NZ Local Government Magazine 1506 by Contrafed Publishing

NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE VOL 52 • JUNE 2015 • $8.95

Building our

FUTURE COMMUNITIES Local government in 2050 p16 THE CHATHAMS’ ALFRED PREECE On just getting things done p24

CREATIVE TENSION New Plymouth’s new Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre p30

AND / AND vs EITHER / OR

Integrating green & grey infrastructure p28

TAGG TEAM Wellington CC partners to forecast infrastructure asset needs p38

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IN THIS ISSUE

EDITOR

EDITOR NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

5. Calgary 3. Vancouver

8. Helsinki

4. Toronto 14. LAS/ Ontario 17. New Brunswick Power

2. Vienna Surrey, British Columbia

9. Birmingham

360

3. British Columbia 18. Sheffield

8. Kent

Astana, Kazakhstan

21. California Dept. of Transport

120

225

142

20. Detroit

Edmonton, Alberta

Shiojiri City

1. Taiwan

7. Milan

65 Aurora, Illinois Dubuque, Iowa Columbus, Ohio Mitchell, South Dakota

154 90

11. Visakhapatnam

692

5. Madrid

New Taipei City Taoyuan County Changhua County Taitung County

90 Sherbrooke, Quebec

600

13. Phoenix, Arizona

15. Nova Scotia Power

250

4. New York City

Arlington County, Virginia

2. Georgia Power

6. Los Angeles 16. Florida Power & Light

Nairobi County, Kenya Prospect and the Eastern Region Alliance, South Australia

9. Perth

Rio de Janeiro

Ipswich, Queensland

10. Auckland

Sunshine Coast, Queensland

6. Adelaide 65

19. Municipal Assoc. of Victoria

1. Melbourne

Whanganui

12. Buenos Aires

10. Networks NSW

P24 IN THIS ISSUE REGULARS

7. Sydney

Whittlesea, Victoria

P20

FEATURES

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P34

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVE

2 Editor’s Letter 4 In Brief 12 Around the Councils 14 Innovations 15 Events 45 LGNZ

16 B UILDING OUR FUTURE COMMUNITIES Local government in 2050

COLUMNISTS

30 B ALANCING ACT Behind the scenes at New Plymouth’s new Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre

20 G LOBAL COMMUNITIES Places to watch 28 A ND / AND vs EITHER / OR Integrating green and grey infrastructure in our towns and cities

40 Helmut Modlik: On Training 41 Jeremy Elwood: On the Funny Stuff 42 Sarah Macky: On Legal Issues 43 Malcolm Abernethy: From Civil Contractors New Zealand 44 Lawrence Yule: From LGNZ

P30

34 M APPING OUT THE FUTURE Local government GIS mega-centres? 36 S PATIAL AWARENESS The 2015 ALGIM GIS Project of the Year Awards 38 TAGG TEAM Wellington City Council partners to forecast infrastructure asset needs

MY VIEW 24 THE CHATHAMS’ ALFRED PREECE On just getting things done

ON THE COVER

Building our future communities: Local government in 2050. See page 16

Cover image: Lego city built by Jonty Whittaker.

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

EDITOR’S LETTER NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

Looking to the bigger picture Nobody in their right mind could accuse Stephen Yarwood of thinking too small. The former Lord Mayor of the City of Adelaide has built a career around looking at what drives the operating systems of communities. And it’s been a fascinating journey by all accounts. Now set up as an urban futurist, he’s contributing boots and all to a global conversation on what works, what doesn’t and why. This is why he’s going to be a keynote speaker at the upcoming LGNZ 2015 Conference in July. And it’s why we’ve had a good old chat with him in advance to get our heads around some of his ideas (see page 16). For the world is teeming with inspirational stories of communities – large and small – inching, repositioning and often downright galloping their way towards a very different future. In my experience, most of our local authorities are jam-packed with inspirational ideas. Most importantly, they’re often the ones having to make them happen: which, as we all know, is easier said than done. Nowhere is this more true than on the Chathams where even the simplest of activities can often require a whole raft of meticulous preparation and smart planning before they can even get started. (Read our profile of Chatham Islands mayor Alfred Preece on page 24.) It’s true, too, in arts and culture where initiatives attract intense interest from a wide variety of quarters. Often, too, these people are not shy about saying what they want. So we’re pleased to be able to share in this issue the story behind New Plymouth’s new combined GovettBrewster Art Gallery and Len Lye Centre – a balancing act all of its own. (See page 30.) We’re also publishing a bumper list of ways in which we can all boost our careers in local government. This month’s diary (see page six) is our largest yet and stands testament to the many opportunities available for us to continue to ready ourselves for a quite different future. Ultimately, having a career in local government is something about which we can all be proud.

Ruth Le Pla, editor, ruth@localgovernmentmag.co.nz

PUBLISHER Contrafed Publishing Co. Ltd, Suite 2.1, 93 Dominion Rd, Mount Eden, Auckland 1024 PO Box 112 357, Penrose, Auckland 1642 Phone: 09 636 5715, Fax: 09 636 5716 www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz GENERAL MANAGER Kevin Lawrence DDI: 09 636 5710 Mobile: 021 512 800 kevin@contrafed.co.nz EDITOR Ruth Le Pla Mobile: 021 266 3978 ruth@localgovernmentmag.co.nz BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Peter Corcoran DDI: 07 825 7557 Mobile: 021 272 7227 peter@localgovernmentmag.co.nz CONTRIBUTORS Malcolm Abernethy, Jeremy Elwood, Shaun Jones, Sarah Macky, Helmut Modlik, Cassie Rowe, Lawrence Yule ADMINISTRATION/SUBSCRIPTIONS admin@contrafed.co.nz DDI: 09 636 5715 PRODUCTION Design: Jonathan Whittaker design@localgovernmentmag.co.nz Printing: PMP MAXUM CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME Please contact the editor before sending them in. Articles in Local Government Magazine are copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher. DISCLAIMER Local Government Magazine is an independent publication owned and produced by Contrafed Publishing. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of any of its shareholding organisations.

@nzlgmagazine ISSN 0028-8403

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Pukapuka. Solar System. Cook Islands. Photo courtesy of Teina Rongo.

SAFE, SMART, EFFICIENT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT BUILDS BETTER COMMUNITIES. McConnell Dowell, well known for its ability to deliver complex infrastructure in difficult environments is supporting PowerSmart in the construction of twelve solar generation systems in the Cook Islands and Tuvalu.

BUILDING

CIVIL

FABRICATION

MAINTENANCE

MARINE

MECHANICAL

PIPELINES

RAIL

TUNNELLING

IN BRIEF

Earthquake rules get shake-up Local authorities and business leaders have welcomed government’s proposed changes to pending earthquake-prone buildings legislation – although many continue to call for more detail around who will bear the cost. Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith recently announced government will shift away from its earlier “one-size fits all” thinking to a more targeted “risk-based” approach in setting rules around how earthquake-prone buildings should be treated. The proposed new rules would create three seismic zones of risk. They set out different timeframes for assessing and strengthening old buildings for “low-risk” areas such as Northland, Auckland or Oamaru, “medium” (eg New Plymouth or Whanganui) and “high-risk” zones such as Gisborne, Christchurch or Wellington. A second change requires education and emergency buildings in medium- and high-risk zones to be identified and strengthened in half the standard time. A third change reduces the scope of buildings requiring assessment to those that pose the greatest risk. Local authorities right throughout the country put in submissions last year outlining their concerns about the Building (Earthquake-

prone Buildings) Amendment Bill. Many said their towns and regions simply could not afford to assess, repair or upgrade buildings according to the proposed legislation. Minister Smith says the policy changes mean just 30,000 buildings rather than the originally-estimated 500,000 will now need to be assessed. Total costs are now more likely to be around $777 million as opposed to the earlier estimate of $1.36 billion. Wellington City Council mayor Celia Wade-Brown welcomed the changes but questioned how much funding central government would be prepared to contribute to building strengthening. She also said she was disappointed government appears to be rejecting the idea of councils developing their own earthquake-prone buildings policies. LGNZ also welcomed the announcement and said it looks forward to working with government to refine policy details. It raised the specific issue of financing upgrades for heritage buildings. BusinessNZ chief executive Phil O’Reilly said a risk-based approach is “sensible” and urged government to be flexible around how the policy would be implemented. Read the full transcript of Minister Smith’s speech at bit.ly/1RBsyKZ

Absolutely positively determined Wellington City Council gives an Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award to local community activist Pauline Swann for her diverse services to the city. Pauline has been deeply involved with Save the Children New Zealand since 1967 and Waterfront Watch since 1999. Mayor Celia Wade-Brown says Pauline’s “determined articulate contribution” has been a positive force in the capital. “While councils, past and present, by no means agree with every

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challenge made to Wellington Waterfront development, we recognise that vigorous criticism and debate has been essential in achieving quality open space and quality buildings. The ‘crucible of conflict’ has produced an outstanding place for everyone to enjoy.” The awards are a way for council to honour members of the community who have made outstanding or lengthy contributions to the capital and its people.

Location, Location

Grand plans

Salvation Army social policy analyst Alan Johnson is calling for comments on his new report which spells out what many in local government have been saying for some time now. Mixed Fortunes: The geography of advantage and disadvantage in New Zealand shows that where people live and work makes all the difference to the types of opportunities they may have and the quality of life they may expect to enjoy. The report says it’s important that public policy acknowledges the importance of location in questions of economic and social inequality. The report measures progress in regional New Zealand around four indicators: people and populations; work and incomes; the wellbeing of children; and the presence of social and other hazards. The Salvation Army says the results of regional wellbeing are mixed but they do point to parts of New Zealand where a significant group of people are struggling to achieve social and economic wellbeing. The report calls for a threefold national response: • The development of national sustainability goals

Hamilton-based Bloxam, Burnett and Olliver, and the New Zealand Transport Agency won the Nancy Northcroft Supreme Best Practice Award for their work on the Huntly Section of the Waikato Expressway at the recent 2015 New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI) Awards in Auckland. The same project also won the Best Practice Award for District and Regional Planning. Judges said the project shows “outstanding creativity and innovation in an example of best practice planning for a culturally-sensitive environment”. Among other awards, the Rodney Davis Project Award went to PLANZ Consultants, Christchurch City Council and Patterson Associates for the Christchurch Botanic Gardens Visitor Information Centre. And university student Mark Davey took out the Wallace Ross Graduate Research Award for his PhD thesis which explored the Auckland Unitary Plan. Barker and Associates, Boffa Miskell and Ngāti Whātaue Ōrākei also received a commendation for Best Practice District / Regional Planning for their Kāinga Tuatahi project.

Mixed Fortunes THE GEOGRAPHY OF ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE

IN NEW ZEALAND

Alan Johnson | Social Policy Analyst The Salvation Army Social Policy and Parlimentary

Unit | May 2015

which ensure the progress of all regions. • A national plan to meet the challenges of an aging population, resource scarcity and rising inequality in the regions. • Accelerating the adoption of new technologies and social arrangements, which more particularly benefit the regions presently struggling. Download a copy of the full report from the Salvation Army website: bit.ly/1HpnaHR Share your thoughts on the report’s findings: social_policy@nzf.salvationarmy.org Or find out more from: www.salvationarmy.org.nz/socialpolicy

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JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

IN BRIEF DATES FOR YOUR DIARY JUNE 2–3 New Zealand Tyre Industry Summit 2015. Crowne Plaza Hotel, Auckland www.wasteminz.org.nz

5–8 2015 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors Forum. The Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia. www.apcsummit.org

7 – 10 IFME World Congress on Municipal Engineering & IPWEA International Conference. Rotorua Energy Events Centre www.conferenceteam.co.nz

19 – 21 LGNZ Conference 2015. Rotorua Energy Events Centre www.lgnz.co.nz

8–9 Management Skills for New Managers & Supervisors. Wellington www.conferenz.co.nz

27 – 28 2015 ALGIM Information Management / Records Symposium. Palmerston North Convention Centre www.algim.org.nz/algim-events

10 Integrated Strategic Planning – Turning Strategy into Action. Wharewaka Function Centre, Wellington www.solgm.org.nz

29 – 30 NZ Coatings & Corrosion Conference & Exhibition. Ellerslie Events Centre, Auckland www.conferenz.co.nz/conferences

16 Who’s afraid of the RMA? James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor, Wellington www.solgm.org.nz/Calendar

29 – 30 Procurement as a Strategic Enabler. Auckland www.conferenz.co.nz/training

17 Chairing Meetings / Conflicts of Interest / Standing Orders (LGNZ). Dunedin City Council, Dunedin www.lgnz.co.nz

30 Managing People: Unlocking the Real Dynamics of Motivating Staff. James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor, Wellington www.solgm.org.nz

17 – 19 Green Pavlova: Parks and Open Spaces Conference. Aotea Centre, Auckland tinyurl.com/GreenPav

30 – Aug 1 ACENZ Annual Conference 2015. Hanmer Springs www.acenz.org.nz

18 – 19 Resilience for People Leaders in Local Government. James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor, Wellington www.solgm.org.nz/Calendar 26 Understanding & Maximising Relationships with China (LGNZ). Local Government NZ, Wellington www.lgnz.co.nz 30 Infrastructure Management (LGNZ). Local Government NZ, Wellington www.lgnz.co.nz

JULY 2–3 Understanding Te Ao Māori (LGNZ). New Plymouth District Council, New Plymouth www.lgnz.co.nz

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AUGUST 11 4th Annual Big Data & Analytics Conference. Rendezvous Hotel, Auckland www.conferenz.co.nz/conferences 17 – 18 SOLGM Community Plan Forum 2015. Chateau on the Park, Christchurch www.solgm.org.nz/Calendar 19 – 21 Just Add Water Seminar (JAWS). Dunedin Events Centre, Dunedin tinyurl.com/jaws2015 20 – 21 NZCID Building Nations Symposium. Air Force Museum Wigram, Christchurch www.nzcid.org.nz

24 – 25 Governance for Local Government Professionals Forum. Chateau on the Park, Christchurch www.solgm.org.nz/Calendar

