33 minute read
The Healthy Channel: John Appleton
I have been writing articles on topics related to our health for a number of years and in Channel I keep you up to date on ways in which we might improve our health by becoming more aware of the many options that are available to us.
Winterise Yourself
As I see it - by John Appleton
John Appleton.
Last year when Covid-19 had made itself known and the nation was locked down at Level 4, most of us would have been unsure of what to expect. One surprise was that the normal cold and flu season didn’t really eventuate. Shutting the borders meant that viruses that normally flow in and out with travellers, were kept at bay.
I have heard from pharmacists recently that colds are appearing on the scene and it’s likely that with our borders opening to Australia, viruses that we associate with winter will appear again. There is very little said in the media about what we might do to ‘winterise’ ourselves and make our bodies less hospitable to the ills and chills associated with the cooler months.
For me, it’s all about supporting my immune system, the guardian angel that has looked after all of us since man first walked on the earth. We often hear mention of the Spanish Flu in 1918 and what is interesting for me is that at this time, industrial cities were highly polluted with coal-burning factories, and respiratory illnesses were always serious. It’s very likely that those who died had almost undetectable levels of vitamin D. Vitamin C hadn’t been discovered and I can’t imagine that anyone was aware of the importance of zinc in the diet.
Today we do know about the importance of vitamin D, and there would be few people who are unaware of the vitamin C story. Pharmacies test for zinc deficiency so it’s really easy to learn more about the role of this mineral superhero. The problem as I see it, is that even with this awareness, many people only react when the going gets tough and then they are all ears. With anything to do with our health and wellbeing, prevention should always be the focus. We will never develop an impenetrable barrier to infections, but our nutrient status can often determine whether we are down and out for days or have to deal with only mild symptoms. With vitamin C, our need can never be satisfied. It’s a water-soluble vitamin that we, unlike most animals, do not make in our bodies. Animals that do make vitamin C do so in response to stress and as the researchers tell us, when we are stressed, our immune system is less able to fight off infections unless we are supplementing with optimal amounts. The recommended daily allowance for vitamin C is 90 mgs. A cat and a dog can make 3,500 mgs daily, so my question is, why do we need so little?
I take up to 4,000 mgs daily. We need vitamin C to help retain a robust immune system, to help us heal from injury and to support the integrity of our cardiovascular system.
Vitamin D, the sunshine ‘vitamin’ should be on everyone’s radar. Unlike vitamin C, which is not stored in the body, vitamin D is, but during the summer months when we could be building up our reserves, we slap on the sunblock and cover up. During our winter months there is very little UV light coming through our atmosphere and the warmth we feel is simply infrared light.
Prof Cedric Garland from University of San Diego is a renowned authority on vitamin D. His research shows that to reach an optimal blood level (120 nmols/L) 4,000 IU daily or more may be necessary. We should all know what our vitamin D level is. A simple blood test is the way to find out. It’s not necessary to arrange this with a doctor. This test can be done by calling in to any Lab Test clinic.
How many New Zealanders take zinc every day? Not many, I imagine. Zinc is very cheap so there are no reasons why we should be overlooking it. The United States Dept of Agriculture reports that more than 70% of American’s don’t get the recommended dietary allowance for zinc.
As I see it all of us should be doing a lot more to help ourselves and learning as much as we can about three very important nutrients is not a bad way to start. "Every day we do one of two things: build health or produce disease." — German Philosopher Arthur Schopenha
John Appleton john@johnappleton.co.nz 09 489 9362 www.johnappleton.co.nz
Simon Gundry is a Devonport and North Shore identity, and character who is known for calling a spade a spade. This is his regular and lively contribution to Channel Magazine.
I’m so sick of…
I’m so sick of quite a few of the things that consume our lives these days.
I’m sick of not being able to get people on the telephone if needed, of being on hold when you want to talk to someone. I’m sick of red cones, sick of faceless people at Auckland Council making dumb decisions that affect our lives forever. I’m really sick of the word “Covid”. I’m so sick of the constant chaos that is the road between Devonport and Takapuna. I’m so sick of political correctness everywhere we go in our lives. And, I’m really sick of people asking me if I want some feijoas.
