votes, and from whom those crucial votes came, it's hard to avoid cynicism at best, suspicion of ethically dodgy-as practice by ODT + Cull is another viewpoint option.
"Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull has thrown his support behind two of the
candidates vying to succeed him, but now faces criticism from those on
the outer.
Mr Cull said yesterday he supported two incumbent city councillors -
Aaron Hawkins and Christine Garey - in the mayoral race, although he
would not pick between the pair.
Cr Hawkins thanked Mr Cull for his support, while Cr Garey said she
was also ''humbled by the confidence Mayor Cull has shown in me''....."
Councillor Christine Garey has been appointed Dunedin's new deputy mayor.
Mayor-elect Aaron Hawkins announced the appointment, and committee chair positions for the Dunedin City Council this afternoon.
Runner-up in the mayoral elections Lee Vandervis will not be heading up any committees on the new council.....
"Well, that's a surprise!" said nobody who was awake during Cull's reign as mayor.
The election results, confirmed tonight, saw emergency doctor and
former SDHB member John Chambers top the poll in the Otago constituency,
followed by Mr Cull, community health council member Ilka Beekhuis and
oncologist Lyndell Kelly.
The election results, confirmed tonight, saw emergency doctor and
former SDHB member John Chambers top the poll in the Otago constituency,
followed by Mr Cull, community health council member Ilka Beekhuis and
oncologist Lyndell Kelly.
Having
cancer isn't all laughs. Surgery, you hope it'll be a nice cancer so
the surgeon can remove it all, you hope it hasn't had time to metastasise, you hope if it has its demon spawn will be given the heave-ho by the improved treatments available now. Chemo. Radiotherapy. There's a helluva
kaleidoscope of emotions, first finding you've got cancer then finding
out what needs to be done, then after that.... Being wheeled along Cumberland Street for radiotherapy? NO! NO! For heaven's sake NO!
...Initial plans for the new $1.4billion hospital development showed
oncology services slated to remain in their present building, on the
corner of Hanover and Cumberland Sts.
Clinicians had lobbied against that decision but their pleas had not
been heeded, Lyndell Kelly, a medical specialist in radiation oncology,
said.
"I'm annoyed oncology will not be moving with the new hospital, and I
just don't know how we are going to be treating our inpatients with
radiotherapy," Dr Kelly - a candidate in the upcoming Southern District
Health Board election - said.
"It will be a major problem, and I have let the Health Minister know
that. He thought it would be fixed in the final plan but it hasn't been.
"We are going to be pushing stretchers down Cumberland St with patients who have received radiotherapy."....
Keeping the oncology department separate from the new
Dunedin Hospital, as intended by planners, will mean 1400 ambulance trips a
year between the two buildings, a cancer clinician
estimates. Dunedin Hospital radiation oncologist Lyndell Kelly
raised concerns about the proposed separation, saying radiotherapy patients
would end up being pushed down Cumberland St in stretchers. Southern Partnership Group chairman Pete Hodgson said he
had been told there would be about two or three patient transfers a week, and it
had been decided to retain the oncology building as it was relatively
modern. Dr Kelly disputed both Mr Hodgson's estimate of patient
transfers and the oncology building's suitability.
She said there were actually two to five transfers to and
from oncology per day. Mr Hodgson declined to comment, other than to say Dr
Kelly's views were "at some variance'' with advice he had
received.
I suppose an explanation could be, there may be patients having to be transferred more than once each per week. If not that, I'd be surprised if Dr Kelly isn't sharply aware of the number of patients since her source of information hasn't been collated by someone at distance from sick people.
DoC used to be about conservation, keeping NZ's plants and animals safe for NZers. Pressure to become a tourist attractions provider is resulting in an awfully muddled mission message.
The Department of Conservation stands accused of a “blast now and think later” approach in a West Coast national park.
In July, a four-tonne sandstone block sheared off, coming to rest at
the bottom of a set of stairs from a viewing platform on the Truman
Track, part of the Paparoa National Park. The track, just north of
Punakaiki, funnels more than 35,000 walkers a year to a spectacular
coastline with cliffs, caverns, a blowhole, and waterfall.....
....Geotech’s managing director Ant Black has some sympathy for DoC, having
to look after “bloody nutty”, mainly urban, foreign tourists, who often
wear jandals and have no sense of self-preservation. These popular,
easily accessible areas of the front country he calls “Muppetland”.....
Dunedin
mayor-elect Aaron Hawkins says hitchhiking to work from his Port
Chalmers home is more efficient and gives him a better understanding of
community views. Photo: Peter McIntosh
Gerard HylandOnce the cycleway Port - Dunedin is completed I suspect he'll be one of the first users, along with another new Councillor.
Simon ShortGerard Hyland unless he's not a cyclist. Not everyone is comfortable on a bike.
Daniel ProcterGerard
Hyland will be years before that happens. The way the council lowball
contractors and minimise the room for funding on variations, there isn’t
any money in it for them. The last section from Maia - St Leonard’s
lost the contractors nearly $400,000.
This was all down to the low starting price just to get council work,
lack of additional funding for variations and complications that they
encountered, and then getting daily fines for being past the
unattainable deadline
Gerard HylandDaniel
Procter NZTA, but not wrong otherwise! Just look at the proposed design
to go over the hill to Sawyer’s Bay - huge expensive concrete
monstrosity that blew the budget. Need designers with the proper
experience to do the work, then realistic contractors.