SEPTEMBER 15 – 18 Coasts and Ports 2015 Conference. Pullman Hotel, Auckland www.coastsandports2015.com 16 – 18 Water New Zealand Annual Conference and Expo. Claudelands, Hamilton www.waternzconference.org.nz 21 – 22 2015 Customer Service Symposium. Palmerston North Convention Centre www.algim.org.nz/algim-events

OCTOBER 12 – 13 Management Skills for New Managers & Supervisors. Auckland www.conferenz.co.nz/training 19 – 22 WasteMINZ 27th Annual Conference. Energy Events Centre, Rotorua www.wasteminz.org.nz

NOVEMBER 18 – 20 New Zealand Recreation Association National Conference. Te Papa Tongarewa – the Museum of New Zealand, Wellington tinyurl.com/natconf2015 25 – 27 2015 ALGIM Annual Conference. SkyCity Hotel, Auckland www.algim.org.nz/algim-events

Would you like us to include your event in this calendar? Please email details to ruth@localgovernmentmag.co.nz

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hyndsenv.co.nz JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

IN BRIEF Frana Cardno Local Government Magazine pays tribute to Frana Cardno, former mayor of Southland District Council, who passed away recently in her Te Anau home surrounded by family and close friends. Frana was our country’s longest serving female mayor, leading Southland District Council for 21 years until stepping aside in 2013. Her passing has drawn tributes from a large number of local and central body figures. Current Southland District Council mayor Gary Tong says Frana did so much for the district “and her legacy to this council and to Southland will live on”. “Frana was a passionate advocate for Southland and would bend the ear of any politician to get Southland projects to the forefront of national government. One of her successes included national funding for the Hump Ridge Track in Tuatapere.” Gary says Frana was involved in many changes as council developed from an organisation coming to terms with amalgamation to a coherent and unified council that makes excellent decisions on behalf of

its residents and ratepayers. “She strongly believed in the shared services forum and the various agencies set up in Southland, such as Venture Southland and Emergency Management Southland. “I admired Frana greatly and she has been a mountain of wisdom for me since I became mayor,” Gary says. “I could ring her up for advice and she told me the truth every time, which I really appreciated.” Frana sat on a variety of local organisations including the Community Trust of Southland, Venture Southland, the Regional Identity Southland Trust and the Women’s Refuge Trust; and was presented with the Rotary Jean Harris Award for Otago-Southland for Leadership for Women. She was awarded a Queens Service Order in 2001 for public services and a United Nations Certificate of Recognition in 2001 to recognise her as an outstanding woman in local government. Last year LGNZ honoured Frana with The Skills Organisation Outstanding Contribution to

Local Government award in the inaugural LGNZ EXCELLENCE Awards. At the time, LGNZ president Lawrence Yule praised Frana’s exceptionally strong commitment to her local community. “A truly outstanding mayor, Mrs Cardno was always the champion for community boards and social issues. She was an excellent lobbyist who seemed to have open access to all ministerial officers.” Frana was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to local government in this year’s New Year honours.

Auckland Council gets a hurry-up Controller and auditor-general Lyn Provost has issued a string of recommendations on how Auckland Council could improve its building consents processes. They include fast-tracking the launch of an electronic lodgement system for applications; specific measures to speed up processing times; and a series of suggestions on how to better communicate with customers. The recommendations are outlined in a new report Auckland Council: How it deals with building consents which says Auckland Council needs to reduce the amount of work it places on hold during building consenting processes. According to the report, Auckland Council “technically” met the statutory deadline for processing most building applications in 2013/14, complying with statutory timeframes 98.5 percent of the time. Council took an average of just nine to 10 working days to process applications – which is much less than the statutory time limit of 20 working days. But the statutory timeframe allows all territorial authorities to exclude the days that the application is put on hold. And when the total elapsed time from lodging the application to issuing the consent is considered, Auckland Council processed 80

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percent of applications within 40 working days. In exceptional circumstances, some applications took more than 100 days to process – although the report notes this includes the time it took customers to provide additional material requested. In her office’s report Lyn Provost recommends that Auckland Council: 1. Bring forward the introduction of an electronic lodgement system for building consent applications. 2. R educe the average time it takes to process building consent applications by: • accelerating its initiatives with risk-based consenting;

• r educing the work in progress pipeline and the 70 percent “on hold” rate; and • s etting progressively more stringent performance targets for the percentage of building consents it issues within 40 working days. 3. Improve how it communicates with building consent customers by: • providing better guidance material to help in advancing the consenting process; • making its website easier to navigate; • encouraging telephone calls to supplement and better explain formal communications; • increasing the target for customer satisfaction; • more proactively addressing the underlying problems that lead to common customer complaints; • ensuring that staff have training that puts them “in the shoes” of the customer, so they are better able to respond proactively and with empathy; and • extending and refining the web-based consents tracking system, so that customers can see at any time the progress of their consent application. Read the full report on www.oag.govt.nz/2015/ auckland-building-consents

Next Steps HARRISON GRIERSON has appointed three senior managers in areas of key strategic importance for the company. Nik George is now general manager – buildings. Nik has been with Harrison Grierson’s Christchurch office since 2012 and was recently promoted to senior associate. Glen Hughes is regional manager – South Island. Glen joins Harrison Grierson in Christchurch from another large engineering professional services firm, where he was the southern regional manager and led the companywide response to the earthquake recovery in Christchurch and Canterbury. Richard McIntosh is general manager – land development. He was previously employed by Watercare in Auckland where he managed a range of multidisciplinary projects up to $300 million in value under varying procurement models. He has experience in the water industry in the UK and New Zealand. Harrison Grierson is a leading Australasian professional engineering and design company.

EROAD launches vehicle booking system

Nik George

Glen Hughes

Richard McIntosh

EROAD’s new vehicle booking system uses location data to help organisations make better use of their vehicle fleets. Users can create and manage their vehicle bookings from any webenabled device using U Book-It, which integrates with EROAD’s web application, Depot. If a vehicle has an EROAD hardware device installed, the EROAD system automatically populates and updates the U Book-It fleet pool with the vehicle details, which significantly reduces the risk of errors, and lowers administration time and setup costs. The current booking status for any vehicle in a fleet is shown using real-time location data and the system can automatically cancel a booking if a vehicle pick up doesn’t take place. Reminders and booking confirmations are emailed prior to a booking, reducing the risk of no shows for pool vehicles. The EROAD system is currently used by around a third of local and regional councils throughout New Zealand to improve fleet optimisation, health and safety, and automate paper-based processes. With the release of U Book-It they are able to make further cost savings by simplifying the booking process, utilising pool vehicles, and using booking and utilisation data to right-size their fleets. U Book-It utilisation reports display bookings data including vehicle utilisation against set targets, booked hours, cancelled hours and overall usage.

National voice for local government workers A merger between the Public Service Association (PSA) and the Southern Local Government Officers’ Union (SLGOU) has created a national union representing 8000 workers across nearly every council in New Zealand. The SLGOU, representing 2000 local government staff in Canterbury and Otago, merged with the PSA on April 1 this year. The PSA represented 6000 local government staff – one third of whom work for Auckland Council and its CCOs – so this move was a significant increase in the number of union members within New

Zealand’s biggest union. “The merger means we will have an even stronger voice for quality services and jobs in local government,” said Richard Wagstaff, PSA national secretary. Richard noted that with the new union reach across almost all councils in the country, the PSA would be better able to tackle the “important issues affecting the sector, such as the relationship between central and local government, council amalgamations, and staffing and employment conditions”. The merger was supported overwhelmingly

by SLGOU members in a series of discussions and votes prior to the decision to merge being reached.

PSA and SLGOU staff and officials during a pōwhiri to welcome SLGOU to the PSA Christchurch office.

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

IN BRIEF Wastewater treatment systems get put to the test Hynds Environmental is the first supplier of locally-designed wastewater treatment systems to submit a new commercial-scale breed of wastewater treatment plant to the National Testing Facility (On-site Effluent Treatment National Testing Programme – OSET-NTP) in Rotorua. Domestic (up to two cubic metres per day treatment capacity) scale systems are typically tested and evaluated for effluent performance against a screened community influent, and additionally the electricity consumed for the duration is assessed. The notion to test a commercial (greater than three cubic metres

per day) scale system was developed on the basis that little actual data or useful information is available to verify commercial plant performance amongst any of the national players. Hynds says the OSET facility was a natural next step to not only test operational performance under design (three cubic metres per day) and high (six cubic metres per day) loadings, but also undertake live research and development to prove the innovations introduced in its new integrated commercial wastewater treatment system. The OSET trial meant that closer scrutiny

Switching on to better outcomes Street lighting management consultancy Strategic Lighting Partners is endorsing calls to establish an expert panel to examine street lighting options for Dunedin that will take account of all the city’s needs. Director Bryan King says it’s important to listen to and balance the needs and preferences of all relevant interest groups. “Street lighting technologies have been through a total transformation in recent years and there are major safety, economic, tourism and environmental advantages available from the well-considered deployment of modern techniques. “The outcomes for dark skies and for tourism do not need to be impaired and astute deployment of modern technologies may well enhance the interests of these parties.” Bryan says well-designed LEDs with smart control systems can save a great deal of energy and money.

“LED street lights with affordable internet-based smart control systems can switch public lighting on or off at will, or adjust light levels up or down, location-bylocation exactly in accord with the needs of public safety and security while also achieving lower overall environmental impacts. He says most LED street lights have “full cut-off” optics where, unlike most traditional streetlights, the proportion of direct spill light pointing skywards is greatly minimised. Additionally, warm white light LED options are now available that are more dark-skies friendly than the earlier generation of cool white light LEDs. “With the use of best practice technology and design, there is no need for the attainment of safety and economic benefits for ratepayers to be at the expense of poor environmental outcomes.”

was possible of the nitrification and denitrification processes under variable load. The Hynds system trialled was a Commercial 1 which is the smallest on offer of the commercial range. Hynds Environmental typically offers SAF (Submerged Aerated Filtration) technology but for the commercial scale trial it added a second “F” (F for rapid sand filter). The SAFF has a gravity rapid sand filter on the outlet of the clarifier to capture the fine activated floc fragments that escape the clarifier. The SAFF was introduced to address the continuing tightening of treated effluent standards. According to Hynds, though the trial is still underway, the unofficial results are pleasing and it is

Paving the way for remembrance Reopened just in time for Anzac Day, a war memorial in Auckland’s Mount Roskill originally commissioned under legendary mayor Keith Hay has been given a makeover following considerable community efforts and a design competition. The award-winning design by three Auckland University students includes angular berms, custom paving and cast concrete solutions. The 1950s’ War Memorial Cenotaph and parade ground in Mount Roskill was redesigned after a local historical society made representations to the Puketapapa Local Board. Local councillor Michael Wood says they rightly pointed out that the area had become run down, and that work was required to ensure the memorial was a fitting tribute to those killed in past conflicts. “We were also very conscious that the previous memorial had no roll of honour.” Thomas Huang, Pete Wang and Tina Xie of

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seeing an expected reduction in biological oxygen demand, and an appropriate oxidising of ammonia. Though there are many weeks left to go until the design and high load phases are complete, the company is confident its commercial system innovations are appropriate, robust, and able to render better levels of treatment performance than possible from standard SAF configurations. Hynds says SAFF is very much the future and it sees a new treatment horizon forming whereby it can design a system to match a specific influent profile and have greater confidence of the effluent standard that is typically dispersed by land irrigation for tertiary treatment and disposal.

Auckland University’s School of Architecture and Planning did the design. Auckland Council’s Liz Oldfield managed the design detail and the work was completed by John Fillmore Contractors (JFC) with custom paving and concrete solutions produced by Auckland’s Jagas Paving. The parade area around the cenotaph is now smartly framed by angular berms, which are

Innovation is necessary and often costly hence organisations need to have undertaken a reasonable level of in-house research and development before commencing with such independent trials. Hynds Environmental says its regular participation with the OSET facility testing programme demonstrates a commitment to continuous system improvement, ongoing support of a national testing practice, and a keen desire to ensure that wastewater treatment is consistently treated to the required standard to preserve and protect public and environmental health.

retained by custom-formed concrete, into which Jagas set the words “We will remember them”. The cenotaph and nearby War Memorial Hall were originally completed in the 1950s, and were the work of architect Stephen G Wright at the time when Keith Hay was mayor of the borough, contributing his own money to the original project’s completion.

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JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

COUNCILS

Around the councils WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL picks TechnologyOne to supply its new core IT system. The OneCouncil software product will consolidate applications dealing with customer service, land, property, regulatory, assets, finance, HR and payroll functions onto a single platform. Wellington City Council will phase in the new IT system from early 2016. OneCouncil is a ready-made, off-the-shelf solution that many other councils already use.

A 130-metre long pa sculpture, set to become one of the largest public artworks on display in New Zealand, is taking shape alongside the Tauranga Eastern Link (TEL). The huge stylised pa sculpture is one of two artworks entitled Bound Around, being installed alongside the Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road, ahead of the road’s official opening later this year. The palisade pa is being built near the Domain Road interchange, while an eight-metre high spinifex will be installed near the Tara Road roundabout. Bound Around is by New Zealand artist Regan Gentry, with funding by the NZ Transport Agency through the TEL project and the BAY OF PLENTY REGIONAL COUNCIL, and with inkind support from TAURANGA CITY COUNCIL.

ROTORUA DISTRICT COUNCIL mayor Steve Chadwick welcomes visitors from China’s Rotorua-Nanjing township to Rotorua. The recently-built Chinese township bearing Rotorua’s name is in the Jiangling district of the provincial capital Nanjing. Public buildings in the centre of town have been designed to replicate the look of several Rotorua public buildings, including the Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre, and there is even a scale replica of Lake Rotorua, complete with Mokoia Island. Rotorua-Nanjing has been planned to accommodate a community of around 5000 well-educated and relatively affluent Chinese residents in modern western-style houses. People buying a home in the new development receive a holiday in New Zealand’s original Rotorua as part of their purchase arrangements.