I have at my home one of the oldest and largest feijoa trees in Devonport, which produces fruit every two years and drops feijoas as large as hand grenades that clutter my lawn every morning. People come and collect them, and jam and chutney and relish them, make crumbles with them and at times drop me back all sorts of feijoa creations they have toiled over. These usually go into the fridge, hardly ever touched and are disposed of in the next big fridge cleanout. I’ve gathered thousands of them up over the years, and put them down at the end of the road with a big sign saying “FREEJOAS”. These get collected by enthusiastic dog walkers who bear them off to make some creation out of them. So, please, don’t ask me if I want any feijoas if you see me. Don’t take offence from this; I’m happy to give them away but please don’t give me any feijoa related items back.
The Unitary Plan is really starting to show its ugliness around the streets of Belmont. Beautiful old houses are being demolished and being replaced by half a dozen 120 square metre units side by side, a huge development on the corner of Bardia Street, the huge retirement village in Ngataringa Road and many other planned projects dotted around the former Navy land at Hauraki and Bayswater. This will result in thousands more people being domiciled around the nowunspeakable Lake Road. All this is happening with no thought for the infrastructure of water, sewerage, stormwater, power and all the other services that are required for living in the city. These new townhouses have little to no parking, so people are parking on the streets, which are narrow, thus creating bottlenecks of traffic as people try to drive through residential streets to avoid Lake Road. Also, they are parking on grass verges, pavements and wherever they can. For every new townhouse there are at least two cars, if not more. Just do the maths, and work out what a bloody maelstrom we will be living in, in 5-10 years’ time. These older suburbs have narrow streets, built for horses and carts in the old days, not for cars parked on both sides and nowhere for emergency vehicles to get through. If your house burns down because the fire engines can’t get through, you’d be the first to moan. I just think we’re heading for a maelstrom at the moment. We are being badly let down
Simon Gundry.
by our city fathers with no prior planning at all, I don’t know how they can sleep at night, with their big fat salaries, while Rome is burning.
A couple of months ago, the great Auckland Council said they had a secret plan for the construction of a new harbour crossing. Is the secret plan, no plan? Every time something happens to the Harbour Bridge we get an instant reaction from the city fathers, saying “We have a plan” but we never get to hear what this plan is. So please, would the city fathers be kind enough to tell us, what is the plan? It would be good to know.
Let’s talk about Watercare – I’m so sick of the propaganda and the countless thousands of dollars that Watercare must be spending on telling Aucklanders about saving water. Congratulating us on being able to save countless litres of water, like kindergarten children sitting on the mat. This is because their inability to plan ahead, and yes, coupled with dry weather, caused the problem. Have Watercare thought about how they are going to provide all these thousands of new dwellings with water? When you plan to build a new house, each connection costs in the vicinity of $12,000 per new dwelling. So when they’ve paid themselves their big salaries, bought their smart vehicles, and paid for their PR spin, do you think they might think about the aging infrastructure for the storage and supply of our basic commodity that is fresh water.
This city’s inefficiencies are getting out of control. We live in a beautiful country, and Auckland is still a beautiful city but I look around at what is happening and I hate to see what is going on. Perhaps we need to stop, take a breath and get the ground work sorted before we carry on squashing more and more people in.
I have at my home one of the oldest and largest feijoa trees in Devonport, which produces fruit every two years and drops feijoas as large as hand grenades that clutter my lawn every morning. People come and collect them, and jam and chutney and relish them, make crumbles with them and at times drop me back all sorts of feijoa creations they have toiled over.
By Janet Marshall, Colliers North Shore
Commercial vs Residential
Janet Marshall.
The bright-line test on residential sales, depreciation claims and possible interest deductions for commercial property are advantages for potential commercial investors to take into account. Residential investors are likely to be considering the effect on new builds against existing housing stock and we are likely to see that investors who were previously considering residential may well look at a broader range of assets, particularly commercial property.
There are a number of ways of getting involved in the commercial market. There is direct purchase of a commercial premises, whether it be office, retail or industrial, or alternatively looking to buy into proportionate ownership of a commercial property via syndication, or purchasing into a property fund, which are promoted by a number of different organisations.
Investment in commercial property is quite different from residential property and any purchaser must carry out thorough due diligence.
