NZ Local Government Magazine 1508 by Contrafed Publishing

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

reasons to celebrate p18

2015 LGNZ EXCELLENCE AWARDS STEVE CHADWICK

On giving people more say p28

ACTION STATIONS

Porirua City Council in flood response mode p32

THE PERFECTLY PUBLIC PURSE

When citizens say spend p36

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT Sir Bob Harvey: Outstanding Contribution to Local Government

Adaptive management saves the Opihi p40

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IN THIS ISSUE NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

CONTENTS P8 IN THIS ISSUE

P28

P18

REGULARS

FEATURES

Editor’s Letter 4 In Brief 15 Around the Councils 49 LGNZ

16 L OCKING IN THE LEARNING Local authorities’ first ever consultation documents for their long-term plans 18 1 6 REASONS TO CELEBRATE The 2015 LGNZ EXCELLENCE Awards 32 A CTION STATIONS Porirua City Council swings into flood response mode 36 T HE PERFECTLY PUBLIC PURSE When citizens say spend 38 R EACH FOR THE STARS Kapiti Coast District Council ups the ante on its energy performance 40 A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT Successful adaptive management saves the Opihi

COLUMNISTS 43 Jeremy Elwood: On the Funny Stuff 44 Janet Brothers: On Health 45 Drew Mehrtens: On Communications 46 Frana Divich: On Legal Issues 47 M alcolm Abernethy: From Civil Contractors New Zealand 48 Lawrence Yule: From LGNZ

MY VIEW

P36

28 R OTORUA LAKES COUNCIL’S STEVE CHADWICK On giving people more say

ON THE COVER 16 reasons to celebrate.

The 2015 LGNZ EXCELLENCE Awards. See page 18.

Cover image: Ted Scott. fotofile.co.nz

AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

EDITOR’S LETTER NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

One year on What a difference a year makes. Just 12 months ago Contrafed Publishing relaunched this magazine under its new ownership, with an all-new management, editorial and advertising team. Our first issue was released at the LGNZ conference in a cold but beautiful Nelson. We promised to cover the good, real and true aspects of local government. And we’ve tried to stay true to that promise. What have I personally learnt in the past 12 months? That this is one hell of a sector – and I mean that positively. It’s full of interesting people trying hard to make a real difference. I’ve also quickly realised we’ll never run out of topics to cover. I remember one person telling me the local government sector is like 16 completely different businesses and the trick lies in understanding how they work together to form one cohesive whole. I’m still working on understanding some of them but it’s an editor’s dream to have so many fascinating angles to explore. The same could be said for the many meaty issues to investigate as the local government sector negotiates its way through community, infrastructure, regulatory, social, economic and environmental challenges that have significant impact on the lives of all New Zealanders. So here’s to you. As the mayors, chairs, chief executives and senior leaders from around the country gather to debate the big issues and celebrate their councils' successes at this year’s LGNZ conference in Rotorua, we’d like to congratulate you on a year’s work well done. We know your work isn’t easy. And thank you for sharing your stories with us over the past year. I’m looking forward to working alongside you all again in the year to come. 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, Janet Brothers, Matthew Crozier, Frana Divich, Jeremy Elwood, Tony McCormick, Drew Mehrtens, Bruce Robertson, Mary Searle Bell, 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.

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Environment website wades deeper into water data Environmental monitoring website Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA) is offering more data about New Zealand’s most valuable natural resource, water. LAWA (www.lawa.org.nz) now displays real-time data on river flow, groundwater and rainfall levels at over 1000 sites around New Zealand, adding to the water quality data on the site. “LAWA is one of the first of its kind to bring together a whole country’s water quality and quantity data into one place,” says Fran Wilde, chair of Local Government New Zealand’s regional sector. “Building on the beach and river quality information already available on LAWA, the real-time flow and water level data will allow those who rely on water for business or recreational activities to see

the current state of the river or aquifer.” LAWA also shows how much water is available in different regions and how it is being used. “Over 27 billion cubic metres of water is consented to be taken from our rivers and aquifers each year to meet our cities’ and towns’, industry, agriculture and hydroelectricity demands. That’s enough to fill almost half of Lake Taupo,” says Fran. LAWA was launched in 2014 and is a collaboration between New Zealand’s 16 regional and unitary councils, the Cawthron Institute, Ministry for the Environment and has been supported by the Tindall Foundation.

Knowledge sharing Auckland Council’s John Dragicevich is putting out a call for local authorities around the country to increasingly pool their learnings. John, who is GM infrastructure & environmental services, and director civil defence & emergency management, says the local government sector has an incredible range of knowledge. “There are over 100 Oracles of Delphi sitting there but no-one is translating the message. It is a resource that is untapped,” he says. “If we could join it up and knowledge broker it, local government would save millions of dollars in any

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one year.” Although some sharing of knowledge already occurs, it is on a very small scale. John says Auckland Council is also looking at knowledge broking and sharing within its own organisation. “No doubt, within councils themselves there is a challenge to share knowledge. Our council sees an opportunity to grow staff capability and ensure best value for training and conference investment.” John invites anyone from any council who may be interested in sharing an idea to contact

John Dragicevich: Millions of dollars could be saved.

him “and we could collectively see if we could get some action on it”. 021 719 999 John.dragicevich@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

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AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

IN BRIEF Downer switches on to EVs

Downer: Providing smarter transport solutions.

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Downer NZ is introducing electric vehicles (EVs) as pool cars in its Auckland and Hamilton operations in an initiative that it says will provide alternative and smarter transport solutions that are “better for our environment, better for our businesses and better for our country”. The Nissan Leaf Gen 2 EVs are powered by an 80-kilowatt electric motor and have a range of 120 kilometres on a single charge. They will have Downer branding and include an EV slogan – Switch On. Auckland Transport is releasing an EV car share programme as an initiative for Auckland’s multimodal transport solutions and Downer will support this programme by basing an EV at its Penrose office for use on the Auckland Transport network contracts. Two EVs will also be used for network inspections by Downer and Hamilton City Council’s Hamilton Infrastructure Alliance. The council is also evaluating how EVs can be brought in to council services to reduce fuel costs, optimise renewable resources and support smart city development. Downer will also be introducing a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) to its fleet for staff travelling greater distances than just inner city travel.

Billion-plus investment in Waikato transport Unlocking economic growth, reducing travel time between Auckland and Cambridge and improving safety is the focus of a $1.8 billion investment in the Waikato’s transport network. More than half will be spent on fast-tracking the completion of the Waikato Expressway and projects such as the Hamilton Ring Road, while approximately $400 million will be spent improving safety as part of key projects. The investment is the region’s share of the $13.9 billion National Land Transport Programme, a partnership between local authorities and the Transport Agency. The Transport Agency’s acting Waikato/Bay of Plenty regional director Robert Brodnax says a large part of investment in the Waikato over the next three years recognises and supports the vital part the region plays in New Zealand’s social and economic success.

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IN BRIEF Auckland offshore champion announced In his new role as Champion for Auckland – Overseas Investment, Sir Bob Harvey will work closely with the Auckland Investment Office and council agencies to facilitate international investment opportunities and lead the council’s bid for the Lee Kuan Yew World Cities Prize. Sir Bob will also support mayor Len Brown in building the Tripartite Economic Alliance between Auckland, Los Angeles and Guangzhou. Mayor Brown says Sir Bob brings decades of experience and expertise and a wealth of knowledge that will be invaluable to the city. Sir Bob says he is excited about adding value to the council, its agencies and Auckland. “I am a passionate Aucklander and am looking forward to taking leadership on this initiative.”

Sir Bob Harvey: A passionate Aucklander.

New Local Government commissioners Sir Wira Gardiner has been appointed as chair and Leigh Auton as a member of the Local Government Commission. They join commissioner Janie Annear, who has been reappointed. The appointments are for a three-year term, commencing August 1 this year. Sir Wira has a long and distinguished public service career. He was a founding director of the Waitangi Tribunal and the founding chief

executive of Te Puni Kōkiri. Leigh Auton has extensive local government experience and is former chief executive of Manukau City Council. Janie Annear has been a member of the Commission since July 1 last year and served three terms as the mayor of Timaru from 2004 to 2013. Local Government Minister Paula Bennett thanked outgoing chair Basil Morrison and

Sir Wira Gardiner

Leigh Auton

member Anne Carter for their service and significant contribution to the commission’s work since 2011.

Laidlaw tackles unification issue

Digital strategy pays off

Former All Black and radio broadcaster Chris Laidlaw has been appointed as chairperson of Greater Wellington Regional Council. He replaces Fran Wilde who resigned as chairperson on June 13 after the Local Government Commission abandoned its controversial proposal to merge the Wellington region's nine councils into one super-city with a mayor and 21 councillors overseeing eight local boards. Wilde will remain a councillor. Laidlaw says his first and overriding priority is to work with councils to find a meeting of the minds on the question of where to go on amalgamation. “A lot has been said about the issue in recent months,” he says, “but from my perspective I want to start again from a clean slate. The important thing is to find a consensus that will work for everybody in the region and that will reassure people that local identity and decision-making will remain local. “But there are some big issues facing

Managing more than $1 billion worth of assets, Tasmania’s largest local government organisation City of Launceston is now using mobile devices to record asset information in the field. The implementation of TechnologyOne’s mobile work management solution, Asset Management, is part of the council’s wider digital strategy to become more agile and efficient. City of Launceston’s manager technical services Shane Eberhardt said the organisation needed to improve response time to customer requests. “Everything was paper-based, and required a lot of double handling and manual data entry to get information into our system, which was very time consuming and not cost effective. “With TechnologyOne’s work management solution, the guys in the field can simply complete a work order, which automatically closes out a customer request. This is enabling us to take a more strategic approach to managing field work, which in the longer term, will lead to improvements like cost savings and improved efficiency for the community.”

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Chris Laidlaw: Wants a clean slate.

the region that we are not currently set up to tackle so we need to do some serious thinking about what we do next.” Laidlaw said the regional council had signed off on an ambitious 10-year plan for the region which would see a significant investment in infrastructure to continue to improve public transport. Also approved is a Proposed Natural Resources Plan that “represents a major step forward in how we can get economic growth while protecting natural resources”.