CLUTHA DISTRICT COUNCIL calls for proposals to help it achieve the best returns from its investment in forestry. Council owns around 464 hectares of land, with 358 hectares occupied by commercial trees. There are currently 100 hectares of mature trees that can be harvested. Council says it does not wish to buy any more land and has invited anyone interested to submit a proposal demonstrating how to generate the highest economic return from its existing forestry resources, including divestment as an option. Chief executive Steve Hill says a range of companies, contractors or even other local authorities could submit a proposal and the request for proposal need not be limited to forestry management companies or contractors. NELSON CITY COUNCIL engages local Nelson firm Gibbons Construction, working in partnership with Downer, to do the stage 1 (detailed design phase) of its Trafalgar Centre reopening project. The Trafalgar Centre is scheduled to reopen in February next year.

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WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL starts public consultation on its proposed bylaw for structures in public places – verandahs. If introduced, the bylaw will require building owners to repair and maintain their verandahs to a reasonable standard. It will only regulate verandahs that extend over public places, such as footpaths. It does not affect the use and enjoyment of purposebuilt, load-bearing balconies nor regulate verandahs on private property.

EW TES

A binding poll delivers a ‘no’ verdict on the creation of a Māori electoral ward for NEW PLYMOUTH DISTRICT COUNCIL. Eighty-three percent of votes received were against the creation of the ward from October 2016. The poll produced a turnout of 45 percent. Mayor Andrew Judd says he’s disappointed with the result and the fact that more than half the community didn’t vote. “Council must now reconsider how best to engage with Māori and enable their participation in the council’s decision-making, as we are required to do by law.”

The HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL INVESTMENT COMPANY says the proposed Ruataniwha dam is now likely to be operational a year later than it first thought. The company had earlier been aiming to begin construction on the water storage project by the end of this year and supplying water to farmers for the 2018/19 summer irrigation season. The $275 million scheme involves damming the Makaroro River in Central Hawke’s Bay to create a seven kilometre-long reservoir. It is now likely that the scheme will not be operational before the summer of 2019/2020.

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INNOVATIONS Sustainable savings from waste Seeking to illustrate environmental leadership while providing a community-focused solution to energy, has seen Hastings District Council and Pioneer Generation establish a joint venture partnership to develop a gasto-energy plant at the Omarunui Landfill. The plant is capable of providing electricity to around 1000 homes. Methane gas produced by the decomposing waste had been flared from a tower since the landfill was first established in 1988. As methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases, it was essential another solution was found. The Pioneer system uses vacuum pumps to suck the gas out of the landfill’s pipe network before it passes through a treatment process: essentially harnessing the power of the gas to produce renewable electricity.

Pioneer is responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the plant, and says a combination of good technology and good people allows the plant to be managed remotely. The company, which has over 80 years of energy supply experience, saw the landfill project as an opportunity to be involved in a project centred on ideals close to its heart. By partnering with local councils, the community-owned business helps free up capital and leverages the skills, experiences and resources of all involved. Pioneer undertook significant investigations to ensure the conversion of gas to energy would produce a reliable and ongoing supply of renewable and clean energy. Pioneer supplies energy solutions to

a number of councils, and many of New Zealand’s leading primary producers and exporters. It says the Omarunui Landfill project illustrates the success of a public / private sector partnership while delivering environmental and commercial benefits.

Power to the people Delta Energy Systems has just released its Delta Active Power Filter or APF2000 – new technology designed to enhance power quality using realtime current monitoring and reactive power compensation. The technology is a valuable tool for energy savings as its advanced power management capabilities effectively control power quality, and could be beneficial to any sites running large-scale three-phase machinery such as water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants or irrigation systems. After connecting with the grid, the waveshaped current is analysed for harmonic current and for compensation with reactive power via a current transformer. The APF2000 then produces an opposite current to the power supply system,

which can filter up to 50 harmonics. In addition, the APF 2000 Series can compensate the phase lead-lag reactive power with the actual current phase to enhance the power factor of the grid, and effectively increase power quality and efficiency. Not only does this lower the voltage of the electrical power device and eliminate unnecessary cost, but it can also reduce wire damage. More importantly, this can increase the power factor of the system and avoid penalties from utility companies due to low power factor. Delta’s Industrial Automation Business Unit (IABU) has been developing advanced products in the field of industrial automation for many years and is a leading provider of green technology. Over the past few years, the smart grid has

Final shape specs to be: 64mm (h) X 180mm (w)

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become increasingly popular. How to enhance power quality has also become a major concern for many industrial environments. The integration of technologies such as intelligent monitoring, renewable energy and data communication will have an important impact on the development of the smart grid.

EVENTS At the McGredy Winder 2015 SOLGM Local Government Excellence Awards

1. Elisabeth McCardle (SOLGM), Amanda Millar (MC for evening) & Owen Winter (SOLGM). 2. Kevin Lavery (Wellington City Council), Anusha Guler (Wellington City Council) & Jeanette Bullen (SOLGM). 3. Ian Brown (Civic Assurance) & Susan Jones (Gore District Council). 4. Megan Davies & Tracey Plane (both from Tauranga City Council).

5. Melanie Thornton (Greater Wellington Regional Council) & Tamsin Somerville (Upper Hutt City Council). 6. Tanya Winter (Westland District Council) & Craig Stevenson (South Taranaki District Council).

7. Karen Thomas (SOLGM), Steve Waldegrave (Department of Internal Affairs) & Lyn Provost (Office of the Auditor-General). 8. Liam Hodgetts, Sue Davidson, Sam Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Sullivan & Barbara McKerrow (all from New Plymouth District Council). 9. Rachael Davie, Kevin Jeffries & Miriam Taris (all from Western Bay of Plenty District Council). 10. Sheryl Bryant, David Murphy & Jennifer Esterman (all from Palmerston North City Council).

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

COMMUNITIES

Building our

Future Communities Local government in 2050

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What will communities look like in the future? And what role will local authorities play in them? Urban futurist and former Lord Mayor of the City of Adelaide Stephen Yarwood shared with Ruth Le Pla his challenging views on the share economy, why mayors are like pet owners and how to handle the media in an era of positive disruptive change.

or then 20-year-old town planning student Stephen Yarwood, utopian thinking, the ideas and works of Ebenezer Howard and Le Corbusier, and the transformation of communities were the stuff of such heady inspiration that they have propelled him forward ever since into a career as a consulting urban futurist. Reasoning that the role entailed being old and wise – and that every futurist he knew of had a beard – Stephen knew he had to rack up some serious experience and learning. So began a career that has stepped him through roles in Australian state and local government, parliament, on to become an elected member and finally, from 2009 to 2014, Lord Mayor of the City of Adelaide – the youngest person ever to hold that title. Now running his own urban futures consultancy city2050 Stephen contributes to the growing number of conversations around what cities can, and should, look like in the year 2050. His company specialises in the long-term strategic planning that recognises the social, environmental, economic and technological issues that are redefining the operating systems of cities around the globe. Taxi phenomenon Uber, peer-topeer accommodation hub Airbnb and international bike-share app Spinlister are just a few examples of a new world increasingly driven by collaborative consumption. Why buy when you can rent from others, they ask? Why not cut out the middle man and pay direct? Why not rely on simple inbuilt rating systems so both parties can feel comfortable with each other? In short, why not switch to the share economy? When it comes to linking such ideas, and more, to how cities can transform their ways accordingly, Stephen says his work is not about him having the answers on a plate. “It’s about me having the

Stephen Yarwood: children want to create new things.

capacity to ask people the right questions whether it’s about the share economy, IT and a new operating system for cities, electric vehicles, health issues or changes in society. “We’re about to enter an era of digitallyliterate citizens,” he says, “and that’s changing how people use cities.” Stephen says there’s a growing sense around the world that we cannot continue to extrapolate the past to create the future and that “understanding the difference between the preferred, possible and potential futures is absolutely significant”. “The ability to help people understand that change is important: that change can improve our lives and make cities more liveable, sustainable and productive.” The following is extracted from his conversation with Local Government Magazine. What will the share economy mean for local government? In maybe five to 10 years’ time, you won’t be doing 360 degree performance reviews every one or two years. You’ll get to a point where every exchange you have – both internally and externally – can be rated. The share economy is going to be

really significant for government – and not necessarily just for how we manage and lead. The City of San Francisco is rewriting its whole development plan around Airbnb. The share economy idea is throwing up massive challenges to entire nations in terms of legal responsibilities. This parallel economy is about to provide a profound disruptive force in the future operating systems of not only cities but also societies and how people interact with each other. I’m warning of a coming age when we will all have to be nice to each other and, ultimately, that will pay dividends as well. We’re going to have to be accountable for our behaviour. There’s also the Lego idea of leading cities. This is about not having rigid rules and regulations. It’s about empowering people to build their own workspaces, communities and cities. The Lego movie is about the fact that when we give children Lego, they build something then pull it apart: never to see that original plan put back together again. But the parents always want to glue the Lego together. As adults, we always think we need to fix things in statis. We want to control things. We need to follow the rules and the designs but what we forget is children want to invent and build and create new things. It’s the same with communities. In local government we often get one or two people to design something then spend a lot of money and glue it all together – and if people don’t like it we call them NIMBYs. We say it’s their problem not ours. It’s the same with the workspace and operating procedures: what you really want as local government leaders and managers is an outcome. So help create a shared vision and then inspire the people around you to create that future. Instead of telling communities exactly how they need to go JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

COMMUNITIES about doing something, you need to focus on what you want them to achieve. Find some common ground and then inspire them to achieve that. You’ll be surprised at not only what your employees can do, but what people who interact with your employees can do and what the entrepreneurs in your community will be prepared to do knowing they may well feel more supported.

until it was actually being launched. The truth is, it’s about a set of values and principles: not about what physically has to be done. If you can espouse certain values and principles – and people go off and achieve them – they might get it right 80 percent of the time – not 100 percent of the time – but at least they’re doing probably 50 or 60 percent more than they were before.

Could you give more practical examples from within local government? I’d suggest that a lot of the conversations and the prevailing mindset in local government is still around rules and procedures. And I sense a lot of people feel quite hemmed in as to what they can and can’t do. How can people working in local government break through that?

Typically, in New Zealand local government there’s very little tolerance or allowance for mistakes.

Firstly, back when I was employed as a principal planner in a big resource-strapped local government organisation, I spent more time writing reports about what I would do if I had time to do it than I did actually doing it. So a really good example is to reduce reporting. We’ve got to reduce processes and procedures, and instead, focus on our core legal responsibilities and empower our staff to come up with creative, innovative, interesting ways to achieve the outcomes. Administration can hold elected members in contempt because the elected members want to run the show and, in doing so, micromanage. Elected members often hold administration in contempt because they don’t necessarily trust them and they don’t see them physically doing things. It takes days to write a report, get it checked by your manager, your manager’s manager and the deputy CEO and then get it signed off by the CEO before it goes to council. Then someone changes their mind completely or alternatively just says ‘ok’ and off it goes for someone to do exactly what everyone always knew needed to be done anyway. So the idea is to increase delegations, and provide significant opportunities to empower staff to make decisions. I have to admit that I didn’t even know about some of the work that I was attributed to doing in transforming the city of Adelaide

That’s an important point. You must be able to make mistakes in an entrepreneurial eco-system. I’ve stood up publicly at conferences and events, and in front of the media and said that I’m happy we’re making mistakes because we’re trying new things and doing things differently. How do you deal with the media in this context? There’s no easy answer. I got burnt a couple of times because I criticised the media and there’s a fine line between playing their game and writing the rules. It goes back to setting the vision. You’ve got to create the dialogue. You have to talk about what you want to achieve and not let them [the media] deviate you from that course. So you’ve got to sell your vision to the media? Yes. And have some key numbers so you can look a journalist in the face and say, ‘we’re doing X, Y and Z’. Every city should not only find a good journalist but nurture and develop them. Very few journalists are urban or local government experts or, frankly, even governance experts. So don’t be afraid to take the time to take them out on tour. Develop trust with them. I never got round to doing it but I always wanted to take a journalist on an overseas study tour. We need to engage them. Every city in the world wants better pedestrianisation. They want to manage growth of car parking, improve people’s use of cycling and public transport, and provide appropriate densities in appropriate locations. Yet the media are the ones telling a completely different

TRANSFORMING ADELAIDE The New York Times, Singapore Centre for Liveable Cities, National Geographic and Lonely Planet are among a host of international agencies recognising Adelaide as an innovative destination on the rise. Much of the city’s significant transformation has happened during Stephen Yarwood’s term as Lord Mayor – although he’s keen to emphasise that he doesn’t claim personal credit for these successes. Even so, key achievements during his council term include: • The redevelopment of the Rundle Mall and Victoria Square; • Roll out of a world-class city-wide wifi network and CISCO smart cities agreement; • A new modern city library; • A well-documented lift in morale and productivity of both the council administration and entrepreneurial community; • A range of environmental initiatives including accelerated tree plantings and a carbon-neutral action plan;

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• An integrated transport vision that included significant walking and cycling infrastructure, and hosting the premier cycling conference “VeloCity Global”; and • Greater city vibrancy due to a focus on public art, outdoor dining, numerous place-making initiatives (activating unused buildings and public spaces), live music and the night-time economy.