Buying and managing commercial property presents different issues from residential which most are familiar with. Due diligence particularly regarding the lease and tenant covenant is vital, including weighing up the tenant strength, length of lease and rent reviews.
Good legal advice should be sought particularly by entry-level investors. It can often take significantly longer to find a suitable new tenant for a vacant commercial space in comparison to vacant residential space, and the rental of a commercial property needs to be carefully considered in the context of the market norm, to ensure a tenant is not overpaying, and in the event of a tenant default, to ensure a property can be re-leased at the same rental.
The tenant pays the outgoings (Council rates and body corporate levies if applicable) in commercial, and yields (rate of return expressed as a percentage of the investment’s total cost) can generally be higher than in residential. As an example, an entry level 90 sqm office investment recently sold for $540,000 + GST (if any) at 5.2% yield.
Colliers International recommends that all parties take legal advice from a lawyer specialising in commercial property before signing contractual documentation.
Janet Marshall is Director Commercial at Colliers International North Shore office.
Phone: 021 684 775 Email: janet.marshall@colliers.com
Lunching with Knights
Our first Lexus of North Shore Charity Long Lunch for 2021 is going to be one you won’t want to miss. The lunch series has undergone a few changes this year, with the move from four to TWO premium events held annually and the emphasis on a fantastic offering for our members and guests including top-line speakers and more opportunity to mix and mingle. The lunches are now on a Friday and while the formal side of the function will only be slightly longer, we will provide an additional opportunity for guests to stay, keep the bar open, enjoy extra experiences and time to network…. It is Friday after all! So, join us for our first Lexus of North Shore Charity Long Lunch for 2021.
Sir Peter Leitch. Sir Graham Henry.
Knights at a Round Table Friday 14 May, 2021 | North Harbour Stadium
We are thrilled to announce we have three well known New Zealand Sirs joining us for our first Lexus of North Shore Lunch. These gentleman have received their knighthoods for a vast array of achievements and commitments to their individual fields. They lunch annually, and we can’t wait to share a special lunch with them!
Sir Peter Leitch aka ‘The Mad Butcher’
Although well known in New Zealand for the chain of butcheries he founded, Leitch is arguably just as well known for his charity and fundraising work, and his promotion of rugby league. He is the #19 Vodafone Warrior, with the number permanently retired in his honour, he has been the Kiwis' assistant manager, and today continues to have a strong relationship with many local and international players, past and present. Sir Peter has a biography ‘What a Ride Mate!’ and another two books on his Kiwis tours. He is a staunch advocate for the community and his charitable passions - even he does not know how much he has raised or personally given to charity but it certainly runs to millions of dollars. A Waiheke local, you will often spot him out kayaking with good friend Sir Graham Henry.
In the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours, Leitch was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and philanthropy.
Sir Graham Henry
Graham finished his All Blacks career as one of the most successful rugby coaches of all time. He coached the All Blacks to 88 wins in 103 Tests for a winning percentage of 85%. As well as winning the Rugby World Cup 2011, the All Blacks held the Bledisloe Cup every year since 2003, won the Investec Tri Nations five times and achieved three Grand Slams against the Northern Hemisphere Home Unions. In 2019, Graham was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame for his achievements. Earlier in his career Graham was in charge of the hugely successful Auckland team, which won four NPC titles in succession, and two Super 12 titles. In 2001, he became the first non-British or Irishman to coach the Lions on their tour of Australia. A previous teacher, Sir Graham was awarded an honorary Doctor of Education degree by University of Centerbury in his roles as coach, mentor and team leader.
In the 2012 New Years Honours, Henry was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby.
Sir Ralph Norris.
Sir Ralph Norris
Former CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Air New Zealand and ASB Bank – Ralph has certainly seen it all, and we are sure he has some thoughts on today's markets and the hurdles ahead for many of these big corporations. Sir Ralph Norris is the legendary executive who turned around three huge corporations; he is one of the most respected business leaders and in 2010 was named Executive of the Decade. Norris never expected to become a serial chief executive. With no tertiary education he is quoted as saying ‘If someone had told me on my first day of work that I would end up being a chief executive and would work on both sides of the Tasman, I would have thought someone was pulling my leg!’