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AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

IN BRIEF PwC launches fully integrated digital services business With the formation of PwC digital, a fully integrated digital service offering, PwC is the first of the ‘big four’ accountancy firms to provide a dedicated, end-to-end digital and experience solution. PwC chief executive officer Bruce Hassall says technological advancements and the pace of change can be overwhelming for many organisations. Results from PwC’s 2015 CEO Survey show New Zealand organisations want to see a strong connection between digital investments and business objectives. Ninety-five percent of New Zealand CEOs who participated in the survey said a clear vision of how digital technologies can help achieve competitive advantage is key to the success of digital investments. Ninety-seven percent said the same for having a well-thought-out plan – including concrete measures of success – for their digital investments. Bruce says implementing a digital strategy that gets results isn’t possible by tinkering around the edges. “Companies need to reconfigure their operating models – and perhaps their business models. In order to do so, they need to ensure that they’re not only investing in the right digital technologies, but can deploy them in a smart and effective way.”

The pace of change can be overwhelming.

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Cutting energy use in public buildings New research aims to demonstrate how it is possible to reduce energy use in existing public buildings by 50 percent. Windows that warm a building in the winter and cool it in the summer and devices that literally bring the sunlight into darkened rooms are some of the energy-saving solutions currently being tested by a EUfunded project called A2PBEER, which has set out to reduce the energy being consumed by public buildings The four-year research effort is partly addressing the issue of energy efficient retrofitting of buildings as a means of reaching the EU’s 2020-20 energy targets – reducing greenhouse gas emissions, raising the share of energy produced by renewable sources and improving energy efficiency, all by 20 percent by 2020. The researchers aim to demonstrate that making buildings nearly zero energy can be achieved in public buildings by using affordable and adaptable solutions already available on the market. Three demonstration buildings – in Malmo, Bilbao and Ankara – are being retrofitted with new building envelopes with vacuum insulation panels and integrated with various ventilated façade solutions, smart windows and lighting solutions and solar thermal heat pumps. A complex monitoring system will measure energy consumption of the buildings before and after retrofitting. The National Library Building, Singapore.

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AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

IN BRIEF DATES FOR YOUR DIARY AUGUST 13 Local Government and Elected Members (LGNZ). Wellington www.lgnz.co.nz

SEPTEMBER 3 Chairing Meetings/Conflicts of Interest/Standing Orders (LGNZ). Manukau Civic Building, Auckland Council www.lgnz.co.nz

17 - 18 SOLGM Community Plan Forum 2015. Chateau on the Park, Christchurch www.solgm.org.nz/Calendar

7 Getting the Best Out of Your CCOs. Selwyn District Council, Selwyn www.lgnz.co.nz

19 - 21 Just Add Water Seminar (JAWS). Dunedin Events Centre, Dunedin tinyurl.com/jaws2015

15 - 16 SOLGM Local Government Communications Forum 2015. Mac’s Function Centre, Wellington www.solgm.co.nz

20 Audit & Risk Committees – Roles & Functions (LGNZ). Local Government NZ, Wellington www.lgnz.co.nz

15 - 18 Coasts and Ports 2015 Conference. Pullman Hotel, Auckland www.coastsandports2015.com

20 - 21 NZCID Building Nations Symposium. Air Force Museum Wigram, Christchurch www.nzcid.org.nz

16 - 18 Water New Zealand Annual Conference and Expo. Claudelands, Hamilton www.waternzconference.org.nz

24 - 25 Governance Professionals and Committee Advisors Forum. Chateau on the Park, Christchurch www.solgm.org.nz

21 - 22 2015 Customer Service Symposium. Palmerston North Convention Centre www.algim.org.nz/algim-events

24 - 26 NZ Esri User Conference 2015. SkyCity Convention Centre, Auckland www.eagle.co.nz/nzeuc 25 - 28 SETAC Australasia 2015. Nelson www.setac2015.org.nz

21 - 22 Auckland Transport Summit. Pullman, Auckland tinyurl.com/auckland-transport-summit

OCTOBER

26 Financial Governance 201 (LGNZ). Westland District Council, Hokitika www.lgnz.co.nz

7-8 Waste Expo. Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne www.wasteexpo.com.au

Mobilising the regions LGNZ president Lawrence Yule says alternative risksharing arrangements must kick into play in the future as commercial operators cannot be expected to crosssubsidise unprofitable transport routes in the regions. He tells Local Government Magazine he’s not advocating any one specific solution but options could include help from councils or the crown. “Transport infrastructure is just one example of the challenges some of New Zealand’s regions face due to We really need to have these big conversations.

rural decline,” he says. “You get to critical tipping points where if you don’t have key services you trigger off another level of decline.” He says it’s very easy for regions to self-implode and there is a “very real” issue looming. “This is especially relevant in the light of our Funding Review which shows half of the councils in New Zealand will lose population in the next 30 years. “One of the conversations of the future is whether

9 - 13 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition: Shaping our Water Future. Brisbane, Australia tinyurl.com/water-congress 12 - 13 Electoral Officers Training 2015. Mac’s Function Centre, Wellington www.solgm.org.nz 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 28 - 29 2015 NZ Bridges Summit. Pullman, Auckland tinyurl.com/nz-bridges

NOVEMBER 9 - 11 2015 SOLGM Annual Summit. Palmerston North Convention Centre, Palmerston North www.cmnzl.co.nz/solgm-2015 18 - 20 New Zealand Recreation Association National Conference. Te Papa Tongarewa – the Museum of New Zealand, Wellington tinyurl.com/natconf2015

The NZMCA’s Motorhome Friendly scheme is helping rural and provincial communities throughout New Zealand get more than their fair share of the Motorhome Tourism cake.

25 - 27 2015 ALGIM Annual Conference. SkyCity Hotel, Auckland www.algim.org.nz/algim-events ould you like us to include your event in this calendar? W Please email details to ruth@localgovernmentmag.co.nz

Domestic and international motorhome tourists already spend more than $650 million each year. And we’re hard at work baking an even bigger cake. NZMCA membership has more than doubled in the past five years to almost 60,000 – making our ‘city on wheels’ NZ’s 9th largest. Add to that increasing numbers of international motorhome tourists and there’s plenty of cake to go around.

it would be better to invest in road or rail rather than airport networks. I don’t have the answer to that but these are the really big philosophical conversations that we need to have.” Lawrence cites as an example the idea that a high-speed rail link between Hamilton and Auckland may obviate the need for a significant airport in Hamilton. “I’m not saying that should happen. I’m just trying to give an example of where intermodal transport decisions need to be made and where, over time, traditional thinking may have to be questioned.” LGNZ ad2.indd 2

To make sure your area gets a slice, call NZMCA CEO Bruce Lochore today on (09) 298 5466.

6/18/2015 11:48:53 AM

AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

IN BRIEF Blue Sky moment for Tauranga team

Big ups to Tauranga's team.

Tauranga City Council’s Blue Sky team, the winners of the New Zealand leg of the LGMA Management Challenge, were placed third at the Australasian finals held in Melbourne late June. This year 102 teams from around both Australia and nine from New Zealand entered the Challenge, Australasia’s premier forum for current and emerging local government leaders. From those teams seven Australian State finalist teams and New Zealand’s Team Blue Sky were selected to take part in an intense

and challenging day that tested their leadership skills across a range of tasks from tweeting to management presentations. Tauranga City Council’s team members were Tracy Plane, Megan Davies, Stuart Goodman, Joanna Thomas, Amanda McFadden and Rebecca Maiden, (replacing Celia Bowles who left the council after the New Zealand final). For more, see Managing in Challenging Times starting on page 18 of Local Government Magazine’s May 2015 issue.

NZ software company refocuses on local government After spending over a decade mostly helping big infrastructure players and heavy industry manage and track their resource consents, software company CS-VUE, is now keen to place more focus on where it all began – in local government. CS-VUE was established in 2004 when environmental consultancy Andrew Stewart Group was engaged by the former Auckland City Council to devise software to better

manage the council’s stormwater and environmental compliance activities. Auckland Council continues to use the software system and nationwide several other councils also use it to keep on top of their complex and lengthy consents and all the conditions that follow, says CS-VUE general manager Wayne Fisher. The CS-VUE software enables organisations to track those conditions and avoid or minimise any breaches.

Wayne Fisher: More focus on local government.

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COUNCILS

Around the councils Wellington’s Victoria Street gets an injection of creativity and colour as Wellington artist David Brown paints the side of a four-storey building turning it into a huge geometric artwork. His 11-metre-high mural, funded by WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL, will be a prominent feature of re.SPACE, a newly refurbished exhibition and event venue, and will complement the street transformation work and new paved parks. Dimension Data is selected as the preferred supplier to deliver shared ICT infrastructure services for GREATER WELLINGTON REGIONAL COUNCIL, PORIRUA CITY COUNCIL, UPPER HUTT CITY COUNCIL, WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL and Wellington Water. The decision is subject to contract negotiations being acceptable to all parties and a final decision on the implementation business case, due mid-August.

An idea that came out of ROTORUA LAKES COUNCIL’s inner city Ideas Store last year is now a reality. A full-sized ping pong table, suggested by Toi Te Ora – Public Health Service health improvement advisor, Ronda Cleland Weiss (pictured), is available for free public use in Jean Batten Square near the visitor centre and i-Site. The installation of the ping pong table is one of a number of suggestions the council has already implemented as a result of public feedback at the Ideas Store late last year. Others include installing new drinking fountains and making changes to inner city bus routes. BAY OF PLENTY REGIONAL COUNCIL calls for interested people from the Rangitāiki, Kaituna/ Maketū and Watahanui/Pongakawa catchments to help it make some important decisions about water management in these areas. Community groups will help identify local values for freshwater, set local limits for water quality and quantity, and develop solutions for managing water in their catchment as part of the work being carried out by the council to implement the government’s National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management. Similar work will roll out in other Bay of Plenty catchments from 2017/2018.

In the spirit of National Volunteer Week, UPPER HUTT CITY COUNCIL hosts a ‘Cheers to our Volunteers’ evening at Expressions Whirinaki Arts and Entertainment Centre. Mayor Wayne Guppy applauds the contributions of all those who by volunteering provide a service to the Upper Hutt community. Digital impression of artwork by David Brown.