FIND OUT MORE Stephen Yarwood will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming LGNZ Conference 2015 in Rotorua where he will be talking about the importance of creating a performance- and customer-focused culture. The conference, which will be held at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre, runs from July 19 – 21. For more information: www.lgnz2015.co.nz

story: that so and so is anti-car; that you’re opposing economic development by widening footpaths and reducing car parks on the street... those sorts of things. So we need to educate our media and sometimes we need to call their bluff. Sometimes we need to tell them they’re wrong and sometimes be strong and just not work with the ones that are telling the poor stories. Be prepared to publicly shame them and say they’ve got no qualifications or experience and what they’re saying is destructive for our city. If local government could only focus on three things to improve how it motivates people what would they be? One: Articulate a clear positive vision about the future of your community. Two: Constantly focus on the strategy to achieve it as the highest priority. Three: Then motivate your corporation and community to achieve that in the ways that they think are the best. Why does local government need to learn motivation skills? What’s the problem, as it were, that you’re trying to help fix?

photo taken at the 2015 Wings Over Wairarapa over Masterton

First, every person, every community, every corporation needs to have motivational skills to help people achieve things. You don’t get to achieve anything in life without working as a team. That’s just a constant journey. Second, mayors and their cities are like pets and their owners. The sense that ‘the mayor is the mood of the city’ might be a better term for it. The mayor is only a metaphor for the role that the entire council has in defining the mood of the city. So if the mayor is tired, stressed, worried, overweight and unhealthy, that will rub off on the community. If the mayor is fit, healthy, dynamic, passionate, positive, interesting and interested the community will be as well. People will either see the council as a solutions provider or a barrier to opportunity. When you flick over from barrier to opportunity, things change quickly. LG

JOIN THE CONVERSATION Stephen Yarwood consults internationally through his urban futures company city2050. He says he likes to work with elected members in the local government sector to connect with administrators, help them speak the same language, and help cities and communities transform and achieve their potential. Stephen says he replies to most of his emails using voice recognition on his phone and is available at stephen@stephenyarwood.com

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

GLOBAL COMMUNITIES

8. Helsinki 2. Vienna 9. Birmingham 18. Sheffield

8. Kent

225

Astana, Kazakhstan

120

142

1. Taiwan

7. Milan

11. Visakhapatnam

5. Madrid

692

Nairobi County, Kenya

9. Perth

PLACES

TO WATCH B

ehind each place highlighted on our map lies a unique blend of social, economic, environmental and technological factors helping drive that community forward. If we go searching for commonalities, it would be fair to say that most communities have a compelling vision driven by strong leadership. The majority have strong community engagement. And their

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6. Adelaide

1. Melbourne What will help a community thrive in the decades to come?

plans are often underpinned by smart use of technology. There are, of course, exceptions to all of these generalisations. We acknowledge that for every community selected there are thousands more that we could have included. We acknowledge, too, that there are plenty of other yardsticks against which a communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health and progress can be

measured. Happiness indices might have been an interesting yardstick, for example, albeit arguably a highly subjective one. But for this map, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve focused on two existing well-documented measures plus a very insightful list of new projects that Next Energy director Graham Mawer shared at the Strategic Lighting Partners Road Lighting Conference

5. Calgary 3. Vancouver

4. Toronto 14. LAS/ Ontario 17. New Brunswick Power 20. Detroit

E dmonton, Alberta

Surrey, British Columbia

Aurora, Illinois Dubuque, Iowa Columbus, Ohio

360

3. British Columbia

Mitchell, South Dakota

21. California Dept. of Transport Shiojiri City

New Taipei City Taoyuan County Changhua County Taitung County

154 90

Sherbrooke, Quebec

600

13. Phoenix, Arizona

250

15. Nova Scotia Power 4. New York City

A rlington County, Virginia

2. Georgia Power

6. Los Angeles 16. Florida Power & Light

Prospect and the Eastern Region Alliance, South Australia

Rio de Janeiro

Ipswich, Queensland

10. Auckland

Sunshine Coast, Queensland

19. Municipal Assoc. of Victoria

Cities

* Based on liveability index

12. Buenos Aires

7. Sydney

Whittlesea, Victoria

Top Most Liveable

Whanganui

10. Networks NSW

INTELLIGENT COMMUNITIES

Top7 Smart21

Number of LED lights being replaced in ’000s

* Source: Economist Intelligence Unit 2014.

2015 earlier this year. It’s perhaps easiest to understand why we’ve included the first two sets of indices. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s most liveable cities index pulls together 30 factors covering everything from stability, infrastructure, education, healthcare and the environment. The intelligent communities list – a significant body of work by the New York-based Intelligent

Community Forum – documents communities around the world which have taken conscious steps to prosper in the broadband economy. We’ve included Graham’s list of the 21 largest LED street lighting projects in the world partly because this decision remains by and large within the influence of local authorities – although as Graham pointed out there’s an international trend

towards a variety of innovative delivery models. Mainly, though, we’ve included this list because once communities start to network their street lights through smart controls, they can leapfrog into a whole new world of services that can create smarter, more cost-effective, safer, more people-friendly cities. And, ultimately, isn’t that what it’s all about?

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

GLOBAL COMMUNITIES

TOP 10 MOST LIVEABLE CITIES The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) scores each of 140 cities around the world on over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors before crunching these findings into a final annual list of city rankings. Each factor in a city is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable.

For qualitative indicators, a rating is awarded based on the judgment of the EIU’s inhouse analysts and in-city contributors. For quantitative indicators, a rating is calculated based on the relative performance of a number of external data points. Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit. August 2014

INTELLIGENT COMMUNITIES Every year, New York-based think tank the Intelligent Community Forum selects 21 communities around the world which have taken conscious steps to prosper in the broadband economy. They’re not necessarily big cities or famous technology hubs.

SMART21 OF 2015

They are located in developing nations as well as industrialised ones, suburbs as well as cities. Here are this year’s picks, and the top seven communities later selected from within that initial group of 21.

TOP7

• Arlington County, Virginia, USA

• Shiojiri City, Japan

• Taoyuan County, Taiwan

• Prospect and the Eastern Region Alliance, South Australia, Australia

• Columbus, Ohio, USA

• Mitchell, South Dakota, USA

• Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

• Whanganui, New Zealand

• Astana, Kazakhstan

• Dubuque, Iowa, USA

• Nairobi County, Kenya

• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

• Whittlesea, Victoria, Australia

• Aurora, Illinois, USA

• Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• New Taipei City, Taiwan

• Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

• Taitung County, Taiwan

• Changhua County, Taiwan

• Ipswich, Queensland, Australia

Helping You Build NZ

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Source: Intelligent Community Forum. www.intelligentcommunity.org

THE WORLD'S LARGEST LED STREET LIGHTING PROJECTS Huge accelerated street lighting replacement projects are underway across the globe with smart controls becoming the default in more recent initiatives. Innovative delivery models are gaining momentum with increasing involvement from energy service companies, while group procurement and central government coordination are becoming more prevalent.

Public private partnerships and private finance initiatives are increasingly being used. The largest projects tend to have multiple suppliers and many utilities are now adopting LEDs. It’s interesting to note that Auckland’s scheme to install 42,000 LED street lights ranks as the 26th largest project while Wellington’s 18,000-light project is the 46th.

1. TAIWAN 692,000

9. BIRMINGHAM, UK 95,000

16. FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT, USA 75,000

2. GEORGIA POWER, USA 600,000

10. NETWORKS NSW, AUSTRALIA 95,000

17. N EW BRUNSWICK POWER, CANADA 72,000

3. B RITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA Up to 360,000

11. VISAKHAPATNAM, INDIA 92,000 18. SHEFFIELD, UK 68,000 12. BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA 91,000 13. PHOENIX, USA 90,000

19. M UNICIPAL ASSOC OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA 65,000

14. LAS / ONTARIO, CANADA 90,000

20. DETROIT, USA 65,000

15. N OVA SCOTIA POWER, CANADA 85,000

21. C ALIFORNIA DEPT OF TRANSPORT, USA 52,000

4. NEW YORK CITY, USA 250,000 5. MADRID, SPAIN 225,000 6. LOS ANGELES, USA 154,000 7. MILAN, ITALY 142,000 8. KENT, UK 120,000

Source: Graham Mawer, director, Next Energy, Sydney. Presented at the Strategic Lighting Partners Road Lighting Conference 2015

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JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

MY VIEW

ALFRED PREECE On just getting things done The tyranny of distance is both a blessing and a curse for New Zealand’s smallest local authority. Chatham Islands mayor Alfred Preece tells Ruth Le Pla how his council has big plans for its small population.

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’m not quite sure what’s going on in the Chathams but when it comes to civic duties they seem pretty good at shouldertapping each other. If the council website is anything to go by, the Chatham Islands Council is a hotbed of nominating and generally shoving each other to the front of the queue. Deputy mayor Jeffrey Clarke says GM Owen Pickles nudged him to stand for office. An un-named “retiring councillor” approached Keri Day to see if she would consider putting her name forward. And the Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust office ladies once ganged up and dobbed in Ron Tuuta to become a councillor when he was their acting CEO. When we meet, mayor Alfred Preece tells me some of the website information may be a bit out of date but that doesn’t wipe out the general theme of enthusiastically volunteering other people. Alfred says he’d been less than keen when the previous mayor Patrick Smith had asked him if he’d be interested in standing for council. Growing up as one of just two boys alongside five sisters – “it was like having five extra mothers”, he says – Alfred remembers helping shoulder the extra workload on the family farm while his own father dedicated 30 years to council, including 17 as county chairman. “I saw the time it took so I certainly wasn’t enthused about being a councillor,” says Alfred. So when Patrick met him one day prior to an election in the late ’90s and said, “how about standing for council?” Alfred, naturally went, “No... I’ve always told my family I wouldn’t do that.” (Something he says his wife will remind him of on a number of occasions.) And then he joined up.

“It was time for me to do my share,” he says. Alfred is talking with me in the dark wood-panelled Wellington boardroom of Civil Contractors New Zealand which I’ve made my office-away-from-home so I can intercept him on one of his periodic visits to the capital. Alfred won’t be drawn on whether it’s just natural island modesty not to be seen to push yourself forward. I think he may be a bit of a tease, anyway. He’d told me on the phone he’s pretty casual. So I hadn’t expected him to turn up in a suit so well cut and subtly elegant that he looks like a model. Still, he doesn’t strike me as having too many airs and graces. He says he “doesn’t subscribe” to wearing mayoral chains. There aren’t any, anyway. “And it would be pretty risky wearing chains around the Chathams,” he says, “I’d certainly get some remarks.” Later he sends me a photo of his “office”, as he calls it, whose far-away cliffs and expansive sky are so breathtakingly beautiful I can’t get them out of my mind. Who wouldn’t want to live in such a stunning place? Even before he became mayor, Alfred had worked out the Chathams needed to have someone on the ground in Wellington when he couldn’t be there himself. So one of the first things he did was hop across to Wellington for “a good conversation with the prime minister”. He flew back home having bagged none other than Chris Finlayson, our current attorney-general, as the unofficial minister for the Chathams. Chris’ role is to be “a very strong voice and advocate” for the Chathams. “And believe me, it’s been a very

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

MY VIEW

BEING ALFRED PREECE Mayor, Chatham Islands Council 2010 – present Deputy Mayor, Chatham Islands Council 2001 – Jan 2010

–riori Founding Trustee, Hokotehi Mo Trust Board 2001 – 2007

Councillor, Chatham Islands Council 1998 – 2001

Chairperson, Department of Conservation Board – Chatham Islands 1996 –1998

Board Member, Te Papa Repatriation Board 2003 – present

good relationship,” says Alfred. “He’s a tireless individual. He’s been our go-to person for all our infrastructure stuff as well as dealing with a whole range of other day-to-day issues. Whenever I call him, rest assured I always get a response within a day and in some cases he’ll call me back straight away regardless of what the issue is.” It was an early run on the board for New Zealand’s smallest local authority which is located in such a remote part of the country that simply making some things happen can require enormous effort. A Chatham Islander born and bred, a young Alfred’s trip to board at St Pat’s College Silverstream on the mainland used to involve driving across the island from the family home in Owenga to Waitangi, then getting in an army truck to cross the (presumably shallow) lake to get to the Bristol Freighter on a grass landing strip. “That was just the normal way of travel,” he says. “We had no roads round the top end of the island in the early ’60s.” Geography plays such a significant part

Board Member, Department of Conservation Board – Chatham Islands 1991 – 1998

in islanders’ mental make-up that Alfred says he spent most of his time when holidaying in the Cooks recently checking out their port and waste management systems. “The Chathams is really a Pacific island,” he says, “and in many ways we have more similarities with other Pacific islands than we do with many councils in New Zealand. “We’re 800 kilometres away from mainland New Zealand so we’re not like Barrier or Stewart Island that are really close by. We do suffer from the tyranny of distance: there’s no doubt about that.” That tyranny plays out in the numerous infrastructure issues around transport and energy, communications and water supplies that the Chatham Islands Council faces. So it’s perhaps no surprise that infrastructure lies at the core of the Chathams’ to-do list. Right up there on top of the list is the long-overdue need for a new wharf rather than the longstanding patch-up, make-do structure. For without the protection of a

breakwater the current set-up eats away at pretty much every other aspect of the island’s economic development as ships arriving in rough weather have to wait offshore before unloading. A typical island response is to try to leverage possible opportunities from solving this conundrum into other projects. Establishment costs for projects – the costs of getting heavy plant, specialist staff and all their gear – onto the island are typically huge. So, once they’re there for one project, why not use them for something else as well? And there are plenty of projects to choose from. The airport would be a prime candidate, for example. Originally built for Friendships, the runway is now neither long nor strong enough for modern aircraft. “Air Chatham’s old Convair planes have been loyal and reliable servants to the Chathams for quite some time now,” as Alfred puts it, “but like most things there must be an end-date somewhere in the future and while all the heavy equipment is on the island we’d like to lengthen and strengthen that runway.” And while all that’s going on, why not throw in a bit of a rebuild for a small hydro scheme at the same time? (Although, as Alfred says, council has been reluctant to count its chickens before getting the main work at the port over the line first.) And so the head-spinning to-do list goes on: wastewater, landfill, recycling, broadband, a mobile network... the last of which will “change everything”, says Alfred, and be a blessing and a curse all of its own. For the mayor of the Chathams quite likes to be able to walk out his door in

THE SIZE OF IT Population • 600 people. 264 households. Median age of 43. • The total population has fallen by only six people over the past seven years. • A larger proportion of people in the 35-55 age group, compared to the rest of New Zealand. • Relatively few people of retirement age. • Many people over 65 are still working. Labour Force • 2 percent unemployment. 77 percent labour force participation. Median household income of $66,000. • Compared with the rest of New Zealand, the Chatham Islands has

a higher labour force participation rate, lower unemployment, and higher proportions of employers, self-employed people and unpaid family workers. • Three quarters of the labour force is employed full time. • Many people have a number of jobs across different industries as well as within the community. Culture • 60 percent of the population identify as Māori and / or Mōriori. • 600 years of human history. • Six settlements: five on Chatham itself and a further 40 people on Pitt Island. Source: “A new path for the Chathams” prepared by MartinJenkins

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the morning thinking “no-one’s going to bother me for three or four hours”. “I can see a lot of frustration setting in when the phones start ringing,” he says. “But I guess that’s life. That’s progress and we have to adjust to it.” Alfred remains hopeful his council will be able to get some schemes over the line pretty soon. He says he’s blessed with a good management group and a great team of councillors who are definitely not there for the money. “They’re there to see positive progress in the Chathams... to the point that we’ve never actually been to a vote on any issue in my term. “I’m particularly proud of that. That’s due to the council as a group. We disagree on things – don’t get me wrong. But we tend to spend a lot of our time in our discussion phase coming to some sort of consensus,” he says. “I listen from time to time to some of my mayoral colleagues on the mainland and think I’m really lucky here.” “Sometimes,” he says, “democracy does manage to get things right.” LG

GUESSING GAMES What are people’s main misconceptions about the Chathams? When you say you’re from the Chathams, it doesn’t take long in the conversation before you clearly realise the person you’re talking to has no idea where the Chathams is. You can tell by their body language. That fascinates me. I did get a map and have a look. When she was a senior minister in the Labour government, Annette King used to quite regularly – I wouldn’t say ‘beat up’ but certainly – ‘advise’ various television stations to put the Chathams on the weather map. ‘Hey, the Chathams... There it is... Put the name there.’ It’s pleasing to see that Māori TV and Prime News do that. That’s quite significant.