In 2012 he was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Business by the University of New South Wales.
In 2009, Norris was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business, a redesignation of his Distinguished Companion Order of Merit received in 2006.
Tickets $150+gst per person or $1,500+gst for a table of 10 To book contact Kirsty McAlpine on events@ northharbourclub.co.nz or 021 371 629 All proceeds go towards the AIMES Awards programme and rewarding excellence in our youth in the North Harbour region.
A huge thank you to our sponsor Lexus of North Shore, and long-time supporters Bob & Mark Jago for once again backing this ever-evolving series – their support of the Charity Lunch series is over 12 years, and we are thankful for their ongoing commitment.
Now all back under one roof!
Benefitz, the publishers of Channel Magazine is celebrating 33 years of business in 2021. We are a locally owned and operated business, founded in 1988.
For more than three decades we have been innovating, striving for excellence in assisting our customers with their communication. We understand that change is constant. That we must continue to invest in our business to ensure we are providing relevant solutions for our customers. We call the Future Thinking.
Our plan is that our new operation will be totally powered by Solar. As you will read in following pages we have installed one of New Zealand’s biggest solar systems to power our business, taking our sustainability drive to a whole new level.
Our mission statement captures our purpose. ‘Providing a diverse range of products and services that assist entities with their communication’. This includes design, web development, printing, publishing, signage, display and exhibition.
benefitz moves sustainable for a future
After 17 years based on the corner of Constellation and Parkway Drive’s on Auckland’s North Shore, the company has recently shifted just 75 metres over the road to a purpose fitted out building at 5-11 Parkway Drive. It’s an impressive new facility that’s powered by solar energy, with the massive northwest roof of the building completely covered with solar panels.
“We had outgrown the old premises and they were no longer fit for purpose,” explains Benefitz General Manager Rob
Gunston. “This new building offered a blank canvas and the
opportunity to set things up to future-proof our business. It has been a real team effort in implementing our new set-up, with one of our own creative team co-ordinating the design and the wider team helping in the implementation. The new building, that we call Benefitz HQ, is bigger, meaning we have loads of room for expansion.” “We are focusing on the future, so we jumped at the opportunity to partner with local business SkySolar with the aim to be 100% powered by solar energy. This move to solar will save us money on our electricity and provide obvious benefits for the environment, something we are passionate about.”
Benefitz GM Rob Gunston & Mike Ward from SkySolar
The Benefitz 130kW solar power system is one of the biggest SkySolar has done. It consists of 429 panels and is capable of generating power for 243kWh of battery storage. The panels are 310W REC Twin Peak Solar Modules to be specific.
The battery system at Benefitz is the second largest in the country – consisting of a Fronius Symo inverter and an Alpha T100 energy storage system with 30 batteries. The T100 can be programmed so the Benefitz batteries deliver their power during certain times or when consumption from the grid reaches dangerously high levels. While the aim is for Benefitz to be totally powered by solar, the T100 system can also be programmed to charge at night time using cheaper off-peak power so that the batteries are always full and able to be used in the morning over the peak power period.
Sky Solar has chosen to partner with the supplier of REC solar modules from Europe for their SkySolar panels. This is for their quality, but also for their commitment to recycling.
“Creating clean and green energy through solar panels would only be half as successful in creating a more environmentallyfriendly world if the panels could not be disposed of properly and their components recycled at the end of their working life,” explains Mike Ward of Sky Solar. “REC makes a concerted effort to ensure its panels are durable and fully recyclable. The recovered materials can be easily and safely returned to the industrial and economic cycles. Europe is leading the way in this regard and REC is a manufacturer focused on recycling end-of-life solar modules.”
Benefitz HQ, 5-11 Parkway Drive, Mairangi Bay. Visit: www.benefitz.co.nz
nadialim’swe loved
comfort kitchencookbook
A growth area for Benefitz is the printing of books. With the ability to design, print and finish books in house we offer authors, writers and publishers - a very cost-effective solution. We are fortunate that members of our team also have decades of experience in book publishing and production to guide customers.