Councillors vote for the second stage of the Wainui wastewater upgrade scheme to go ahead in the financial year beginning July 1 2018, but are keen to explore the possibility of a cost-share agreement or a targeted rate so work can begin sooner. Banks Peninsula councillor Andrew Turner says deferring the second stage of the scheme, which will provide individual properties with a reticulated wastewater system and new treatment plant that will discharge to land, was a difficult decision for CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL which is balancing the needs of the community with growing financial pressures due to the earthquakes. BAY OF PLENTY REGIONAL COUNCIL allocates $552,000 to help community groups look after the environment under its Long-term Plan. One third of the 838 submissions to the plan focus on community engagement and volunteer support. The Regional Council will provide a total of $212,000 a year for funding requests, $310,000 a year to its Environmental Enhancement Fund applications and $30,000 a year for corporate sponsorship requests throughout the year. CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL agrees to allocate $130,000 from its Social Housing Fund to help the Methodist Mission with private rental accommodation for homeless youth and families. The money, which is not drawn from rates, will be used primarily to meet the gap between the affordable rent that tenants pay and the market rent. CLUTHA DISTRICT COUNCIL purchases eight hectares of industrial land in Balclutha. Council chief executive Steve Hill says the purchase is consistent with council’s new economic development strategy to take a leadership role in driving the district’s economy. “Converting the Rosebank sawmill site into an industrial park needs to happen now because we know there is a demand from our businesses to expand, as well as a demand for businesses to locate here.”

ROTORUA mayor Steve Chadwick says local residents, the tourism sector and the city’s airport business will all benefit if Jetstar starts operating into Rotorua. Her comments follow an announcement that the airline plans to fly into a number of regional New Zealand cities by December with Rotorua among the destinations under consideration. The district councils of SOUTH TARANAKI, STRATFORD and NEW PLYMOUTH agree to apply the advice from a report they commissioned from international risk management specialists to define the RMA’s role in the national regulatory framework that applies to oil and gas activities in Taranaki. Liam Dagg, Stratford District Council’s director environmental services, says councils manage the RMA requirements and other agencies manage HSNO and health and safety, but there has been unintended crossover between them. The three district councils will apply the report’s technical advice to their resource consent processes and also to their District Plans when they are next reviewed.

BAY OF PLENTY REGIONAL COUNCIL’s rivers and drainage manager Bruce Crabbe acknowledges the patience and support of landowners affected by the Rangitāiki Floodway project. The latest step in the project, to reduce flood levels in the main Rangitāiki River upstream of Edgecumbe to the river mouth, has been completed. Future work, in five more stages, involves raising existing stopbanks, designing new ones with flatter slopes to allow farmers to work their land more easily and constructing a spillway to allow water to flow from the main Rangitāiki River into the floodway.

AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

CONSULTATION

PROGRESS REPORT Locking in the learning How good, bad or otherwise were local authorities’ first forays into writing consultation documents for their long-term plans? Assistant auditor-general, local government Bruce Robertson is keen to share some feedback before we all forget the good stuff.

t’s been quite a year for us all and we’re only just over halfway through. Much of 2015 has been dominated by long-term plans (LTPs) and, specifically, the brand new consultation document process. While the amendments to the Local Government Act 2002 provided much guidance, we – the sector and the Office – have had to work out together exactly how they should look and what they should say. It was no mean feat but we feel the process was very worthwhile. As I explained in the April issue of this magazine, consultation documents are intended to encourage greater public

participation in the long-term planning process. My team can dissect the fulllength draft long-term plan and pick out the main points quickly. But we have had a tonne of practice! Asking the public to read a document that often spans hundreds of pages is more problematic, and we have all previously been recipients of complaints about the morass of information in a draft long-term plan. A consultation document, on the other hand, is meant to be far easier to digest. It’s much shorter, for a start. It’s meant to be written in plain language, and accompanied by charts and graphs that help the reader. Best of all, it puts the focus firmly where it belongs – on the big issues facing each region. Identifying those issues, explaining how they are to be tackled, and outlining the implications and costs of these policies are crucial elements to a good consultation document. Our job was to work with you to ensure these documents do precisely that. So how did we all do?

COULD DO BETTER In August we will publish our observations on the process, along with some lessons for next time. We thought it important to capture our observations early before we drop the consultation document and not pick it up until 2018! I encourage you all to read this report. But in the meantime here are some overall thoughts. On the whole, consultation documents did what they were meant to do. Certainly the “direction of travel” is positive. We think there are some areas for

improvement. Too many documents: • included too much background or other unnecessary information, meaning they lost focus; • failed to link the local authority’s infrastructure and financial strategies to the significant issues; and • had poorly-drafted consultation questions.

THE GOOD STUFF In contrast, the best consultation documents – and fortunately there were a good number – did a good job on all of the above three aspects. In doing so, they shared some common traits. When highlighting the big issues, they provided a clear introduction to each, identified the options for addressing them, discussed each option’s advantages and disadvantages, and clearly set out the costs of each option. Often this information was provided in standalone boxes, which made it stand out easily to the reader. The best consultation documents also provided clear and concise information about the local authority’s current financial and infrastructure strategies. They discussed the proposed changes to these strategies – such as changes to debt levels, expenditure and levels of service. We saw a link between the quality of questions asked of the reader and the quality of the answers received. The best documents asked specific ‘open’ questions about the options and provided relevant supporting information. This enabled the community to better consider the issue before responding.

COVER UP? One more issue I’d like to address: choosing what to include in the consultation document can be a risky exercise when the public and media deem other issues to be more important. One council told us that it was accused of trying to cover up one issue because it hadn’t thought it significant enough to include in the consultation document. We think the supporting information is part of the answer to this challenge. The legislation requires local authorities to prepare supporting information and to tell the public where they can access this information. Local authorities did this in a variety of ways. Most provided links to background papers, strategies, financial analysis and accounting policies to go alongside the consultation document. One third of local authorities made a draft LTP available on their website. Other authorities collated documents on their website in a structure and format different to the LTP.

However you choose to provide it, this means that people can (if they choose to) access all the information that was previously included in the draft LTP. This allows the community to look at those issues that, while not critical, are still important to them. I will expand on these findings and our thoughts at SOLGM’s Community Plan Forum in August (see box “Plan ahead”). Our full report will provide more indepth insights on these and other matters, along with case studies from five local authorities. We have all learned a lot from going through this process once, and we hope our feedback will be of help when we do it all again in 2018. LG

A consultation document puts the focus firmly where it belongs – on the big issues facing each region.

PLAN AHEAD SOLGM is holding its Community Plan Forum 2015 on August 17 and 18 at the Chateau on the Park, Christchurch. For more information see the SOLGM website: www.solgm.org

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AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

LGNZ EXCELLENCE AWARDS

16 CELEBRATE

REASONS TO

2015 LGNZ EXCELLENCE AWARDS OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT

PHOTO: TED SCOTT

Gather for a group hug. It’s time to celebrate some of the best work in local government. From one outstanding leader to 15 projects that help inspire communities, protect the environment, lift economic development and make those all-important long-term decisions on infrastructure, they’re all here. Read on to find out who’s been moving mountains and making the biggest possible change for good.

WINNER Sir Bob Harvey LGNZ honours Sir Bob Harvey’s many years of service to local government, with the LGNZ EXCELLENCE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Local Government. Sir Bob served as mayor of Waitakere City from 1992 to 2010 when it was among seven

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territorial authorities replaced by the new Auckland Council. LGNZ president Lawrence Yule says that among Sir Bob’s many achievements, he was a pioneering mayor who had served the council through six consecutive terms – the

first time that had been achieved in over a century – and been a passionate advocate for sustainability in communities, locally, nationally and globally. “Sir Bob’s vision and the success of that vision has been reflected in international recognition for Waitakere City’s environmental initiatives, including winning the United Nations-backed LivCom award for being the most ‘liveable’ city in the world,” says Lawrence. “Alongside his deep commitment to the Waitakere community, he represented New Zealand’s local government on several international sustainability committees and at many global events. His legacy and achievements continue to be appreciated in the community he led.” Sir Bob was elected on an environmental platform to manage growth in the Waitakere Ranges and to make Waitakere City the first eco city in New Zealand. Under his leadership, the city built four major libraries, a stadium and environmentally-friendly local government headquarters. In 2009, he was invited to join the executive committee of the global organisation Mayors for Peace and is one of only a handful of mayors around the globe to be honoured as a global Mayor for Peace and the Environment. His dedication to peace and non-violence included leading a local government delegation to Tahiti against French nuclear testing in the Pacific. In 1998, he joined the working party of the Mayors’ Asia Pacific Environment Summit and was an executive member of that summit the following year. In 2002, he was the local government representative at the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. In 2007, he became a member of the Australasian Mayors for Climate Change and in 2008 was the keynote speaker at the Eco City Summit in Washington. In 2010 Sir Bob was appointed chairperson for Waterfront Auckland, one of the seven council controlled organisations created under the Auckland Council amalgamation. During his tenure with the development agency, Sir Bob oversaw $120 million of capital expenditure on the waterfront prior to the 2011 Rugby World Cup and was instrumental in the first stages of the urban regeneration of Wynyard Quarter.

FULTON HOGAN EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR COMMUNITY IMPACT

WINNER Waipa District Council – Let’s Get Engaged Waipa District Council’s bold Let’s Get Engaged campaign has helped community and council together face up to some big challenges in the district over the next 10 years. The council needs to make considerable investment in basic infrastructure, largely on water and wastewater. The programme used new media in innovative, inviting and entertaining ways to inform communities and gain feedback for the council’s 10-year plan. The awards judges praised the project as: “Incredibly innovative, inclusive, energetic and very focused – it has the wow factor and will provide a fabulous base for all councils going forward.” They also noted how well the council had engaged with the business community. Challenges faced by the Waipa District over the next few years had been identified through early work on the council’s 2015-2025 plan. Aware that consultation campaigns often don’t succeed, the council designed the project to really make people sit up and take notice. The aim was to change the way people think about engagement and about directly influencing how decisions are made around the council table. Social media, video animation, ‘real people’s’ stories, a new Future Waipa website, competitions, online and outdoor

advertising, and new online tools were all part of the strategy – all provided in plain language. This included the council team using an innovative but cheap online animation programme ‘Go Animate’ which enabled them to make 10 videos in-house to outline key issues. Organisers also worked closely with groups such as Waipa’s business community, its youth council and the disability community creating new and enduring partnerships. The team visited people with a disability and recorded their feedback through submissions via video. Local media were closely involved and both newspapers in the district ran a ‘community engagement’ column regularly inviting new voices to enter the conversation. The council also took its Let’s Get Engaged roadshow to many events around the region. Staff and councillors joined these and took part in hundreds of conversations around the issues facing the district. Providing an icecream cart proved a very good way to start conversations with young families. The community response was exceptional – the number of followers on the council’s website page increased by 355 percent during the campaign and there were high levels of participation and feedback.

AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

LGNZ EXCELLENCE AWARDS EQC EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT OF THE YEAR WINNER Horowhenua District Council – Tokomaru Water Treatment Plant Upgrade The groundbreaking Tokomaru water treatment plant upgrade resolved a major challenge for Horowhenua District Council and the residents of Tokomaru. Awards judges hailed the winning scheme as outstanding, innovative and an example other councils across the country could follow. They also praised the strong contribution to public health outcomes. The project sprang from the council’s search for a solution to providing Tokomaru residents with clean water. Water, sourced from the Tokomaru River and feeding the existing plant, had been assessed as carrying an unacceptable level of health risk to people drinking it. From 2009 to 2014 residents were advised to boil their water but, with the original project estimated at $2 to $3 million, they faced at least a 10-year wait for an upgrade. Council staff continued to investigate solutions which would enable them to bring forward the upgrade so the plant was fully compliant with New Zealand Drinking Water Standards. Potential schemes investigated included installing under-bench cartridge filters to each property, installing UV filters outside each property or supplying water from a private bore. Slow sand filtration was also considered but was not feasible due to the large amount of land required. However, through its ongoing investigations, the council eventually identified a possible alternative treatment and engaged

Wellington-based Filtec water and wastewater treatment specialists to install a pilot plant. Following a successful four-month trial and thorough assessment of cost and outcomes, the council – which worked with h2ope and Downer – agreed to press ahead with the innovative solution. This involves the water being treated using chlorine disinfection, coarse sand filter, carbon filters, cartridge filtration and UV disinfection. Council officers had developed key relationships leading up to council approving the project and this ensured the project could get underway swiftly. Installation

was completed just 102 days after council approval. The compact full-scale treatment plant was installed within a shipping container and the relatively modest project cost of just $350,000 – less than a sixth of the original estimate – meant there was a minimal impact on rates. The project lifted Tokomaru’s water quality to become fully compliant with New Zealand Drinking Water Standards. LGNZ president Lawrence Yule said, “This is an excellent example of a council thinking innovatively, responding to community concerns and finding a solution that was affordable, timely and met community and Ministry of Health expectations.”

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AIR NEW ZEALAND EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT WINNER Hawke’s Bay Urban Biodiversity (HUB) programme – Hawke’s Bay Regional Council A community possum-control initiative, which has seen tui and korimako (bellbird) numbers grow in the region, wins the Air New Zealand EXCELLENCE Award for Environmental Impact. The Hawke’s Bay Urban Biodiversity (HUB) programme, run by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC), in association with Napier City Council and Hastings District Council, was launched in 2008 and covers 15,860 hectares across Napier, Hastings and Havelock North. It has proved so successful there are now plans to extend it to Wairoa and Waipawa. The programme aimed to reduce possum numbers in selected urban areas and increase bird life, particularly native birds, as well as vegetation growth and food sources for birds. Awards judges praised it as highly impressive, highlighting the “huge community engagement and demonstrable impact, with clear benefits achieved both for the natural environment and for residents”. Judges said the project is an excellent initiative that is achieving its objective, with multiple benefits. Until the programme was started, councils had found public perception was that possum control was a rural problem and the responsibility of the local authority. HUB set out to help urban communities understand the links between pests and biodiversity in their neighbourhoods. Strong community and private sector support was developed through the councils working with landowners and raising public

awareness through letters, information fliers and media coverage. HBRC staff and contractors visited people to discuss their experiences of possums on their land in order to assess possum routes and favoured trees. Contractors set up bait stations and traps in backyards and a subsidised bait scheme was launched, with HRBC providing bait at a 50 percent subsidy. Monitoring sites were established to formally track changes in bird populations along with using informal information gathered from the public and media to assess changes in vegetation and bird life. The project has seen a steady and consistent growth in the number of korimako and tui, including tui numbers on Napier Hill increasing four-fold and korimako three-fold

since 2008. Possum damage has also reduced in parks and private gardens. Residents have reported quieter nights and a reduction in damage to buildings and that fruit trees in gardens are flourishing, flowering and fruiting as never before. HRBC funded the process of initial control in residential spaces, including development of the programme, paying pest contractors, funding backyard bait stations, subsidising bait costs, and managing the information programme and planting days and reward vouchers. Napier City Council and Hastings District Council funded control work in their parks and reserves as well as assisting with communications signs and planting days in some areas.

AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

LGNZ EXCELLENCE AWARDS FULTON HOGAN EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR COMMUNITY IMPACT HIGHLY COMMENDED

Auckland Council – Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development (ATEED) – in association with Asia New Zealand Foundation – Auckland Lantern Festival Auckland Council’s funded body Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) launched Auckland’s Lantern Festival in 2000 to increase awareness and understanding of the growing Chinese community and its culture in Auckland. Run by ATEED, in association with the Asia New Zealand Foundation, it has gone from strength to strength. It is now one of the most enduring cultural festivals in the country, attracting

182,000 people this year. Initially the core audience was made up of local Chinese people but non-Asian visitors now comprise 60 percent of those attending. Judges praised the way the festival has grown in popularity and successfully helped raise awareness of different cultures in Auckland, encouraging “community inclusion and cohesion with changing demographics”. ATEED has a strong partnership with the Asia New Zealand Foundation, with funding coming from both partners as well as

sponsorship contributions. Techniques used in planning the festival include basic event project management as well as specialist expertise – including interpersonal skills for developing relationships, artistic and design skills for programming and decorations, strategic skills for stakeholder management and cultural knowledge both for Chinese heritage and the local social scene. As the event grows, ever more intensive planning is required as are extensive partnerships and relationships with sponsors,

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Timaru District Council (Aoraki Development Business and Tourism) – Gigatown Timaru Timaru set out to make the best use of the high-profile national Gigatown competition with a successful initiative that increased the uptake of ultra-fast broadband in the area. The aim was to promote Timaru as a digitally savvy city, using the competition to highlight this objective and gain community buy-in. Awards judges praised the great community involvement in the initiative run by Aoraki Development Business and Tourism (ADBT) and the way it has become a catalyst for “broader, faster and deeper uptake of digital technology in the area”. ADBT worked tirelessly to gain public engagement, including holding five wellattended public meetings, visiting every school and over 100 businesses, and reaching tens of thousands of people through social media. The many education, community, promotion and digital enablement initiatives ranged from quizzes and competitions to a billboard campaign, innovation expo, the development of specific digital strategies and the creation of a hashtag icon to unite the community in a common vision. Around 1500 of the symbols were displayed in windows and a large hashtag took pride of place in the town centre. Schemes for businesses included digital training workshops, networking events and case study videos on how faster internet can

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improve business. The campaign also inspired more than 50,000 tweets and over 20,000 Facebook comments from people sharing why Timaru is a great place to live. The scheme increased uptake of ultra-fast broadband in Timaru to 13 percent, boosting it to the fourth highest rate of broadband uptake in the country. While Timaru did not

win the competition, it achieved the significant success of being among five national finalists. LGNZ president Lawrence Yule said, “This is an excellent example of a council initiating district-wide community engagement, using a variety of techniques, which resulted in significantly increased understanding of the benefits of ultra-fast broadband.”

community organisations and performers. Significant planning goes into ensuring the event is fresh and different each year, with contemporary elements introduced alongside the traditional cultural roots of the festival. Recent performances have included Tang Dynasty, China’s first heavy metal band, and Long Chen Deo, a reggae band from Beijing, attracting a younger audience to the festival. LGNZ president Lawrence Yule said, “The festival celebrates the Chinese community’s significant contribution to the liveability and growth of the economy in Auckland and New Zealand. It has contributed significantly to greater understanding of Chinese culture while becoming an unmissable event for many Auckland residents and visitors.”

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Grey District Council – The Heart of the West Coast, Grey District Identity Project The Heart of the West Coast, Grey District Identity Project was developed in response to the ‘perfect storm’ in the wake of the Pike River disaster, global recession, the effects of the Canterbury earthquakes and the closure of Spring Creek Mine. It set out to grow confidence and pride in the district and build a stronger community following these tragedies and challenges. The goal was to change negative perceptions of the Grey District and Greymouth, boosting ‘selfimage’ among local communities and outside of the area. From conversations with the community, it was clear people wanted to move the conversations and messages about Greymouth and the wider district ‘away from disaster and grief to celebrating the beauty and strength of the people and the place’. The project was carried out in three stages, with each achieving significant public buy-in. Initiatives included rebranding, a campaign inviting members of the community to submit ‘real stories’ about the area, a 150th anniversary celebration and developing a public art framework. Communities got on board with more than 400 story postcards received by the council,

The power

of our stories

is in the telling

Heart of the

West Coast

with 25 artists participating – including ‘pop-up’ art displays in empty shops. Ultimately, a survey showed that the number of residents agreeing the area is a great place to live had almost doubled. The project was not intended as a tourism or marketing strategy but outcomes will help the council communicate the district’s unique identity as the Heart of the West Coast. Awards judges praised the scheme as

FINALISTS Kawerau District Council – Neighbourhood of Healthy Homes.

imaginative, well-executed and a good example of a council responding during hard times. LGNZ president Lawrence Yule said it had been an important initiative, run in partnership with local agencies and organisations. “It shows a council that is closely in touch with its community and willing to be innovative and provide leadership to rebuild confidence in the district.”

Whangarei District Council – Hatea Loop AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

LGNZ EXCELLENCE AWARDS MARTINJENKINS EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR LOCAL ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION HIGHLY COMMENDED

Rotorua Lakes District Council – Inner City Revitalisation Project Rotorua City Council’s innovative Inner City Revitalisation project was designed to ‘bring the heart and soul back to the city’ through strong engagement with businesses and communities.