We’ve never actually been to a vote on any issue in my term.

Sometimes democracy does manage to get things right.

That’s a fairly basic thing, isn’t it? Yes, it is fairly basic. And people also say things like, ‘oooh, it must be cold down there’ and ‘you must freeze to death’. That sort of thing. So maybe people think it’s Stewart Island plus a bit more south? Something like that. Don’t most people at least know it’s off the east coast? You’d be surprised.

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

ENVIRONMENT

AND / AND vs EITHER / OR Why we need to integrate green and grey infrastructure in our towns and cities. By Shaun Jones.

ithout the constraint of cost, the multiple priorities juggled by our cities’ decision-makers would be easier to manage. But cost is often the biggest constraint, and as the government, local councils and business deliver capital infrastructure, the evergrowing demands on revenue are coming under scrutiny. Given that each dollar comes from ratepayers’ pockets, ensuring a positive return on investment is essential. Traditionally, this has meant focusing on the efficiency gains of grey infrastructure such as the initial investment, hydraulics and durability. Yet the concept of project efficiency becomes muddled when factors such as resilience, costs over the project’s entire lifespan and design integration are considered. Arguably, the attention paid to cost becomes a cost in itself. When design and innovation is limited by this framework, an opportunity to integrate the benefits of green infrastructure is lost. By balancing grey and green infrastructure we can create spaces and places that enhance our built, natural and social environments, ensuring they are inherently resilient and sustainable. By integrating green infrastructure approaches into planning controls, we reduce combined sewer overflow (CSO) volumes, remove heavy metals and other contaminants, reduce heat island effects and improve urban engineering and landscape design to create liveable cities. Auckland Council is working towards

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this integrated approach on projects such as Te Auaunga Awa – Walmsley and Underwood Reserves Project, which is seeing the restoration of an area also known as Oakley Creek. Here, road bridges are being re-built and heavy civils are being utilised to provide flood protection to hundreds of homes, and significant planning has gone into ensuring this grey infrastructure is integrated with its green counterpart. The result is that while the traditional infrastructure needs have been met, there’s an added social and environmental payoff; communities can gather at the awa and water quality objectives can be met. The cost of achieving these wider benefits is marginal compared to the cost required to meet the minimum project objective of flood management. What could be considered as competing priorities are now integrated with good effect. The awa project proves that thinking about our projects with holistic and multiple outcomes can achieve costeffective solutions that engage and satisfy a range of key stakeholders. Competing priorities in planning for the future of our cities will always be at the heart of this issue. Getting the right balance is tricky when prioritising investment on outcomes like growth and affordable housing versus community health and cleaning up our waterways. Strategic decisions that direct local government over long periods of time should be the cornerstone for prioritisation with checks and balances in a local context.

The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPSFM) is an example of this. Although best practice is moving towards the integration of green and grey infrastructure, a transformational and strategic shift in mindset will be required to effect a long-term change. The objectives of the NPSFM imply a step-change away from current approaches where water quality is considered but easily de-prioritised in the face of competing objectives such as flood control, yield of residential units or other outcomes that generate immediate economic benefits. To achieve these wider objectives in urban environments, councils and communities will need to make challenging decisions that balance equally important objectives such as housing supply and the health of our rivers and harbours. While investments in grey infrastructure will remain essential on projects, the changing needs of cities and their citizens will force integrated design solutions to become the norm. Understanding and managing the inherent challenges will be critically important in order to realise the real and long-term benefits. This means developing robust design standards that have considered unintended consequences and maintenance solutions with the end-operator in mind, to name just two important considerations. Proof of this approach can be found in New York City, where billions of dollars have been invested to minimise sewer overflows into their receiving environment.

The scheme found that about 80 percent of its objective – a harbour that is cleaner than it has been in the past 100 years – could be achieved with grey infrastructure. However, New York has reached a point where achieving further reduction in contaminants entering the receiving environment through conventional infrastructure could only be achieved through excessively, and disproportionately, high costs. As a result, a green infrastructure plan was developed which combines the value gained through traditional infrastructure with the benefits of green infrastructure. Back home at the Te Auaunga Awa – Walmsley and Underwood Reserves Project, the careful integration of green and grey infrastructure is proving seamless. The outcome will be a merger of grey and green infrastructure enabling a community space. At this river, water is valued and the environment is given significance – alongside the steel and concrete. But the economic benefits of the project have also been maintained in the form of flood protection of hundreds of properties and the enabling of future growth for hundreds more. Both green and grey infrastructure have a place in our modern cities. Despite

the evidence supporting the efficacy and co-benefits of incorporating green infrastructure, large-scale implementation is yet to be consistently incorporated. When a balance is achieved, we can transform the cities and places in which we live. By applying innovative engineering and integrated design, we can move towards efficient, environmentallysustainable, and sensitive places for our communities – a future our children’s children will value. • Shaun Jones is a water and urban development specialist at AECOM. He would like to acknowledge the contribution of his colleague and principal consultant – environment, James Hughes.

Councils and communities will need to make challenging decisions that balance equally important objectives such as housing supply and the health of our rivers and harbours.

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

ARTS AND CULTURE

BALANCING ACT CREATIVE TENSION

New Plymouth opens the doors to its new combined Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and Len Lye Centre next month. The iconic project has attracted intense interest from a wide variety of interested parties. Three key players talk about the challenges they faced and lessons learned.

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n December 1962 Monica Brewster (née Govett) endowed her hometown of New Plymouth a significant sum to build the sort of art museum that had inspired her on her international travels. Monica Brewster also authored for that gift one of the most visionary trust deeds of its time, ensuring the perpetuity, independence and internationalism of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery that opened in 1970.

Today, the Govett-Brewster – New Zealand’s first and only contemporary art museum – is owned and operated by the New Plymouth District Council. Closed since April 2013 for earthquake strengthening, compliance, upgrades and construction of the Len Lye Centre, it is due to reopen as a combined art museum on July 25 this year. We asked three of the project’s key players about the challenges they’ve faced.

1. Len Lye’s kinetic sculpture ‘Wind Wand’ has been on the New Plymouth coastal walkway since 2000. Photo Bryan James. 2. Len Lye’s kinetic sculpture ‘Fountain’ will be part of the Len Lye Centre’s opening exhibition ‘Four Fountains’. Photo Trevor Read. 3. Architects’ impression of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre exterior. Patterson Associates Ltd. 4. The sun rises over the Len Lye Centre, March 2015. Photo Glenn Jeffrey. 5. Artist Len Lye in studio 1958. Unknown photographer. Courtesy Len Lye Foundation Collection Govett-Brewster Art Gallery.

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

ARTS AND CULTURE

BARBARA MCKERROW New Plymouth District Council Chief Executive

The development of this major cultural institution is an evolution that has its origins in a unique combination of place, people and circumstance. I’ve been fortunate to have experienced this twice in Taranaki – first with the creation of Puke Ariki, our renowned, integrated museum / library / information centre, and now the new combined Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and Len Lye Centre. It takes time – much more time than people realise – as well as clear leadership, to create a landmark cultural institution. Unlike the building of a bridge or a road, a new art institution is less easily definable. It’s an experience that people interpret in a very personal way. There are always many leaders and teams involved to create the best outcome. The leadership role of the council is two-fold: council managers knit together diverse challenges, solutions, concepts and competing ideas to form a cohesive proposal, and an elected council makes the bold decision to proceed with the (usually) controversial and politically-challenging project. Without that leadership, you won’t have a clear project vision – and you certainly won’t get the backing of financial partners, such as those who committed $11.5 million for the construction of the Len Lye Centre. We are grateful to those partners who believe in this project. As for the time involved in such developments, Puke Ariki’s starting point was 20 years before the facility’s doors opened. The Len Lye Centre’s formal beginning was in 2003 when the council established a Len Lye working party in partnership with the Len Lye Foundation. Together they were tasked to produce a strategy that would “cement and enhance New Plymouth’s special relationship with Len Lye, with the focus on collection care, conservation and maximising opportunities for access to the collection”. The driving force has been the vision of Len Lye himself – realising a 20th century dream in the 21st century – of New Plymouth becoming a world centre for the care, display, research and development of the works and ideas of this remarkable New Zealander.

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GAYE BATTY Len Lye Project director My job is to coordinate five core project teams: building and physical fit-out; new institution creation; creation of works; fundraising; and communication and community engagement, to ensure there are no gaps between the needs of the key stakeholders and the new facility. The greatest challenge in this project has been the intense interest from a variety of parties. We have the expert eyes of the Len Lye Centre Trust and the Len Lye Foundation, the gallery staff (who will be curating and working in the building), district councillors, the architect, the contractor, adjacent businesses and the general public. All these parties have valid opinions, concerns and suggestions, and all have to be brought along with you as you create this unique art museum. There has also been the physical challenge of ensuring a seamless connection between a new building and an old building which needed significant seismic strengthening. This was especially challenging when you’re making connections for visitor flow or a single HVAC system that must meet New Zealand museum standards. The key thing I have learned from this project is that you can do years of consultation with stakeholders before going out to tender but that will not be the end of the consultation. During construction of a landmark art institution there will always be creative tension between interested parties, along with a continuing

SIMON REES Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Director

Right from the start we’ve been working through the challenge of how to create an institution that combines two strong brands – the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and the Len Lye Centre – without one brand being lost in the other. This has required smart business planning to ensure the new museum is successful as an integrated facility while delivering two different, if related, experiences with the Len Lye Collection and Archive, and the Govett-Brewster Collection. Throughout the planning, design and construction process the public focus has been on the Len Lye Centre’s spectacular design and the cost of operating it. Once the doors open in July our team will face the challenge of shifting public focus to the artworks and exhibition experiences. We can’t be all things to all people, especially with contemporary art, but we will strive to appeal to as many different people, audiences and commercially-oriented groups as we can – engaging with local, national and international community expectations. The architecture of the Len Lye Centre is an artwork in itself and will draw visitors. However, we need to attract people through the doors to explore the legacy of Len Lye, ideas and artwork that was previously only occasionally accessible to the public. We must also deliver a groundbreaking arts experience in a commerciallyviable way. This has required substantial fundraising for the building’s design and construction and careful management of the ongoing operational costs, as well as an exploration of commercial opportunities through the new facility.

evolution of ideas and technology, and new people coming on board who see opportunities for the project. We put the construction contract out for tender two years ago and in that time digital technology, and health and safety requirements for a major public facility have advanced, and we had to address that. The project scope now includes technology for visitors to interact wirelessly with exhibitions. And safety access platforms and internal ceiling walkways for staff have been installed to enable safe work practices on a building that reaches a height of nine metres in some areas. You have to keep talking with people as elements of the plan change and new opportunities arise, and consider how that might influence other elements of the project. In fact, the only thing that remains locked in place in a large project like this is the budget. LG

THE BARE BONES • The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is a contemporary art museum based in New Plymouth. • Since opening in 1970, the gallery has earned a strong reputation nationally and internationally for its global vision and special commitment to contemporary art of the Pacific Rim. • The Govett-Brewster is also home to the collection and archive of the pioneer filmmaker and kinetic sculptor Len Lye (1901–1980). • A greatly expanded museum will be re-launched on July 25 this year with the addition of the Len Lye Centre. • With its curved exterior walls of mirror-like stainless steel, the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre will be the country’s first example of destination architecture linked to contemporary art. • The new building – designed by award-winning New Zealand architects Patterson Associates – is the repository of the works, archive and spirit of Len Lye. • Its expansive exhibition spaces, archive room, education studio, and dedicated 62-seat cinema, will give the Govett-Brewster means to research, exhibit and disseminate the work and vision of Len Lye. • This will be New Zealand’s first art museum dedicated to a single artist. www.govettbrewster.com

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JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

MAPPING OUT THE FUTURE

hris Weir can imagine a time when, maybe 10 years from now, there may be five local government mega-centres beavering away on the GIS smarts needed for local authorities. It’s a shared services idea that, to his mind, marks the natural evolution of a combination of technologies and expertise that is already bringing astonishing insights into how things work. Take the housing market, for example. GIS expertise underpins a newly-launched app called QV homeguide which, at the swipe of a finger, lets buyers, sellers and the downright nosey ones among us check out for free the value of an individual property, see recent nearby sales, suss out the demographics of the area and even eyeball local schools. Motivated buyers can then shell out their dollars for more information such as land values, building ages, floor areas, natural hazards and title details. QV homeguide, “New Zealand’s first independent augmented reality property app”, is marketed by ratings and valuation specialist Quotable Value, which in turn owns 40 percent of CoreLogic where Chris works as its spatial architect.