Just after the COVID-19 level four lockdown we were thrilled to be printing leading New Zealand food celebrity Nadia Lim’s Comfort Kitchen Cookbook right here in New Zealand on the sunny North Shore. 100% of the profits of the book went to charity. Split between Women’s Refuge New Zealand and Youthline, two deserving charities who saw a huge spike in demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.
We printed around 40,000 of the limited edition 120-page full colour cookbook that contained all the recipes from Nadia’s Comfort Kitchen TV series that was hugely popular during the COVID-19 level four lockdown.
Nadia Lim at Benefitz. Benefitz team members from left are Ashleigh Patton, Craig Burkett, Debbie Campbell, Michelle Bennett, Kayla Greer.
Many people had asked Nadia for a printed book so they could keep the recipes forever. Nadia responded with a fantastic gesture.
this very short timeframe…
Nadia Lim watching her book being printed at Benefitz with Kent Bowyer-Sidwell.
For Benefitz this was an exciting project. Our design team made last-minute changes to the supplied book files and then we printed and distributed the entire book within a three week period. Benefitz also managed the online orders and data.
“This was a great opportunity for our whole team to work together to achieve the goal of delivering for Nadia and her husband Carlos within this very short timeframe,” explains Benefitz GM Rob Gunston. “The print team were fantastic, working long hours, but so were all other members of our wider team who got stuck in and packed the almost 30,000 online orders, working into the evenings. It really was a complete team effort. Nadia even popped in to help on a couple of occasions, armed with a cake or two.”
With the installation of three key pieces of technology, Benefitz is making it realistic and affordable for publishers and writers to print their books right here in New Zealand. These machines are the JetSX B2 Inkjet Printing Press, Horizon PUR Perfect Binder and Horizon Hard Case Book Binder.
Benefitz JetSX B2 Inkjet Printing Press is the perfect printing machine to print short to medium run books. It is a digital printing press so printing plates are not required. It has a sheet size of 740mm x 530mm (B2), the biggest of any flat sheet digital press in Australasia. The inkjet ink is durable, very similar to offset printing inks. The Press can print black and white and full colour in duplex (2 sides of a sheet at once). A big advantage is books can be printed stacked, meaning no extra costs for collating are incurred.
Benefitz also has three volume offset printing machines and two smaller format Xerox digital printing machines – all capable of printing books.
Benefitz Horizon BQ-470 PUR Perfect Binder enables the Benefitz team to take the printed sheets from the Benefitz JetSX B2 Inkjet Press and produce finished square spine (PUR bound) books of virtually any shape or size. The BQ-470 is a fully automated perfect binder, producing up to 1,350 superiorquality perfect bound books per hour.
For those who wish to have their books with the hard cover finish we are able to do this on our Benefitz Horizon HCB-
2 Hard Case Binder. The HCB-2 is the ideal solution for
producing ‘On Demand’ case bound books. The binding system is designed with an ergonomic concept to increase productivity and efficiency.
Benefitz has the perfect solution for short to medium run books to be printed locally. We can also help with getting books printed offshore should that be the more cost effective solution.
Nadia Lim’s Comfort Kitchen Cookbook was printed on Benefitz Komori Offset Printing Press due to the large quantity.
book printing: the facts
• Total solution for small or larger print-runs. • It is now economical to print just 50 or 100 books.
• All done in-house at Benefitz – PUR or
Hard Case Bind.
• Great service for self-publishers. • Book publishing expertise. • We can help getting books printed off-shore as well.
From the (former) Chair
By Aidan Bennett, Chair, Devonport-Takapuna Local Board (October 2019-April 2021)
Reflecting on 18 months and looking ahead…
Aidan Bennett.
April marked my final month as Chair of the local board in this term. The changeover took place on Wednesday April 28th. This was obviously an arrangement that was agreed upon back in October 2019 following the elections. In this, my final report as chair, I have chosen to highlight a few current issues and projects as well as reflect on the 18 months as Chair, a period which was also my first taste of local body politics.
Anzac Day in Takapuna, 2021
I was hugely honoured to lead the commemorations as MC for the event. For the first time I wore the medals of my late grandfather Claude Lowe who serve in Europe and the Middle East during WW2. ANZAC Day Takapuna with councillor Richard Hills and fellow local board member Tony van Thanks for the effort Tonder. The old and the new toilet block at that everyone put in to Milford Reserve making this annual commemoration the success that it was.