The project was launched in 2013 in response to changes in retail trends, with shoppers increasingly using online purchasing, and increasing numbers of vacant shops in the CBD. The inner city, once the economic powerhouse of the district, was no longer thriving and there was a strong demand for revitalisation, particularly from the business community. Focus groups were formed and a programme of innovative ventures launched to explore the community’s ideas for revitalising the CBD – including opening an ‘Ideas Store’ in an empty shop. Some of the many other initiatives that developed from the project ranged from weekly competitions, an ‘I love Rotorua’ wall and community Scrub Day to clean up the CBD, to pop-up art galleries, public garden

makeovers – with passers-by encouraged to get involved with planting – an annual Tulip Festival and the Light Rotorua Campaign to decorate the city for Christmas. Surveys have shown that 80 percent of inner city business operators are satisfied or very satisfied with the measures taken. Between 2005 and 2013 pedestrian traffic had dropped by 26 percent in the city. Since the revitalisation project was launched, it has been steadily increasing. Judges praised the scheme for its great commitment and partnership with business. LGNZ president Lawrence Yule said, “This is an important venture, with interesting new initiatives achieving excellent community buyin and providing real opportunities to improve the economic wellbeing of the area.”

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Waikato Regional Council – Waikato Means Business Waikato Regional Council took an innovative approach to creating its economic development strategy with an exceptionally comprehensive approach. While the council facilitated development of the strategy, it also established an industry-led governance group – including representatives from iwi, other councils, industry and the University of Waikato. The aim was to develop the strategy with a high level of stakeholder involvement. It was a new approach for a regional council and the strategy was designed to leverage new resources, increase the number of joint projects carried out, and to align activities and resources for economic development. Waikato Means Business was signed off in February 2015. Its goals include increasing median household incomes for the region to above the New Zealand average, growing value added per capita by 2.8 percent per year and lifting the Waikato region into the upper third of regions for economic performance. The strategy also aims to increase the proportion of working age people with high level qualifications to above the New Zealand average, boost value added in

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key sectors by 80 percent, grow productivity by one percent per year and lift the value of international exports by 1.5 percent annually. Major objectives also include establishing the region as New Zealand’s premier engineering and primary processing hub and for it to be known for excellence in food production, agri-research and agri-business. The strategy also aims for the region to provide a high-quality education offering and to leverage value from Waikato’s

location and connections as the key servicing hub of the North Island. Judges praised the scheme for its sound methodology, good regional approach and, in particular, the “huge collaboration and example of working together for good outcomes”. LGNZ president Lawrence Yule said the innovative approach to developing the strategy is likely to be a key contributor in helping the region to achieve its economic potential.

EQC EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT OF THE YEAR HIGHLY COMMENDED

Napier City Council – Biological Trickling Filter Wastewater Plan Napier City Council’s biological wastewater plant was the council’s biggest ever infrastructure project. Entirely managed by an in-house team, the scheme was delivered on time, to a high quality and below the estimated budget. Launched in response to public concern

about the quality of effluent being discharged into the Hawke’s Bay, the new plant is a modern facility using biological processes to treat wastewater. Awards judges praised the scheme as future-proofed, well-researched, using best practice and making a strong contribution to public health outcomes. It has a low environmental impact and comparatively low operating costs. It features concrete tanks with plastic surfaces that bacteria grow on and provide secondary treatment for wastewater as it trickles past. It also includes non-separated industrial and domestic wastewater for efficient treatment solutions, grit removal to reduce wear and improve outflow quality, and a Rakahore channel – an open, rock-lined channel which exposes treated wastewater

to the open air before discharging it to the ocean environment – to meet Māori cultural requirements. The project was managed by a dedicated project manager employed by the council. She was supported by a core team of council engineers who were also able to call on the council’s own design, computeraided drafting, contract and administration support, finance and service staff. The project team was responsible for the final design, tendering and procurement phases through to supervising construction and preparing draft operating and maintenance manuals. The cost of $21.62 million was well below the estimated $26.24 million budget. Future demand has also been taken into account in the design and construction phase.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Western Bay of Plenty District Council, – in association with NZ Transport Agency – WestLink project The collaborative WestLink strategy, between Western Bay of Plenty District Council and NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), has already saved $50 million while improving road maintenance in the Western Bay of Plenty. Awards judges praised the scheme as a good partnership resulting in clever contracting and substantial savings – with further benefits expected. Launched in 2002, the WestLink approach is a key example of local and central government working together to achieve best practice in ‘one network’ road maintenance. The project itself is the culmination and refinement of more than a decade of experience gained in collaborative lump sum and performance-based road maintenance contracts. The inclusive performance-based contract model reduces costs by focusing on overall performance standards assessed through a quality assurance process, rather than

FINALIST

individual transactions. This is achieved by describing requirements in terms of results required rather than specifying how the work is to be accomplished. Measurable performance standards and how the contractors’ performance will be evaluated are set out in a quality assurance plan. The contract includes customer service, asset management, professional services, programming, planning, road maintenance, renewals and reseals delivered to set key performance measures and levels of service for a fixed lump sum payment. Outcomes have included savings of $3.7 million annually, with improved levels of service in several areas and an increased focus on road safety. The project has also resulted in upskilling of council and NZTA staff. Efficiencies have reduced financial pressure on the council allowing it to redirect spending in the 2015 long-term plan. LGNZ president Lawrence Yule said, “This is an impressive achievement – a new contracting

model that delivers more efficiency, effectiveness and innovation, and is a model that can be used by other councils throughout New Zealand.”

Christchurch City Council, in association with Canterbury Cricket – Hagley Oval

AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

LGNZ EXCELLENCE AWARDS AIR NEW ZEALAND EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT HIGHLY COMMENDED

Auckland Council – Wai Care Launched in 2000, Wai Care is a collaborative water action programme run by Auckland Council to encourage citizens to form groups to monitor local waterways and catchments. Participants also take part in restoration and advocacy with the aim of improving the health of their local waterways. Overseen by 11 coordinators, who have ties with council departments, it has proved so successful that the number of groups formed has exceeded targets. During 2014, there were 138 Wai Care groups monitoring 142 sites across the region. The focus is on ‘citizen science’ – scientific research conducted by amateur or non-professional scientists to care for waterways and catchments, engage and work with communities to take action, learn together and care for their ‘place’ and enable kaitiakitanga. Schools are actively involved, with more than 7700 students taking part in the scheme in 2014 including cleaning up litter in and around streams, weeding and planting. There were more than 80 events last year, involving thousands of volunteers and planting of more than 16,000 trees and plants.

Through the programme, volunteers are provided with free training, monitoring equipment, restoration materials and educational resources, as well as support and guidance from their local Wai Care coordinator. Valuable resources and data created through the programme are used by Auckland Council and other groups both regionally and nationally. These include non-government organisations, councils, universities and government agencies such as NIWA, Landcare Research and the Department of Conservation. Judges praised the “long-term commitment and community involvement” of the project and said achieving the end goals would have significant outcomes for the region. LGNZ president Lawrence Yule said, “Wai Care has enabled residents to take ownership of their own streams and waterways and contributed to multiple objectives including raising awareness about water quality and increasing people’s pride in their place.”

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HIGHLY COMMENDED

Grey District Council, in association with West Coast Regional Council and the Department of Conservation – Cobden Aromahana Sanctuary and Recreation Area Acting on requests from the Cobden Community, Grey District Council undertook to restore and rehabilitate the flood-prone Cobden Wetlands and to turn a nearby former landfill site into a recreational area for the whole community. The total area under restoration covers 63 hectares. Cobden Island consists almost entirely of tidal estuary, beaches and braided channels. It is a spawning site for inanga (whitebait) and home to 17 threatened bird species. The nearby former landfill site lies between the Cobden Lagoon and the sea. Currently half completed, extensive work to date has included development of a landscape plan and ecological assessment, planting of 6500 native plants and scores of rats and stoats being caught, creating a safer environment for the bird species inhabiting the wetlands. There is also increased evidence of inanga spawning. A track has been built to provide access to a bird hide, and interpretation panels on bird species and whitebait have been installed.

Grey District Council and the Department of Conservation (DoC) put considerable effort into the development of partnerships to ensure the success of the project. Two years ago, when the first channels were excavated, DoC was doing 90 percent of the restoration work. However, 90 percent is now being carried out by volunteers from at least seven different organisations. Community support has been so strong that locals have formed an incorporated society which will oversee the completion of the project

and long-term maintenance of the area. The project is expected to continue for a further three years. Judges praised the scheme for its “great vision, great community engagement and excellent remediation”. LGNZ president Lawrence Yule said, “This is an important initiative for Greymouth and the West Coast and, once completed, will be a valuable space for locals and visitors, with both environmental and economic benefits.” LG

Finalist entries in the Fulton Hogan EXCELLENCE Award for Community Impact and the EQC EXCELLENCE Award for Infrastructure Project of the Year will feature in our September issue. Please note, there was no overall winner in the MartinJenkins EXCELLENCE Award for Local Economic Contribution.

AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

MY VIEW

STEVE CHADWICK On giving people more say Rotorua Lakes Council mayor Steve Chadwick is on a mission to work more closely with her community. She talks with Ruth Le Pla about devolving political control and her strong belief in working through others to get things done.

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’m not in the habit of kissing mayors. So I was a bit surprised when Steve Chadwick bounced up and gave me a big mayoral smacker on the cheek the minute we met. Then she scooted me down the hallway to see some new artwork and back to her mayoral lair which, decked out in shades of Kermit, overlooks Rotorua’s Government Gardens. And I realise to my horror I’ve probably been one of those strange people she can see from her window acting out for family photos and generally misbehaving in an oldiedoes-selfie kind of a way. Such shame. The mayor of Rotorua Lakes Council lives life at a whirlwind pace and makes no apologies for it. Newly elected into her role two years ago, her feet had hardly hit the ground before she sent chief executive Geoff Williams a letter of expectations. She’s well aware that’s quite an unusual step to take. But she reckons he at least took some comfort from having a very clear direction from her.