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The app relies on the latest CoreLogic data which is sourced from a wide range of places including local authorities, Trade Me and real estate reports. In Chris’ view of the future, local authorities may one day start to pool their GIS expertise with, for example, Auckland and Waikato perhaps joining forces and – the current debate around Wellington amalgamation notwithstanding – councils centred in and around our nation’s capital doing likewise. He’s not sure whether these mega-centres would be run by local or central government. Either way, he says they could provide the mass momentum for some even more clever developments. Why not, for example, go one step further from virtual 2D representations and build 3D models that allow people to look inside the structures of buildings? That way service providers could see where cables are in buildings – or where others could be laid. Dollars would be saved and organisations “could crack the return on investment from GIS that has been promised for many years”. Such ideas must be a world away from Chris’ earliest career experiences as a Lands & Survey cartographer back in 1982.

OPEN CALL FOR OPEN DATA The Honourable Louise Upston has emphasised the importance of local authorities improving ways in which they work together. Addressing delegates at the recent 2015 ALGIM GIS Symposium in Auckland, the minister said local government “has the biggest impact on the quality of people’s lives”. In her capacity as Minister of Land Information, she encouraged local government attendees to embrace open, accessible and wellmanaged data, praising Environment Canterbury Regional Council for releasing transport data. New Zealand ranked fourth in this year’s Open Data Barometer of the key public services of 86 countries (www.opendatabarometer. org). Released earlier this year, the barometer placed us behind the UK, US and Sweden and on an equal footing with France. The minister challenged delegates to work towards ensuring New Zealand would shift up to third place in the next Open Data Barometer survey. There are now 2990 datasets available on data.govt.nz. Louise Upston urged experts to push the accelerator on making open data available – albeit with the safeguard of moderation by the Privacy Commissioner. Ranked as the number one speaker at the 2015 ALGIM GIS Symposium, the minister has been asked to provide an update on activities at the 2015 Annual ALGIM Conference later this year.

CoreLogic Auckland Waterfront He is now one of only 10 people in New Zealand accredited under the internationally-recognised Geographic Information Science Professional Asia Pacific certification – one of the highest possible stamps of approval for people involved in spatial information and cartography. While the end results may provide exciting insights, his team’s current work is based on painstaking attention to detail. Sixty to seventy percent of local authorities provide address changes to CoreLogic on a regular basis. These may include anything from details of new subdivisions to renumbering of streets. It’s CoreLogic’s job to unpick the anomalies, working out, for example, whether the physical street address provided (such as 38A) is the same as its district valuation roll address (which may be 38 unit 1). “Marrying up the real world with the legal version can be quite time-consuming,” says Chris, “but it has flow-on effects to our products. If somebody’s selling a property we can link the addresses together.” An early heads-up on plans to create a new subdivision must be gold dust to companies supplying equipment such as cables, for example, who sometimes need two or three months’ advance warning to get product into the country. By including such data on its pre-physical plans, CoreLogic can help ensure that when a contractor starts digging, pipes can be put down and cables shot through with minimal delay.

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

SPATIAL AWARENESS FOUR TOP GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROJECTS Innovation, collaboration and public engagement were key themes in finalists’ projects at the recent 2015 ALGIM GIS Project of the Year Awards, says Cassie Rowe. Delegates at the recent 2015 ALGIM GIS Symposium were treated to presentations on four projects from three different councils before Auckland Council’s GFMO (Geospatial Future Mode of Operation) Programme was announced as the winner at the awards dinner. ALGIM vice president and symposium MC Billy Michels says the awards provide local authorities with the chance to highlight the many innovative solutions being designed and implemented around the country. “They are worth sharing for the benefit of other councils.”

MORE THAN BEFORE Palmerston North City Council is encouraging the use of 3D information to assist in planning and decision-making. Council GIS analyst programmer Lucas Mostyn says that using the city library’s 3D printer to physically model digital designs is a new and novel way of communicating cartographic information, and is leading to greater interest in other 3D tools such as GoogleEarth, Sketchup and ESRI’s CityEngine. Lucas presented a paper at ALGIM’s recent GIS Symposium on how 3D printing is fuelling GIS innovation. He says 3D mapping gives a sense of reality and perspective not possible in 2D, especially when considering engineering plans, urban space design and a city’s skyline. “Producing a portable hardcopy 3D print of the city at a 1:1000 scale is allowing us to communicate information about the current state of the city quickly and effectively, without powerful computing and graphics technology. “Mayor Grant Smith has already commented on how it highlights the importance of the square, as well as the number of car parks in the city.”

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WINNER: AUCKLAND COUNCIL Geospatial Future Mode of Operation (GFMO) Programme Paper presented by Ian Smith and Michael Gin Auckland Council’s GFMO Programme ticked all the right boxes with ALGIM’s judges who commented on how well it was executed and managed along the way, particularly in the areas of change management, on-time delivery and adherence to budget. The GFMO proposes to improve the operational performance of the geospatial services for the council and create an innovative environment to deliver efficient and effective tools that the council-wide business requires. The programme delivers on a wide range of elements including: • Technology rationalisation through the consolidation of eight geospatial systems into one with centralised management of data and process. • Defined governance for geospatial information management and processes, as well as policies and standards for geospatial services and information management. • A strategic framework for current and future delivery of geospatial capabilities with a clearly-defined, complete service catalogue. • A training plan that caters for all Ian Smith council staff.

Contacts: AUCKLAND Ph: 09 379 9350 Melinda Dickey Andrew Green Linda O’Reilly John Young

WELLINGTON Ph: 04 499 9824 Andrew Cameron

RUNNER UP: WAIKATO DISTRICT COUNCIL Local Approved Products Policy Presented by Jonathan Hall In December 2013, Waikato District Council initiated a process to develop a Local Approved Products Policy. Work culminated in the policy being adopted in June the following year. But it had quickly become apparent that the development of the policy had a direct requirement for spatial information. A key challenge lay in trying to provide information on a range of possible outcomes. The GIS team was tasked with developing a system that would enable the hearing committee to be able to test various

permutations of their variables. The spatial model included: • The zone or outer boundary where outlets would be permissible; • Placement “not within a specified distance” of a ‘sensitive site’; • Definition of a ‘sensitive site’; • The minimum distance between any two outlets; • The method of measurement between outlets and between an outlet and sensitive site. The real challenges arose around the methods of measuring distance between sites and establishing a principled approach where the definitions and variables were agreed and the decision tested for validity. One councillor responded that this was “the

FINALIST: PALMERSTON NORTH CITY COUNCIL Liquor Control Bylaw Review Presented by Lucas Mostyn This GIS project supported the council’s City Future strategy and policy unit to provide advice to council on the review of the current Liquor Control Bylaw. GIS was used to perform statistical analysis on crime data provided by Police to illustrate the extent to which alcohol-related crime was present relative to public place offences generally. This information was supported by an embedded web app to collect suggestions from the public on their preferred liquor ban area for the city. Council officers used the data to present a clear story for councillors on where and what type of crime occurs in the city, particularly in relation to alcohol-related crime and the liquor ban area.

FINALIST: WAIKATO DISTRICT COUNCIL Spatial information adds value to project planning. Presented by Anton Marais Councils often hear “what does the council do for me?” and “what do I get for my rates?” So Waikato District Council has begun the progress of making some fundamental changes to the way it works. Integrated business planning underpins this process. And underscoring this is a project management framework. The IT team has developed spatial information directly relating every project to both a project area and an area serviced. This outline will show the benefit of spatial data and how this can relate to the key Long-term Plan and strategic objectives of the council. This project is still in the process of

most robust process we have ever taken to write a policy”. ALGIM’s judges agreed, commenting on how the entry demonstrated a well thought out project from the start that assisted with robust decision-making through good process. The judges went on to praise how the project embodied the council’s vision through innovation, a team approach and collaboration.

being deployed. Project planners capture the project extents and all rules governing project intersection are set up with reports available for the planner and approvers to utilise. Project extents and information are available on council’s corporate mapping system. Council is now developing the second phase of the project. This covers reporting and visualisation / mapping such as risk maps, project status and Long-term Plan outcomes. Future development is aimed at providing property owners with a mechanism to receive information about what projects influence their property and potentially how much capital spend relates to them. The vision for this product is a personalised Long-term Plan report.

• Cassie Rowe is ALGIM’s marketing & communications coordinator. ALGIM vice president Billy Michels is encouraging councils to enter next year’s ALGIM GIS awards. For more information about the awards programme go to www.algim.org.nz/algim-awards.

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JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

INFRASTRUCTURE

TAGG TEAM THE RUBBER HAS HIT THE ROAD

For some time now, Wellington City Council has been using geospatial information to look at how infrastructure assets are currently managed and to forecast infrastructural asset needs for the future. It’s now also part of the Transport Analytics Governance Group (TAGG) – a wider working party looking at roading sector requirements in New Zealand.

f you can’t measure it you can’t manage it. That’s the central tenet around which Wellington City Council (WCC) is building a major programme to improve its knowledge of its assets so it can make decisions with certainty. Yet, as Haydn Read, manager of council’s strategic asset planning team, explains, right from the start it was clear this wasn’t just going to be a simple data capture programme. “We needed to establish a new paradigm in managing our data,” says Haydn. Social, cultural, demand, economic, environmental and a wide range of other models were already available. But, critically, statistical models – the most fundamental of all the building blocks – had never been established. Council’s think-tank identified it needed to establish some primary principles. Now known as the “three pillars” (see chart 1 “The foundations: 3 pillars”) these are: • Adopting a common set of metadata standards for asset data; • Configuring asset management information systems to these standards; and • Developing new statistical analysis methods to check the robustness of data and analyse assets. Haydn says WCC now has access to sophisticated asset analytics – and the ensuing benefits are substantial. To make all this happen, WCC has been working alongside GISSA International with its A-SPEC metadata standards, software partners (SPM, RAMM and Innovyse), and data science company Harmonic Analytics. According to Haydn, WCC selected the GISSA A-SPEC suite of metadata standards because it is not a proprietary software program and is system-agnostic. “A-SPEC simply sets an agreed international standard framework determined by technical working groups in each jurisdiction to provide asset information in a machine-ready format,” he says. “This means councils, authorities and other asset owners can use it with whichever computer software programs they

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prefer. This flexibility enables the industry supplying the asset data to incorporate this requirement into their current work practices.” Right from the get-go the project team understood that capturing interdisciplinary benefits would be fundamental to the project’s success. That way, the group could carry out evidence-based decision-making in order to understand the value proposition it provides for the whole of life of any asset. (See graph 2 “Interoperable analytics diagram” and graph 3 “Model hierarchy diagram”.) The team kicked off with its 3 waters work in 2012. Several months later GISSA International and WCC declared their objectives at the 2013 ALGIM GIS Symposium. “Two years down the track,” says Haydn, “we are now clear about what benefits we can reap.” WCC’s first audit of its data quality had identified that it had a 35 percent-plus confidence level in the data it held – if it were to conduct the type of sophisticated asset management analytics envisaged by the city. Its commitment to a programme of data collection over the last three years has enabled council to increase that level to 95 percent in some instances. What’s the benefit? Haydn says that when you have a $1.3 billion-plus capital programme that will run over 10 years every dollar saved helps. WCC has been able to reduce more than $130 million from its capital programme’s forward liability projections in its Long-term Plan (LTP). (See graph 4 “Preliminary analytics diagram”.) Moreover, as Haydn says, if WCC could achieve these benefits for itself why couldn’t the whole sector benefit? “Working from the principle that a pipe is a pipe and a road is a road, it makes sense that what we had established essentially as a proof of concept could be extended across the sector.” (See graph 5 “Inter-sectoral model diagram”.)

GOOD CREDENTIALS

With GISSA providing the structure to establish a common standard, WCC has become part of a working party to explore roading sector requirements in New Zealand. The Transport Analytics Governance Group (TAGG) working party also includes Christchurch City Council, Auckland Transport and NZTA as key organisations looking to establish requirements. Treasury’s National Infrastructure Unit and IPWEA NZ are also supporting the initiative. Its primary objective is to build a metadata standard that provides one repository of all the assets in any given roading corridor across both state highway and local roads. “With great information about network asset performance,” says Haydn, “we know this will help our decision-making about capital expenditure and how to fund that expenditure.”

Good information is built from data that: has consistent definitions and metadata, and is of a high quality; is used to look at trends, and compare organisations and jurisdictions; and is studied alongside other sets of information to identify wider implications and needs. “That’s the mantra of many data analysts, GIS and asset management practitioners,” says GISSA International MD George Havakis. “So it came as no surprise to us that controller and auditorgeneral Lyn Provost made the above statement in her office’s 2014 report Water and roads: Funding and management challenges.” George, who is the founder of the A-SPEC initiative, notes that Lyn Provost had also stated in the same report that several recent initiatives emphasise the importance of ongoing monitoring and use of network asset metadata. And one of the initiatives she quotes is that of Wellington City Council which is using geospatial information to forecast infrastructural asset needs and how infrastructure assets are currently managed.

Commencing with GISSA’s R-Spec – the metadata standard for assets within the road corridor – subject matter experts from the four primary agencies have taken part in workshops to determine requirements. After much healthy discussion and debate, GISSA is now in a position to release the first draft for discussion with new and existing stakeholders. LG • For more information on work to date please feel free to contact George Havakis, managing director of GISSA International and founder of the A-SPEC initiative. george@gissa.com.au

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

HELMUT MODLIK / ON TRAINING CEO, CON N EXIS HelmutM@connexis.org.nz

Stop standing still On the value of challenging status quo thinking.

I WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS CHANGE.

recently attended a presentation by international award-winning author and Harvard professor Frances Frei. During her presentation she shared an anecdote about challenging the status quo which really struck a chord with me. Frei explained that each Thanksgiving she would prepare their turkey following a traditional family recipe. The turkey would be cut in half, with the two pieces prepared in exactly the same way but cooked separately. When Frei asked her mother why, she answered that it had always been done this way. Frei eventually discovered the reason was simply that her great-grandmother’s old-fashioned oven had been too small to cook a whole bird at once. The family tradition of cutting the Thanksgiving turkey in half was a solution to something which was no longer a problem. This story emphasises the pitfalls of just doing ‘what we’ve always done’ and highlights the need to step back to revisit what we do and why. Twenty-first century society is characterised by change. Despite this, many people still do not like it or easily accept it. The infrastructure industry is no different. It is constantly facing new challenges and opportunities, particularly in terms of work practice and required skills. However, we continue to resist change – even when it really matters. This resistance is natural but is a barrier to improvement and success. We need to change our attitude towards change. The first step in doing this is to acknowledge and celebrate the successes of those who are leading the way in embracing innovation. Rather than criticising we can congratulate, encourage and support them for trying something new and making their organisation and our industry better. This is particularly true in the area of workforce development, and changing attitudes and approaches around developing the people who build our infrastructure. Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council were pioneers in this regard, with their groundbreaking introduction of mandatory qualifications into their Engineering Standards in the late 2000s. This change has led to the current ‘win-win’ situation that sees asset owners, employers and

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employees in the region benefiting from having a qualified, highly-competent workforce delivering all infrastructure assets. This is a superb example of how new thinking has not only added significant net value for everyone involved, but has the potential to stimulate similar thinking and benefits among other local authorities. The Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) is another innovator in delivering infrastructure that has introduced new ideas about how both assets and communities can be built at the same time. The organisation is committed to ensuring that it not only delivers a sound built environment, but that the team members involved are more highly skilled as a consequence of their involvement in the project. The SCIRT training model is helping to raise standards by linking training to national qualifications, shaping resources and training methods to match the learning style of people who are attracted to work in infrastructure. As well as meeting immediate requirements for the Christchurch rebuild, this approach will have a long-term impact and leave a legacy of a significantly enhanced infrastructure workforce long after the rebuild has finished. Lastly, the Civil Trades Regime, developed by Civil Contractors New Zealand in partnership with Connexis and SCIRT, will change the face of the civil infrastructure workforce. The introduction of a credible and robust trade qualification and registration system will have numerous benefits for asset owners. These include reduced rework, quality infrastructure that is fit for purpose and built to last, and most importantly massive productivity and efficiency gains. The times we live in demand that we regularly challenge status quo thinking. Accepting this and getting better at it, including supporting each other in such attempts, is most likely to lead to successful outcomes for all concerned. Standing still is yesterday’s way of thinking and doing business. Strategically collaborating to create value is the way forward, and if this isn’t currently your approach, now is the time to get on board. LG

JEREMY ELWOOD / ON THE FUNNY STUFF COM E DIAN, ACTOR AN D WR ITE R. jeremy@jeremyelwood.com

Living in JAFA-land Look on the bright side.

YOU COULD HAVE BOUGHT A DECOMMISSIONED SKYHAWK FIGHTER JET FOR LESS THAN YOU’LL PAY FOR A TWO BEDROOM SUBURBAN DIY NIGHTMARE TODAY.

live in Auckland. Like virtually everyone else I’ve ever met here, I’m not originally from Auckland. I moved here from several other places, most recently Dunedin. When I announced to folks that I was leaving the South Island for the big smoke the most common response was “Why on earth would you want to live there?” Well, for several reasons, actually, but I see your point. If all you know about Auckland is what you read in the papers, see on TV and hear about from people who don’t live here, you’ll get a pretty grim picture of the place. The usual suspects range from the traffic, the costs and the flat-white-sipping yuppies. I realise that last term is well out of date, but it’s more printable than what most people call them anywhere south of Mount Eden. What most people don’t understand is that there’s an upside to all of these aspects of city life. You just need to look at them with your head tilted slightly to one side. Let’s start with traffic. Yes, you can spend a long time getting to and from work in Auckland, enduring the frustration of sitting at a standstill for long periods, only to suddenly move forward 500 metres, to stand still in a slightly different spot. But think about how many unlistenedto CDs, Spotify playlists, podcasts or audio books many of us accumulate over our lifetimes. Auckland at rush hour is a great place to catch up. You might even learn something, other than brand new curse words you invent for the guy who changes lanes at the last possible second on the onramp.

I also agree that housing prices are a bit ridiculous up here. It wasn’t too long ago that you could have bought a decommissioned Skyhawk fighter jet for less than you’ll pay for a two bedroom suburban DIY nightmare today. But again, look on the bright side. Who really wants a mortgage anyway? And living with your parents well into your 40s saves a tonne of money on takeaway meals and laundromats. Our weather is pretty darned good, compared to a lot of places. Summers are good, winters aren’t too bad, and autumn and spring are at the very least interesting. Timing the right 15-minute window to hang out laundry is a skill every Aucklander learns fast, unless they like wearing the same jeans for a week. Our “four seasons in one day” climate is so famous someone even wrote a song about it. We’ve also got songs about Dominion Road and One Tree Hill, though, so maybe that’s just a case of songwriters with lazy imaginations. I’ll even stand up for the yuppies. No matter how much you worry about your income, you’ve only got to take a quick trip down Ponsonby Road to remind yourself that no matter how much money you have you can’t buy good taste with it. So, laugh it up New Zealand. It’s not true that we Aucklanders don’t care about you. It’s just that we’re so busy enjoying driving through gridlock from our over-mortgaged homes to our underpaying jobs through our flashflood-to-sunstroke-in-30-seconds autumns to really spend any time thinking about you at all. LG

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

SARAH MACKY / ON LEGAL ISSUES PARTN E R, H EAN EY & PARTN E R S. sarah.macky@heaneypartners.com

Get it right The paramount importance of accuracy in LIMs.

T THIS CASE DEMONSTRATES THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE OF ENSURING THE ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN ALL LIMS.

he contents of a land information memorandum (LIM) report in respect of land which subsequently suffered a slip was carefully considered in a recent High Court decision called Henry & Ors v Auckland Council [2014] NZHC 435. In October 2006, Mr Henry and Ms Tan entered into a sale and purchase agreement for a property at 114A Clovelly Road, Bucklands Beach, Auckland. The agreement was conditional on Mr Henry and Ms Tan obtaining and being satisfied with a LIM report. The property had been part of a larger section until it was subdivided in 2004 to create two sections, 114 and 114A. Prior to the approval for the development being granted, the previous owner and the council had obtained various geotechnical reports. The development proposal was approved and work began. After work had started, land movement and cracking was observed to the neighbouring property. The neighbour brought enforcement action stating the development work at 114 and 114A Clovelly was the cause. Further geotechnical advice was obtained and reports were completed by engineers engaged by the neighbour, the council and the owner of 114 and 114A Clovelly. Ultimately, the council and the council’s engineer concluded the geotechnical issues at the property were resolved. It was also concluded at that time that the contents of any LIM reports issued in future should include information about the geotechnical issues contained in the geotechnical reports. The wording of the notation to be included on any LIMs issued in the future was developed by the council in consultation with the geotechnical engineers involved and the council’s solicitors. The wording was also agreed to by the solicitor acting for the owner of 114 and 114A Clovelly. This wording was included in the LIM

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report obtained by Mr Henry and Ms Tan. It referred to the deep piling and retention work installed at the site for the purpose of avoiding structural failure of the dwelling. It highlighted that geotechnical reports existed and were available for inspection. Mr Henry and Ms Tan settled the purchase of the property in November 2006. In August 2008, a landslip occurred resulting in the house at 114A Clovelly being demolished. Mr Henry and Ms Tan sued the council for negligence saying that the notation on the LIM was misleading and gave them a false assurance about the stability of the land. The council defended the claim on various grounds including the following: • The LIM notation was accurate. • The council acted reasonably in obtaining geotechnical and legal advice when developing the LIM wording. • Mr Henry and Ms Tan would have acted the same had the LIM been worded differently. • The slip was an intervening cause of Mr Henry’s and Ms Tan’s loss and could not be attributed to the council. The council succeeded in defending the claim. The council established that different wording in the LIM would not have had any impact on Mr Henry’s and Ms Tan’s actions. Further, the court found that the slip was an intervening cause which was not attributable to the council. Importantly though, the court found that the council’s LIM notation was negligent. The court held that the LIM notation failed to clearly and equivocally inform potential purchasers of the special feature of the land, namely the potential for slippage. This case highlights the spotlight that will be shone upon the wording incorporated in council LIM reports and it demonstrates the utmost importance of ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in all LIMs. LG

MALCOLM ABERNETHY / FROM CIVIL CONTRACTORS NZ EXECUTIVE OFFICE R, CIVI L CONTRACTOR S N EW Z EALAN D malcolm@civilcontractors.co.nz

Project costs Rethinking value for money.

I WE NEED TO GET OUR HEADS OUT OF THE SAND.

n the past, I’ve written about cost, time and quality and sometimes all three aspects of construction together. The issue to consider is that they are not mutually exclusive. If a client determines that time is of most importance then project costs may be increased and quality may be compromised. If a client insists that least-cost is the determinant for a project, the contractor may only provide a small amount of resource to the site because their people and equipment may be used more profitably elsewhere. If quality is of prime importance, costs will increase, as will time, but the final outcome will be one of long-lasting integrity. With each of these prime determinants there is a further factor that influences a project’s viability or value to the client. That factor is related to operations and maintenance based on the quality of the final construction. Poor quality will inevitably lead to higher maintenance costs required to chase the tail of poor materials and / or workmanship. Design and construction costs are generally looked at most closely. However, they can form only a relatively small part of the ‘whole of life’ costs associated with a project. By getting the design and construction completed to higher quality standards, the operations and maintenance costs may be reduced: making the asset being constructed better value for money. All of these factors contribute to the valuefor-money definition. There is no one definition as different clients have different drivers that are based around cost, time, quality, operations and maintenance. All too frequently we see contractors vying for work at reduced rates and those rates being accepted by clients. It is almost a race to the bottom that will inevitably be unsustainable for contractors and clients alike. Sometimes, however, there are reasons why a low bid price is provided and this may relate to innovative use of alternative materials or construction methods that reduce both time and cost while delivering the required quality.

Tender evaluation teams must consider these aspects as part of the award process. Taking account of the previous statement it is well past time that contracts can be awarded to the lowest bidder while hoping the consequences of quality, operational and maintenance costs can be worked through, accommodated or ignored. We need to get our heads out of the sand as these factors need to be addressed and worked through for each project. There will not be one size that fits all and, of course, there is no easy solution. We have the tools to assess bids that are not simply based on price but address all of those non-price attributes that are considered important for the project. The problem lies in the weighting of each of these attributes individually and in total when compared with the weighting placed on price. Whenever we have a price weighting that is 50 percent or more, the non-price attributes will have virtually no influence on the tender outcome other than to award the contract to the lowest bidder. Tender evaluators need to gain confidence in the evaluation tools they have and the ability that those tools have to help us determine what is best ‘value for money’ for our particular project criteria. As clients there is no need to accept either low rates or poor quality. Instead, determine which drivers contribute to your definition of what value for money looks like specific to your project. Then set out to gain that value for money. Consider weightings that will be applied to non-price attributes and overall weighting applied to price. Remember that the lowest price is not always the best. Overall, the contract price and attributes the contractor has should provide whole-of-life costs and benefits that deliver long-term value for money. Unless we place greater emphasis on timeliness, quality and other non-price attributes we will always get what we have always got – a low-quality outcome for a low price. LG

JUNE 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

LAWRENCE YULE / FROM LGNZ PR ESI DE NT, LOCAL G OVE R N M E NT N EW Z EALAN D (LG NZ). lawrence.yule@hdc.govt.nz

New LGNZ programme Strong performance delivers value for communities.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE HAVE A CLEAR NATIONAL PICTURE OF HOW PUBLIC AND BUSINESS COMMUNITIES VIEW LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

erceptions are not always based in reality. Often perceptions are based on what people read, what other people say, or simply mistruths. But often public sentiment is what influences perception. Reality, on the other hand, relies on facts and integrity. It is my view, and that of the National Council of LGNZ, that we need to better focus our efforts on communicating the reality of what local government does for our communities in New Zealand. But, equally, we need to continually lift our performance. LGNZ has just announced its plans to deliver a sector-wide Performance Uplift Programme, focusing on six priority areas where we will be working with councils to improve performance: • Governance, leadership and strategy; • Financial decision-making and transparency; • Asset management and infrastructure; • Engaging with business; • Communicating and engaging with the public; and • Building a stronger relationship with central government. In coming months we will work through and present the detail in each of these areas. This will include metrics and benchmarks that enable councils to demonstrate and deliver high performance. This programme is built off the back of the New Zealand Local Government Survey which shows that in order to lift perceptions of local government with our customers, our central government colleagues and our other stakeholders we must focus on lifting our performance as a sector, and better telling our story. LGNZ undertook the inaugural New Zealand Local Government Survey last year seeking feedback on how New Zealanders perceive local government. This survey tells us that, not

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surprisingly, New Zealanders are not aware of and, as a result, undervalue the range and importance of daily services provided by local government. For the first time, this survey means we have a clear national picture of how public and business communities view local government. It is critically important feedback on what people think we do, what we do well and what needs improving. Self-reflection is important for any sector in order to look critically, think where improvements need to be made, consider what isn’t working and set goals for the future. This survey has given us invaluable insight which we must use. It is clear that we need to continue to lift the performance of local government, particularly in governance, managing finances, making good spending decisions and delivering value for money. We need to strengthen local leadership. The public and businesses have told us they want to see mayors’, chairs’ and councillors’ strategies for greater prosperity and wellbeing of their communities. They have told us we need to ensure stronger interaction with businesses and communities across New Zealand on infrastructure, services and issues that matter locally. Better collaboration and communication will mean greater understanding of the breadth, value and quality of local government services. We see this will lead to a stronger sector and council performance and, over time, an improved reputation for local government. Our aim is for people to more fully appreciate what we offer and the value of local government to our daily lives, to local communities, and to New Zealand. That will build the best local government for New Zealand. LG

Maintaining earthquake-prone buildings A more targeted approach is coming for earthquake-prone buildings, something LGNZ has advocated for recently. Building and Housing Minister, the Hon Dr Nick Smith, announced recently that the government was revising its policy on managing earthquake risk by better targeting regulations on buildings where location, use and type pose the greatest risk to life. LGNZ has worked with the Minister on these changes, advocating for variation that reflects earthquake risk across different areas of New Zealand instead of a ‘one-size-fits all’ approach. The Minister outlined three key approaches, including three seismic zones with specific building strengthening requirements. New Zealand is categorised into low, medium and high seismic risk zones with timeframes for assessment of five, 10 and 15 years and strengthening of 15, 25 and 35 years. Education and emergency buildings will be targeted in high and medium seismic risk areas, and will need to be assessed and strengthened in half that time.