Challenging period for Auckland Council and Local Boards
My period as Local Board Chair has obviously coincided with one of the most difficult periods that New Zealand has encountered. We were sworn in in late October 2019 and the COVID19 Pandemic hit in March 2020. Much of our early planning and future desires were thrown out the door due to the well documented financial damage of having to shut down the city and then endure the ongoing impact of the pandemic. The added challenge for me has been to apply damage control to our own business during this period.
I want to congratulate everyone at Auckland Council and in Local Board land for the way they have handled this very difficult period. It has been a real challenge, but one that the whole organisation has responded to. As local board chair I have been involved in many meetings and briefings of pandemic management for the city, then the emergency budget and more recently the long term (10 year) plan that has been impacted hugely by the happenings of the past year. I/we have been kept very well informed and consulted during this process by the mayor, councillors and staff.
While being a newbie to all the protocols and processes has meant I have done a lot of listening, I have endeavoured to represent Devonport-Takapuna strongly during this process and at the monthly Chairs Forum meetings. The added challenge has been a high percentage of these meetings and briefings being held on Skype For Business over the past 13 months. Many of our Devonport-Takapuna Local Board meetings and workshops have also been held on Skype For Business.
This clearly hasn’t been an easy time for a first-time local board chair with a focus on progress and making things happen. The resulting (financial) constraints are real and will be with us for some time.
Congratulations to the Mayor Phil Goff, Councillor Desley Simpson who has led the financial recovery process and all councillors and staff who have been involved. There has been a huge effort and the end result has been pretty good.
Community Funding retained and great ‘Renewals’ under way
Despite the COVID19 constraints we have continued to work with our hardworking council and local board staff to deliver what we can for the Devonport-Takapuna area.
The board shares a collective desire to see service levels remain strong at all the council entities that are important to our community.
The old and the new toilet block at Milford Reserve.
We have worked to maintain funding for these amenities/entities and also for the community trusts, business associations and important not-for-profit groups that we support. We can be very pleased with retaining funding levels for all these entities, despite the financial situation.
‘Renewals’ is council speak for updating council assets that are important for the community. Despite constraints we have a range of renewal projects under way or coming up, these include:- Sunnynook Park Community Area (that includes drainage, a renewed playground and furniture, new paths and surfaces): Milford Reserve Changing Room and Toilet block renewal: Gould Reserve Takapuna Changing Room and Toilet block renewal, including Changing Places Room space so people with severe disability and mobility challenges can wash and change more easily: Additional Play Equipment & Landscaping for Gould Reserve Takapuna: Renewal of Playgrounds at Melrose Reserve, Devonport; Kawerau Reserve, Bayswater/Belmont; Linwood Reserve, Forrest Hill; New toilet at Lake Town Green Playground, Hauraki: Renewing the pathway, seat and handrail at wharf entrance in Killarney Park: Renewing stairway to Rahopara Pa, Kennedy Park, Castor Bay. There is also stage one of the Patuone Walkway upgrade in Takapuna.
We can’t thank Jackie and Chris Reeve enough for their contribution to the two projects in Gould Reserve, Takapuna.
Totally new projects will be harder to deliver for some time. The budgets aren’t around at the moment for totally new projects/ assets or to put money into non-essential projects. My belief is it will take a few years of getting over the financial damage and complete committed projects before we can contemplate totally new expenditure.
Our Governance needs to be strong
As I vacate the chair I do have concerns over our ability to be strong in the governance space. As a newbie politician this is an area where I have been seeking to add value.
My belief is that to be strong in governance and do this role justice we must not have any pre-determined positions on such things as selling assets and preparing for the future. Making much-needed change as the needs of our community changes is very important.
My concern, that I have voiced previously, is that there is too much politics at this local level that can lead to decisions being made for the wrong reasons. We need to be able to look at each issue on its merits and make pragmatic decisions accordingly.
There are past and present members who appear to have a stance that we should ‘never sell anything’. I believe this is wrong and my thinking on this matter has only strengthened with being on the inside of local board and Auckland Council business. The council owns lots of land and property with many dated and no longer fit for purpose. These are a problem. There is an aging portfolio of deteriorating assets, with many of them not being used due to community needs changing, not being fit for purpose and in some cases having very low earthquake/seismic/safety ratings. The world has changed since these buildings were built – 30, 40, 50 + years ago.