Then they got together pretty pronto so she could talk about the culture change that she wanted to see. Local residents and business people had told her they wanted more engagement, transparency, focus on retiring debt and, in essence, a more customer-centric approach, she says. “And I wasn’t going to muck around.” Steve says she doesn’t take her mandate lightly. “I know I’ve got a window in which to manage change, get it consolidated and then mentor a new generation to come through.” To this day she still meets with Geoff at 7.30 every morning. “I get up so early anyway.” Deputy major Dave Donaldson joins them and Steve is keen to note she and Dave are there from a governance perspective. “We don’t tell Geoff what to do. But, boy, we’ve unplugged the dyke because we can see where the obstacles were.” She even has a little file called “discuss with Geoff” which she cheerfully waves at me in evidence. “Everything goes

AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

MY VIEW BEING STEVE CHADWICK Mayor, Rotorua Lakes Council 2013 – Present Business consultant 2012 – 2013 MP for Rotorua Portfolios: Associate Minister of Health, Minister of Conservation & Minister of Women’s Affairs 1999 – 2011 Councillor, Rotorua District Council Chair, Social Services Committee 1996 – 1999

Other achievements & education • Set up first family planning clinic in Rotorua. • Helped set up first Women’s Refuge in Rotorua & Rotorua School for Young Parents. • Qualified midwife.

into it,” she says, “and I think ‘we’ll have a discussion about that’.” The early morning starts may stem from her former life as a nurse and midwife – although Steve strikes me as a terminally bouncy person anyway. Certainly, she’s been criticised for the cracking pace of change she’s set at Rotorua Lakes Council. A big part of

that – and one she’s really proud of – is the introduction of a series of portfolios through which community reps work alongside elected officials to come up with strategies to deliver change. The portfolios have got reassuringly realsounding names like “people”, “inner city revitalisation” and “creative communities”. They’re all about doing things “with” or “through” the community, rather than “to” them. And these people have got real money to spend. Those of a more cautious and less trusting nature may worry these portfolios could start the tail wagging the dog. As one of my brothers likes to say at high-stakes moments of family tension, what could possibly go wrong? “But you manage expectations,” says Steve. “You say, ‘this is the budget we’ve got. You can do this but you might need to spread that over three years’. The public accepts that.” Anyway, as she points out, when you know something has got the support of the community – like the green corridor cycleway going through town and linking to Kuirau Park – and there’s a whole strategy group behind it, such plans are “rather compelling” when they come to a council meeting. She admits some people got a bit unsettled by the shift to portfolios. “I think it was the opening of the old way of doing things. That total opening. I did think we had to smash it apart and rebuild it and that’s what we’ve done.” I get the feeling such criticism would be water off a duck’s

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back, anyway. Steve is from a large and creative Hastings family. One sister’s now a historic gardener and another was teaching English as a second language in Australia to Aboriginal children. The brothers, including painter Dick Frizzell, variously cover art, draughtsmanship, architecture and building. “Growing up in small town Hastings we were a round peg in a square hole, really, or the other way round. We always did things a bit differently.” On top of that, Steve has, of course, weathered 12 years in parliament as an MP where she held down portfolios in health, conservation and women’s affairs, all of which would have come with more than their own share of contentious issues. Steve reckons her unconventional outlook means she’ll give anything a go and doesn’t mind a little bit of risk. All of which is an interesting line of discussion in a sector whose moves can so easily be misconstrued in the public domain. “You’ve got to look at innovation,” she says. “That’s a much more comfortable word in local government. You can do things differently and still be within the parameters of the law.” She also reckons her experiences in central government consolidated her view that the law is a bit of an ass. It did, however, show her how to find small constructive ways to change things.

When she was thinking of standing as mayor for Rotorua, Tauranga mayor Stuart Crosby advised her to do the big visionary stuff but also to “do the small things really well”. It’s a theme that she’s taken to heart. At a recent LGNZ rural and provincial sector meeting in Wellington, for instance, she raised the issue of changes being made to the Local Government Act so councils have the power to deal with illegal windscreen washers. “I know how the law works. So instead of saying ‘you can’t do that’ we’re saying, ‘this needs to be amended or put right’.” Similarly, changes to regulations on derelict buildings could be a small amendment to the Building Act, she says. Or it could go in an omnibus bill. “You just recommend an easier route rather than always thinking you’ve got to write new law.” We talk about how for much of this year she’s been bearing the brunt of protest on the highly-contentious issue of the mechanism through which Te Arawa will have a voice at council. Again, the speed at which she acted was a bit much for some people. Then suddenly I’m back out in the council foyer. There’s a slightly awkward moment when I leave. What’s the etiquette? I hold out my hand for a good old-fashioned shake. And I’ve been kicking myself ever since. From now on I’m going to just relax and go around kissing mayors like everybody else. LG

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AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

SWINGING INTO

ACTION FLOOD RESPONSE

More than 700 calls were made to the council’s call centre on the day.

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How Porirua City Council monitored its vehicle fleet during a recent major weather event

hen torrential rain hit the Porirua district on the morning of May 14 this year, it brought widespread flooding, overwhelming stormwater systems and causing numerous slips and road closures. To help ensure the safety of the public and protect infrastructure during the storm, a control centre was set up within the Porirua City Council Works Depot Unit. Its aim: to work with council’s Emergency Operations Centre and call centre to coordinate depot staff as they responded to flooding issues. The control centre’s task was to respond to call-out requests coming through the call centre, and direct staff and vehicles in the field to deal with hot spots such as land slips, flooding and road closures. Works Depot staff also needed to inspect culverts, pipes and manholes across the district to prevent flooding. During the storm, the Works Depot control centre needed to keep track of staff responding to emergency calls, be able to dispatch teams to outlying areas before they were cut off by floodwaters and slips, and provide regular progress reports to the Emergency Operations Centre. Porirua City Council’s Works Depot assembled a small team in the control centre and used EROAD’s GPS tracking system to track council staff and vehicles. One member of staff managed call centre enquiries; while another tracked council vehicles using the system’s fleet activity solution and directed staff using the RT system. With EROAD’s activity screen displayed on a large monitor in the control centre, the team was able to view on a single screen the entire Porirua area and the location of council vehicles. Real-time vehicle information from the 31 vehicles the council had in the field during the event was displayed on a digital map on the activity screen. More than 700 calls were made to the council’s call centre on the day: up from an average 200. As more serious floodrelated issues arose, the team was able to identify which council trucks were in closest proximity to the incidents, and despatch the most appropriate ones to the task. They also used the system to track vehicle journeys and, where necessary, direct them via alternate routes to avoid congestion in the CBD and outlying areas. Despite the gridlock, council vehicles travelled a total of 3677 kilometres on the day, compared with an average 2742. Chris Herbert is Porirua City Council’s manager advanced maintenance management, works operations. He says it would have been much more difficult to respond to the emergency without the system. “We were able to distribute people and vehicles around hot spots and see how they were tracking, see where the traffic jams were and keep the radio waves clear. It was invaluable being able to simply glance at the monitor to get information,” he says.

AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

On May 14, council swung into emergency mode.

“Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to see the location of any of our vehicles unless we called them on the radio, which is time-consuming and clutters up an already overloaded RT system. “Using the system, we knew at a glance exactly where they were, could identify where there were gaps and choose the appropriate vehicle for the event.” The system also helped ensure the

safety of staff in the field. If the control centre had lost contact with one of the council’s teams, it would have been able to pinpoint the exact location of their vehicle, potentially saving valuable time if they had got into distress. Prior to the storm, Porirua City Council had used EROAD’s Service module to help ensure the safety of its vehicle fleet, streamlining servicing and removing the risk of human error from

service scheduling and compliance. On May 14, with the council in emergency mode, the fleet management system demonstrated its ability to help protect the public in Porirua, ensure the safety of council staff, and maintain the integrity of the city’s infrastructure. “There’s far more to it than just tracking vehicles,” Chris said. “It’s part of a complete disaster package that is incredibly valuable.” LG

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

THE PERFECTLY PUBLIC PURSE TAKE IT TO THE PEOPLE

New York, Paris, Melbourne, Auckland… local authorities around the world are increasingly engaging citizens in budget decisions, says Matthew Crozier.

ublic trust can be a powerful ally or deadly foe. Both central and local government need to adopt specific attributes in order to re-build trust. Key among those is a transparent and open decision-making process. And one way to achieve this is by involving the public in decisions such as the allocation of public spending. This gives constituents a say in the funding priorities that directly affect their lives and helps them better understand competing priorities. The benefits of engaging citizens in the allocation of public spending, or participatory budgeting, are many. It is practised in a range of global cities including New York and Paris, and has been implemented in Melbourne recently as a way of deciding that city’s funding priorities. In Melbourne, council engaged residents and business owners to make recommendations on its A$5 billion strategic plan. Forty-three people were randomly selected to consider a 10-year financial plan for the city. While there is often much scepticism around the ability of community members to get such decisions right, the citizens’ jury group soon came to grips with the range of complex spending priorities and successfully negotiated a suitable result. Importantly, after following the process the group reported

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increased levels of trust and confidence in the council and the direction in which it was going. In Auckland, residents have also participated in developing the city’s long-term strategic plan: this took place through a process of public discussions and workshops to identify the main priorities to make Auckland the world’s most liveable city. Adopted three years ago, that plan is now viewed as a key vehicle in aligning national and local government goals; and in providing evidence, and community support, to justify public spending in times of fiscal constraint. In addition to community meetings, technological advances have brought powerful new tools and approaches that are able to reach larger and more diverse audiences. When combined with previously-used older techniques and technologies, they are raising awareness about the budget process, spending choices and challenges, and engaging the community along the way. This is leading to higher levels of trust in institutions, and a better understanding of good governance and the legitimacy of the democratic process itself. All states and territories in Australia are now engaging their communities online and the approach has brought many benefits.

COMMON GOOD? Trust in the institution of government to work for the good of a country is taking a hit around the globe. That’s according to a recent survey by international public relations firm Edelman whose 2015 Trust Barometer shows public trust in such institutions at its lowest point since 2008. Trust in government came in at 48 percent. That’s well below the 57 percent score given to business and even below the media’s 51 percent rating. The most common reason respondents gave for their low trust in government? Its failure to contribute to the common good. A separate New Zealand study reveals a similar picture. The NZ State Services Commission’s 2014 Kiwis Count Survey found public perception of trust in the institution of government has remained low at 45 percent, while people’s experience of trust in the quality of government services dropped one percentage point to 77 percent.