New risk zones for strengthening

The third change is reducing the scope of buildings by excluding structures such as farm buildings and retaining walls. This will focus assessments to buildings that pose the greatest risk. There will also be provisions for exemptions for some low risk, low occupancy buildings such as country halls in parts of rural New Zealand and a 10-year extension for listed heritage buildings. LGNZ President Lawrence Yule says this more targeted approach to assessment and strengthening is supported by the local government sector and is in line with the points of LGNZ’s submission on the Buildings (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Bill 2013.

central government in developing this new approach,” Mr Yule says. “However, the financial challenge of upgrading heritage buildings continues to be a challenging issue which requires further consideration and LGNZ looks forward to working with Government to refine the detail around these policies.” The Government confirmed that an earthquake-prone building will continue to be defined as being less than 34 per cent of the new building standard (NBS).

“LGNZ has been advocating strongly for a riskbased approach that takes into account wider social and economic impacts alongside life safety. We have worked with the Minister and

Auckland

High risk areas (> 0.3) Gisborne Napier/Hastings Palmerston North

Wellington Blenheim Christchurch

Wellington

Medium risk areas (0.15 < 0.3) Hamilton Tauranga Rotorua New Plymouth

Wanganui Nelson Timaru Invercargill

Low risk areas (< 0.15) Northland Auckland

Oamaru Dunedin

Christchurch

Dunedin

MAY 2015

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EDITOR

Working smarter for regional communities “Community facilities are not optional. We need them for a thriving, stimulating community and realistically councils are the only organisations that can provide them.” < Jenni Giblin >

Photo: the Giblin Group team. Giblin Group is an LGNZ Preferred Partner. The associate membership gives recognition to LGNZ supporters who work with the local government sector. It highlights companies and organisations that deliver sector value to local government in New Zealand, as part of LGNZ’s on-going commitment to supporting members to strengthen governance and performance. The local government sector is currently taking a close look at issues and options for future funding, led by the LGNZ Local Government Funding Review. Giblin Group are a supporter of this work and recognise the importance of ensuring funding for ‘vertical infrastructure,’ or public facilities, such as theatres, galleries, museums and sports hubs, as a key part of the discussion going forward. In Giblin Group Director, Jenni Giblin’s view, quality community facilities matter whether communities are in growth or managing through population decline. “Councils need to consider new ways to fund these facilities. Although an art gallery, sports stadium or museum might not be viewed as core infrastructure in the same way as pipes and roads, they are vital to the health of communities in regional New Zealand,” Mrs Giblin says.

Ratepayers also have increasing expectations of what public facilities are located in their town, how accessible they are in terms of cost and availability, the quality of facilities and the services they provide. “We’ve come to expect that there is a public swimming pool nearby, that it’s heated and covered, that it’s open when we want to use it and that it provides programmes for our kids and the elderly,” she says. Not only are these high-quality facilities what ratepayers want, they are critical to building a sense of community. “Theatres, sports hubs, galleries and museums are important contributors to local economies. They attract visitors from outside the region as tourism facilities and as venues for events that bring dollars into a community,” Mrs Giblin says. They also strengthen the fabric of a town as places where locals gather, make connections, share ideas and build civic pride. All these positive social, cultural and economic outcomes contribute to making a community safer, more vibrant and a more attractive place to live.

< Jenni Giblin is a highly experienced local government consultant, Regional vibrancy vital specialising in securing Giblin Group has attracted more than $62 million to capital projects funding for council-owned in the very communities which NZ Institute of Economic Research capital projects. Since 2008 principal economist, Shamubeel Eaqub, described last year as ‘Zombie her company, Giblin Group, Towns.’ Mrs Giblin says in order to sell regional New Zealand to skilled entrepreneurial people, with money in their wallet to spend in local shops has worked largely with mid-sized councils in regional and kids to fill local schools, councils need to take the lead in promoting New Zealand, such as what the region has to offer. Wanganui, New Plymouth, Napier and “This is a competitive market. Getting a job is not the only consideration when people make a decision about where to live. Whether a town has a Thames-Coromandel. > strong sporting culture, an interesting cultural scene or a busy, attractive town centre filled with quality public facilities is important.”

“Integrated and well-run community facilities are necessary for thriving, vibrant communities and realistically councils are the only organisations that can provide them.” Maximising your investment Some councils understand very well that they can leverage external funds to help pay for facilities. Increasing rates to fund facilities is not the only option. Mrs Giblin believes ratepayers should not have to shoulder the entire cost of developing community facilities, especially if they have national or regional benefits. Giblin Group has developed a three-way-split method for funding capital construction projects. “If councils can pay a third, then central government may be willing to contribute a third, through a variety of funds including Lottery Grants, and the remaining third can come from the community via gaming, community and private trusts, corporate partnerships and community fundraising. It’s an approach that central government seems to like – it demonstrates that there is strong local support but it spreads the cost of providing good outcomes to that community. It’s not about local government looking for a hand out. It’s about councils working smarter,” she says. Some may say that local government can suffer from siloed-thinking, but increasingly we are seeing very good examples of innovation in funding civic projects. The future is about building relationships and mutually beneficial partnerships. Giblin Group helps councils to propel their communities forward by aligning their local strategies with central government priorities. “That is absolutely critical if you want to secure national funding for local initiatives. If regional New Zealand wants to access significant external funding, councils need to understand where central government wants to put its money,” Mrs Giblin says.

Upcoming KnowHow workshops 10 June: RMA – How it really works / Kapiti Coast The RMA impacts a broad range of areas in local government. This intensive workshop takes apart and de-mystifies this complex and misunderstood Act. We deliver an overview of the structure of the Act and also cover key policy documents and the resource consent process. 26 June: Understanding and maximising relationships with China / Wellington On completion of this workshop you will understand Chinese engagement business practices, have the tools and skills regarding appropriate cultural protocols enabling strong business relationships and feel more confident and knowledgeable about the political differences between New Zealand and China. 2-3 July: Understanding Te Ao Maori / New Plymouth This workshop has been designed to give you the tools you need to make the right decisions on behalf of your community. It is an introduction to Te Ao Maori and will assist you to better understand the Maori culture. It also covers the Resource Management and Local Government Acts, the Treaty of Waitangi, the Waitangi Tribunal, treaty settlement processes and contemporary issues for Maori and councils. To register for KnowHow workshops please visit www.lgnz.co.nz/equip-and-knowhow/

“Having a shared set of principles between the two spheres of government, as flagged in the LGNZ Local Government Funding Review discussion paper, is a step in the right direction and we are keen to ensure that dialogue includes how local government can provide quality community facilities.”

New Plymouth’s Len Lye Centre is due to open in July – Giblin Group secured $11.5m for the project, including $4m from the Regional Museums Fund. Photo by Glenn Jeffrey. MAY 2015

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EDITOR

The Final Word The case for local democracy The Government has recently sought public feedback on a proposal to establish a “mixed governance” model, combining elected and appointed representatives, to act as the governing body of the Canterbury Regional Council. It is the latest step in a process to normalise the governance of the region that has been led by appointed commissioners since the elected council was abolished by Act of Parliament in 2010. The legislation suspending the elected council has a time limit and the Government must soon decide to extend the warrant of the commissioners for another period, allow for a return to a full democratic model as existed before 2010, or establish an alternative, such as the proposed mixed governance model. Although stating strongly in its 2014 election manifesto that it would consult on all options, including a fully elected option, the Government has instead sought comment on a single option, that of a mixed governance model consisting of six members appointed by the Minister for the Environment and seven members elected.

Democracy is the mechanism by which we make decisions about matters of collective interest and it operates across multiple spheres. In democracies like ours sovereignty lies with Parliament which authorises central government to determine matters of national concern. Likewise, Parliament authorises local government to make decisions on matters of regional, local and sub-local concern. Citizens authorise their governments to levy taxes and impose regulations on the basis that they are adequately represented, hence the “no taxation without representation” principle, which we trace back to the Magna Carta. Not surprisingly, proposals that might weaken this principle, such as the imposition of taxes by decision-makers who are not the people’s representatives are likely to be problematic. A democratic society is only sustainable if power is dispersed. Democracy does not work well if power and authority is concentrated in the hands of only a few thus our institutions are designed to create checks and balances and distribute authority. Regional councils are not the service delivery arm of Government; they play an important role within our constitutional framework. The critical question facing the residents of Canterbury and New Zealanders as a whole is how to ensure progress on the water strategy continues and Cantabrians’ democratic rights are restored. However uncomfortable it might be to support a further period of non-democratic governance there appears to be no practicable alternative in the immediate term and it does provide a level of continuity to embed the water strategy. We need a clear understanding of the steps required to return Canterbury to a sustainable democratic model which will require legislative change to ensure the effective representation of rural communities on the regional council. This will require a change to the Local Electoral Act 2001 and LGNZ will work with the Government to facilitate this so that democracy can be restored by October 2019 if not before.

LGNZ

Abolishing an elected body is no small act and in New Zealand it happens very infrequently with only two other examples in the last fifty years, namely the dismissal of the elected Canterbury Health Board in the late 1980s and the Rodney District Council in 1999 and in neither case was special legislation required. (The Kaipara District Council governing body stood down and invited the Government, using the existing provisions in the LGA 2002, to appoint commissioners.) This infrequency reflects the fact that democracy is a fundamental value within our society so it is not surprising that any proposal that might weaken or undermine a democratic government should be subject to considerable scrutiny. And local government is part of that democratic framework.

CONTRAFED M A RC H 2 0 1 5

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GOING FOR THE HAT TRICK

CablePrice’s John Deere 700J LGP handles heavy work in a number of conditions, from rural earthmoving to forestry roading and civil work

Wirtgen New Zealand takes a multifaceted approach to construction hardware in conjunction with M2PP Alliance partner, Higgins.

Statoil’s Kiwi plans The Norwegian giant discusses ambitions

INSIDE:

Ex Association chief executive Jeremy Sole reflects back Contracting innovations: Christchurch’s wastewater upgrade Ramping up housing supply through a highway interchange Investing in youth – a worthy school project in Northland

National Excavator Operator Competition highlights Heavy hauling one of the biggest loads ever through Northland ANZAC Memorial Park opens in time for 2015 commemoration Road cones – there’s more to them than you’d think

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Exploration – hope versus adversity

Vol.9 No.1

Two experts on finding the big one Vol.9 No.1

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ENERGY NZ

20/03/15 7:51 pm

Geothermal – where to now Future proofing a great resource

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NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

VOL 52 • MARCH 2015 • $8.95

VOL 52 • APRIL 2015 • $8.95

NEW ZEALAND QUARRYING & MINING

GOING BACK FOR VALUE

Volume 12 - No 1 | February - March 2015 | $8.95

20/03/15 1:23 pm

Volume 12 - No 2 | April - May 2015 | $8.95

Maximising the resource

Scalping lime and serpentine deep in the heart of the Waikato

Amuri Lime “couldn’t be happier” with its second Hitachi wheeled loader from CablePrice

Seeing our cities in

A WHOLE

ON TRACK

NEW LIGHT

Geospatial experts map out walking paths & cycleways p16

GORE’S STEVE PARRY

On making every minute count p20

IN PRAISE OF GOOD WORK

The bare bones for smart cities p16

Local government’s fantastic EAs & PAs p24

GOING DIGITAL

New Plymouth District Council turns mobile-first p30

DOLLARS & SENSE

Stevenson Resources is redeveloping its Drury Quarry to get at new resources.

WHEN CONSENTING GETS TOO HARD

Bathurst Resources’ corporate manager talks about her job and the industry.

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY Great consultation documents p14

EATING AWAY AT OUR ASSETS

The corrosively high cost of failing water infrastructure p34

A BROAD BAND OF OPPORTUNITY

A small Taranaki quarry under consenting pressure packs it in

LOOKING FOR THE GOD PARTICLE

TODD’S AUSSIE MINE INVESTMENT

Government’s $350 million pledge p28

Todd Corporation sets up a minerals arm to invest in Pilbara iron ore.

LEST WE FORGET

The search for the ideal skid resistant roading stone continues

Wellington City Council marks 100 years since Gallipoli p36

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VISIT OUR WEBSITE

One of the country’s oldest city quarries has started its rehabilitation

CHATTING WITH SAM AARONS

How should local government be funded? p12

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TIME TO FILL IT UP

LOOKING 150 YEARS AHEAD

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EDITOR

Lengths ahead

in renewable

energy opportunities

“

We harness local renewable energy opportunities to meet local community needs cHRIs DaWsON, ENERGy sOLutIONs MaNaGER PIONEER GENERatION

”

With local government, educational institutes’, primary producers and exporters, Pioneer partners to a wide range of organisations. Generating energy from wind, water and waste we inform, inspire and make renewable energy solutions a reality. Through the ownership, operation and development of energy plants, we provide innovative, clean energy solutions for New Zealand’s leading businesses, councils, hospitals and tertiary institutions. ISO 14064-1:2006

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