The cold hard and real fact is that Auckland Council has no money to improve all these properties that came into their portfolio with amalgamation. It’s a problem. There’s a good answer to this problem. It’s called optimisation. Since being elected I have made it my business to find out about this process. It’s good.
The problem is the pre-determined ‘never sell anything’ stance which stymies anything getting done, means nothing gets done. Many properties sit idle or under-utilised, costing the council and therefore the ratepayers money.
I challenge our local media to do balanced reporting on this issue. One local media group appears to take delight in publishing the number of days council owned buildings have been empty in our area due to this problem. How about going a little deeper and discover the creative ways that we can solve these issues – that won’t always be selling them?
The problem is a community problem. Not just a council problem.
A caution against opening up the workshops
I reckon there is a problematic school of thinking that local boards should be involving the community in every decision we are making. It’s seen to be Note: I still love the cartoon of me in local media from the start of the term! democratic – “nothing should happen behind closed doors” is the catch-cry. I say this is balderdash.
The democratic process is very robust without the need to do that. My belief is we are elected via a rigorous democratic process to do a job. A job of governance on behalf of the community. We are elected members, charged with listening to our community and working closely with council staff to deliver good outcomes for the community. Along the way there are very strong legal requirements for consultation and transparency with the community (in addition to listening), without having to involve them in every meeting.
The danger with involving the community in every meeting, and decision, is the local board is high-jacked by special interest groups or those who have the time and energy to stay close to the process and influence members. It compromises the local board member’s ability to make pragmatic democratic decisions on behalf of the whole community – be truly representative of the silent majority as well as the super-organised special interest groups.
From time-to-time our decisions may be unpopular, but may be important given the facts that elected members have in front of them, if they have done their homework and listened to advice and information provided.
My strong belief is that opening up every local board meeting to the public will actually have the reverse affect to the reasons proponents say. The democratic process will actually be compromised.
Aidan Bennett, QSM aidan.bennett@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Please note: Views expressed here on important these issues are my own personal opinions.
Set locally by Mãyã, especially for Channel each month. No. 65
Across
1 Spread without direction, thanks to a Spanish daisy (9) 6 Hides Michigan Saints (5) 9 When do I hear my offspring get out of bed? (7) 10 A narwhal, for example, may drift off during daydream (7) 11 Ain't surly about an old attachment? (5,4) 12 Capital selection from Brian MacCraith (5) 13 Head medic reflecting on a Massachusetts tourist spot (4,3) 15 After first exchange, 10 relates to blood vessels (7-) 16 Arrived with artists - they create pictures (7) 19 Nathaniel holds 10 back for "No, no" woman? (7) 21 Call for educated cake? (5) 22 She's a jolly equine gal (9) 25 Starting in IT, I get beginnings of artificial life (7) 26 Rice included in dole out? How quaint (3-4) 27 Catapult left in peach (5) 28 Why I dealt out a legendary apparition (5,4)
Down
1 Spy chief is Queen - of Mean? (5) 2 Calls for higher hoops? (5,2) 3 Friendship with one Walter, say (5) 4 Site of volcanoes where I put out candle (7) 5 Move aimlessly within a god to create celestial globe (7) 6 Chap that shook up article in N.Y. (9) 7 So at first I ran back, being attached to a motorbike? (7) 8 Country grass, for one - pay attention! (9) 13 Tilt shadows towards 1ac, 20 9, 11, 13 across, 28, 6dn, 7, 8 27 and 17, for example (9) 14 Trapping on two wheels? (9) 17 Sheen I applied to Vesper, perhaps (7) 18 More than one of what I do with 13 down needed for Summer (7) 19 Tip off in region about a singular 13 down (7) 20 Spirit of IT fisherman, say? (7) 23 Boy with empty little vessel (5) 24 Board note me joining the railway (5)
Solution to last month's crossword
This month's crossword will also be uploaded to the creator’s blog at: channelcrossword.wordpress.com There, Mãyã will kindly attempt to answer any questions or comments that may arise from the crosswords each month.