Furthermore, Canada’s sixth-largest municipality Mississauga now opens up C$260 million of its annual budget to resident opinion each year. Most recently it included a new online engagement tool alongside its previously-used communication methods: social media, newsletters, advertising, media material and public forums. The move has produced remarkable outcomes. According to the council, up to 2000 people used the online tool to record their spending priorities, while engagement indicators on the city’s website showed that twice as many people were spending more time reading the budget material compared with the previous year. Council staff also received nearly 700 additional written comments of endorsement from people who had used the online service. “Very good mechanism to give the average taxpayer the reins and understand how complex budgeting can be. Kudos!” wrote one person. “Thank you for giving us the opportunity to voice our opinions on the budget,” wrote another. Over in the US, community participation in government budgeting occurs in the cities of New York, Chicago and Vallejo, California. Meanwhile, participatory budgeting has gained high-level endorsement from President Barack Obama who committed to adopting the process at a federal level in 2014. Involving community members in the budgeting process is growing as a means of achieving positive results for community members and governing bodies. These achievements are ever more possible with the development of new tools for digital public engagement. With financial and other resources becoming increasingly scarce, government and citizens alike can benefit from increased public awareness about the budgeting process and by directly involving community members in making decisions about how taxpayer money is spent on the projects and services that affect their everyday lives. • Matthew Crozier is co-founder and CEO of Bang the Table, a community digital engagement consultancy. He’s a former policy worker in the Australian public service.

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ENERGY EFFICIENCY

REACH FOR THEW STARS

A few years ago Kapiti Coast District Council started upping the ante on its energy performance. What has it learnt and was it all worth the effort? Mary Searle Bell investigates.

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hen in 2012, Kapiti Coast District Council undertook a complete refurbishment of its Civic Building in Paraparaumu, right from the outset it wanted a sustainable building. So the refurbished building now sports an atrium for natural light, external shading on the northern windows, and highly-efficient air conditioning and ventilation. The two-level Civic Building houses customer services and operational staff as well as the council chambers. During the planning process, Jake Roos, the council’s senior programme advisor (environment), says council heard about NABERSNZ, the energy rating scheme for office buildings, and thought it would provide a good benchmark for assessing the building’s energy efficiency. The rating assesses the whole building’s energy use, taking into account equipment used, staff numbers and occupancy hours, and by examining energy used, such as lighting, IT and air conditioning. The building is then given a rating from one to six stars. A rating requires 12 months of energy

data. So in 2014, one year after moving in, the council was able to receive its first NABERSNZ assessment and rating. It was thrilled to be awarded 4.5 stars out of 6 for energy performance. Jake tells Local Government Magazine it’s nice to have a way of clearly communicating their efforts: “It’s all very well saying the building is energy efficient but it is easier to have an official shorthand indicator of efficiency.” It is just the second council along with Auckland to have rated its buildings. Vanessa McGrath, manager of rating tools at the New Zealand Green Building Council, says her organisation expects more councils to seek NABERSNZ ratings in the near future. “Many councils have strong energy efficiency programmes in place,” she says. “However, one of the reasons that NABERSNZ isn’t always central to these may be that the majority of property stock – and the most energy intensive – that councils control are not office buildings, and therefore not rateable under NABERSNZ. “The scheme is not applicable for

facilities such as libraries, recreation centres (pools, stadia etc), or very energyintensive facilities such as wastewater and sewage treatment plants,” she says. Jake says he was keen to support the NABERSNZ rating as he had heard that energy ratings were having a positive effect on commercial property values in Australia. He began the process by undertaking a self-assessment, which gave him an idea of what the official rating might be, before engaging official assessor and Anax director John Gallagher. Jake says the art was in getting things as clearly defined as possible. For example, when recording the size of the building, rather than going off the floor plans, the net lettable area (not the walls) is measured and signed off by an independent assessor. This is to ensure the rating is fair and comparable, he says. Energy consumption assessment requires 12 months of power bills. For the Kapiti Coast District Council this was simple as it is the sole owner and occupier of the building. The building runs on electricity but there is a back-up diesel generator in case of power failure, which also had to be assessed. This was somewhat trickier as the generator is used only occasionally and they could only guess how much diesel had been burned. In the end it was agreed to over-estimate, and the diesel use was assessed as one full tank. From now on the generator use will be logged and their next assessment will have an accurate record of diesel consumption. Another key area is recording the opening hours of the building. Although

this sounds straightforward, the council chambers are used differently to the rest of the building. They have different opening hours and a different air conditioning schedule. A year’s worth of bookings was provided to the assessor so he could work out how many hours the chambers were in use. When it comes to staff and their computers, the fact that people often work outside the building’s opening hours needs to be taken into account. To do so, the office was broken up into functional spaces and the managers of each filled in a questionnaire, signing off on the times that more than 20 percent of their staff were present. Under the NABERSNZ scheme it is not possible for a CEO or similar level person to sign off a whole building as one. Drilling down to smaller units provides more accurate data. After completing their first assessment, Jake is enthusiastic: “We would like to improve our rating – I’d like us to get to 5 stars but we’ll need to cut 20 percent off our energy bill to do that,” he says. “However, no one wants to go gung ho spending money on what is, for all intents and purposes, a new building.” Jake says they did identify where a few small improvements could be made: “We noticed an odd pattern in our nighttime power usage. There was an increase in use when there was no one in the building and nothing was switched on. We discovered the hot water circulation system was still running and we were losing a lot more

heat than expected.” A modification now means the hot water doesn’t circulate at night. It is available if someone is in the building after hours, but it just takes a little longer to get to the tap. Jake says one of the benefits of the NABERSNZ rating is that they now have a way of clearly communicating their efforts. “It shows we are providing our ratepayers value for money,” he says. A NABERSNZ rating is valid for one year. Regular re-rating is encouraged to see how a building is tracking and if energy improvements are working. Kapiti Coast District Council is about to undergo the rating process for the second time. “It’s just a case of getting the tenancy occupancy forms in from the managers, providing the energy bill and the council chamber bookings,” says Jake. “It’s not a lot of work.” Vanessa says NABERSNZ ratings allow councils to understand how energy efficient their building stock is and which buildings need more attention to avoid waste energy and money. “Savings of up to 25 percent are achievable for most commercial office buildings and tenancies without significant expense,” she says. “As well as demonstrating that councils are minimising energy use and therefore making prudent use of ratepayer funds, getting a NABERSNZ rating shows local leadership on the issue of energy efficiency and carbon emissions.” LG • Mary Searle Bell is a freelance writer and editor.

AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

WATER MANAGEMENT

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT

Successful adaptive management saves the Opihi River. By Tony McCormick.

espite the lowest rainfall recorded in the region for 40 years, the Opihi River did not run dry last summer thanks to the effectiveness of a stakeholder group’s management of the limited storage available. Without Opuha Dam, it has been estimated that the major river in Central South Canterbury would have run dry shortly after New Year. And without the intervention of OEFRAG to ration stored water and adapt the balance between environmental needs and irrigation demands, there would probably have been no water for anyone by late January. OEFRAG is the Opuha Environmental Flow Release Advisory Group – a

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stakeholder representative group established under the Opihi River Regional Plan (ORRP) to advise on the release of water from the Opuha Dam. The group comprises representatives from Arowhenua (local iwi), district councils, irrigators, Fish & Game NZ, DoC and Opuha Water. The group is supported by local hydrologist Dick de Joux and regional council (Environment Canterbury) representatives normally attend meetings. The original mandate for OEFRAG under the plan was primarily to manage the transition of minimum flows between months, for management of ‘flushing flows’ and for releases to provide ‘flood

buffering’. Since its inception however, the group has adopted a wider role, in particular, advising the regional council on appropriate precautionary measures in times of anticipated water shortages. Through the winter and spring of 2014, there were very low inflows and snowfall in the Opuha Dam catchment. Despite this, dam storage was about 10 percent above average at 91 percent full heading into October, the month with the highest environmental flow requirement. The lack of snow melt and continuing low inflows, combined with the early start to the irrigation season, saw a very heavy demand on storage and an unprecedented drawdown in the

Key stakeholders and regulators were all involved in the decisions to adapt the damâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operation to meet the extreme conditions.

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WATER MANAGEMENT lake to 67 percent full. Typically the lake storage increases through October, driven mainly by melting snow from warming temperatures. OEFRAG met in early November to review the situation and agreed to implement restrictions if the lake continued to decline to 50 percent. By the end of November, with lake levels nearing 50 percent, OEFRAG recommended a 25 percent irrigation restriction and a reduction in the minimum river flow of 17 percent. Within two weeks these restrictions were tightened to 50 percent and 42 percent respectively. The group convened at least fortnightly to adapt the restriction regime in an effort to prolong storage. As the summer drew on, the situation continued to worsen. When the lake storage reached less than 10 percent, OEFRAG reduced river flows to minimum levels not seen since the dam was commissioned. The river was closely monitored by the group’s members to ensure it stayed ‘connected’ as the flow

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rate was stepped down to unprecedented low flows. Irrigators agreed to an earlier shutdown on February 25 in exchange for the ability to keep a 50 percent restriction regime to the end and all irrigation ceased with just one metre of storage remaining – with this last metre dedicated to maintaining the river flow at its absolute minimum. Despite these extreme measures, lack of rain meant storage continued to diminish. OEFRAG formulated a plan to operate the system below zero storage, while preparations were made for a massive fish salvage exercise if the river ran dry. Then, on March 6, with plans in place and the lake within 50mm of ‘zero’, it rained. It wasn’t ‘fill yer boots’ stuff but it was enough to keep the system flowing and the lake above zero. Since that turnaround, OEFRAG has continued to meet regularly and irrigation and river flow restrictions were kept in place until a small buffer was realised. A brief period of irrigation was agreed to by the group in April to enable farmers, who

had been shut down for over eight weeks, to get some water on desperate pastures before cooler temperatures arrived. OEFRAG will continue to monitor lake storage throughout winter as every effort is made to ensure the lake recovers in time for summer. Without the intervention of OEFRAG, the river would almost certainly have run dry and irrigators would have been shut down before the end of January. From the start of December, the dam and river were operated outside the strict regime prescribed in the plan and under the consents – and yet everybody accepted what was being done. The key stakeholders and regulators were all involved in the decisions to adapt the dam’s operation to meet the extreme conditions being experienced and to protect, as much as possible, the economic wellbeing of the community and the river’s environmental wellbeing. LG • Tony McCormick is CEO of Opuha Water.

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

Conference fever Role play and games. Whiling away the time at conferences.

PEOPLE WHO GO TO CONFERENCES GENERALLY FALL INTO THREE GROUPS.

ertain things are part and parcel of life. Famously, death and taxes. And if you work in the public sector there’s a third: conferences. If you’re reading this at one then I hope you’re on a break. You really should be paying attention. I attend a lot of conferences albeit in a different role from most. I’m either there as the MC; keeping things moving, making sure people know which room to go to, ensuring lunch arrives on time and stragglers don’t linger too long afterwards – that kind of thing. Or I’m there for an evening, either to hand out awards and introduce guest speakers or, most commonly, as the after-dinner entertainment – there to allow the attendees to relax, loosen their ties (literally or figuratively), and smooth the road between “formal dinner with colleagues” and “late night drinks with new friends”. It’s a fun job and there’s no need for anyone to take notes. Having been to a lot of conferences, I’ve had the chance to observe from a distance a frankly unusual form of human interaction. People who go to conferences generally fall into three groups. There are those who have to be there – the speakers, the organisers, the caterers and so on. They all have a specific role to play and whether they enjoy it or not is irrelevant. It’s part of the job. Then there are those who love going to conferences because it gives them a chance to get out of the office, meet new people and talk shop with like-minded attendees. Finally, there are those who dread going to

conferences, because it forces them to get out of the office, meet new people and talk shop with like-minded attendees. Whichever group you fall into, every conference has its upside. For local government, especially if you’re a sitting councillor, you may feel that getting together and talking through the issues facing your area or the wider country may be what you do in your day job. But think about this – how often do you get a chance to discuss, agree or disagree, and then walk away without having had to vote on something, without having to effect actual change? You’ve just had a taste of what being a caller to late night talk-back radio must be like. (I wouldn’t know. I’m not quite that old or misanthropic yet.) In anticipation, then, of this or any other conference you attend I’ll gift you a fun little game you can play. Every conference has certain characters that pop up. The speaker who runs way over time; the quiet soul who will completely take over the dance-floor after a few wines; the unassuming delegate who will, out of nowhere, come up with the best idea you’ve heard all day; the alpha male who will insist on telling everyone exactly how much more he knows than they do (I’m not being sexist here, it’s always a bloke, and he doesn’t); the person who will keep the hotel bar open all night, and then survive the morning of day two on beige coffee and fistfuls of pastries. Try and spot them early. Write down who you predict them to be. And remember, if you can’t find them they’re probably you. LG

AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

JANET BROTHERS / ON HEALTH MANAG I NG DI R ECTOR AT LI FE CAR E CONSU LTANTS janet.brothers@lifecare.co.nz

Have a heart Defibrillators in the community.

I THE LOCATIONS OF OVER 2500 DEFIBRILLATORS AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE IDENTIFIED AND MAPPED ON A WEBSITE.

n the past, defibrillators were the property of hospital accident and emergency departments and cardiac units. Now they’re a part of our community and in some of our workplaces. So what can we all do to help? Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) have been designed for use by virtually anyone with little or no training. Indeed, for a while, one of the best chances of survival in non-specialists’ hands resulted from members of the public using defibrillators at Chicago Airport. Airports around the world were among the first places to make significant numbers of defibrillators available to the general public along the same lines as fire extinguishers. Other industries have now followed suit and defibrillators can be spotted hanging on walls – or a sticker saying there is a defibrillator on site – at many workplaces and community facilities. An AED will guide a user through the necessary steps, make all the decisions and give clear instructions with voice prompts. Instructions are idiot-proof. They cannot be overridden which means no one can be ‘shocked’ by the machine unless they are in a ‘shockable’ heart rhythm. A defibrillator can increase the chances of survival from a cardiac arrest from five percent up to 70 percent. While effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) will keep blood, and therefore oxygen, pumping

to the brain and other major organs, it can’t start a ‘stopped’ heart. Only a defibrillator can do that. While there are several different types of cardiac episode, they all share the same signs and symptoms. These can include shortness of breath, sweating, anxiety and a feeling of doom, sometimes chest or arm pain, and often a feeling of nausea and vomiting. With CPR alone the chances of survival decrease by 10 percent every minute before a patient can be defibrillated. So after 10 minutes the chances of survival are looking rather grim. The locations of over 2500 defibrillators around the country are identified and mapped at www.aedlocations.co.nz and there is also a smartphone application for the GPS locations. Volunteers update information on the app and website. So if you know of a defibrillator that is not on the website, please let these volunteers know so their information can remain a valuable tool for increasing a victim’s chances of survival. The cost of a defibrillator has decreased as technology has improved. At present a defibrillator costs around $2900. And if you purchase it through Life Care Consultants (www.lifecareconsultants.co.nz) we will include free training. That’s such a small price to pay for something which can have such a significant influence on survival. LG

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Reputation fail Three ways to lift our game.

SOME INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGERS NEED TO... REALISE THEY NEED TO GIVE A DAMN ABOUT CONSUMERS AFTER ALL.

GNZ’s recently-released survey of perceptions of our sector has been good for mayors, local government chief execs and comms teams. Why? Because it has forced some issues to the table. Some people may think that treating awareness of local government products and services like the FMCG category is unhelpful. But others point out that if we wanted to know consumer perception, we’ve got it. That discussion takes me back to a conversation with a former IT manager in 2010, who said that the new iPad was nothing more than a consumer fad and IT industry professionals didn’t need to concern themselves with that kind of consumer focus. In his mind, consumer attitudes were not the concern of IT infrastructure professionals, who read each other’s professional reports, didn’t really have time for dumbed-down products and concerned themselves with much bigger professional networks. They were above any consumer focus. Over the past five years, consumer-focused products and services have radically reshaped global business in the IT industry, the global paper and printing industries, publishing, music, media and more. Consumers ask questions and expect answers. And local government has both led and lagged, depending on which part of local government we’re talking about. Which business units have kicked and screamed the hardest as comms teams have tried to drag them into this brave new world? Which products and services do our customers tend to forget we supply until there’s a problem? The results of the recent LGNZ survey show us the answers. If you’re a CE, ask your comms team how easy it was for most of the past 10 years to get publicly-usable information out of those departments. Here’s the thing. The LGNZ survey is not really a snapshot of our current situation. It’s a snapshot of the cumulative effect of the past five to 10 years. And that’s also a good thing, because as

you look around at the current state of local government communication, you’ll notice it has changed. From social media to in-house media production, trade features to great marketing campaigns, if local government did nothing but maintain the channels and level of communication of 2015, the next snapshot in a few years’ time would reflect quite a remarkable cumulative change. However, a few issues remain. Here are my top three: 1 Some infrastructure managers need to stop behaving like IT managers did at the advent of iPhones and iPads and realise they need to give a damn about consumers after all. Professional communication with other engineers can happily consist of technical reports, but that doesn’t come close to being called a professional approach when dealing with the consumer and business audience. A professional product is one that fully meets the requirements of the user. 2 In terms of the LGNZ survey, consumers and businesses can fit the profile of a user, if viewing our local government reputation ills as a communications project in its own right. When managing a project, the supplier doesn’t get to dictate what the user should accept. If our rate-paying customers don’t even remember what we supply when surveyed, viewing them as users will go a long way toward fixing our cumulative fail. 3 Just giving our customers an opportunity to engage is not enough. A smart company doesn’t keep manufacturing products that don’t sell while saying “at least we give customers the opportunity”. Yet government consultation is often based on the notion that we do our job by making the opportunity and if no one engages, oh well, that’s not our problem. Hell yes, that’s our problem! Our butts are not hats. Let’s get our heads out of them. We’re doing well now. Let’s keep it up, face the remaining issues with integrity, have the guts to keep lifting our game, and build in planning time for better communication of all our activities. LG

AUGUST 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

FRANA DIVICH / ON LEGAL ISSUES PARTN E R, H EAN EY & PARTN E R S. frana.divich@heaneypartners.com

Good news for councils Ten year Building Act long stop does not apply to cross claims.

W THIS IS AN EXCELLENT RESULT FOR COUNCILS.

e always argue that a council’s contribution to defective building claims is much less than that of the other more culpable and blameworthy builders, developers and trades people. These arguments are ones that most lawyers expect to hear from us, but many do not know the interesting origin of contribution claims. The right to recover contribution is a statutory right under the Law Reform Act 1936. It exists so that the court at the end of a trial, or trials, can sort out relative responsibilities between wrongdoers when they have arguably caused the same damage. The statute fixed up the unfairness of the common law which did not allow for contribution. This meant that a wrongdoer could escape all liability if the plaintiff chose not to sue him or her, leaving just one party to shoulder the burden. When asked to apportion damages, the court looks at the potency of what the party did and the relative blameworthiness. Usually the council’s liability and assessed contribution is in the region of 10-25 percent (less than that of other construction parties). Because the council is a solvent party it is usually pursued first for the judgment. For that reason it is important that the council can recover from other wrongdoers. The High Court recently addressed the important question of whether the 10-year long stop period – as provided for in section 393 of the Building Act 2004 – prevents the court from apportioning liability between various parties involved in the construction process. The outcome was important for councils because they are often the party that takes the last step in the construction process and issues the code compliance certificate. If proceedings are issued close to 10 years

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from the issuing of the code compliance certificate it usually means that all the other parties involved in the construction process did their work more than 10 years previously and were theoretically not able to be pursued. The effect of the long stop on councils could have meant that if the council’s cross claim was filed more than 10 years after the other parties worked on the development, the council could not claim a contribution from them. In the case of Body Corporate 330324 & Ors vs Auckland Council the builder brought an application seeking to cross claim against the council more than 10 years after the council issued a code compliance certificate for the “City Gardens” development. The builder argued that it was in the interests of justice, that if the court found the builder and the council negligent, it would be able to apportion liability between them. The court said that provided the owners had joined the wrongdoers within time the cross claims between them could be brought more than 10 years later. The court said there is no liability between wrongdoers until a judgment is recovered by the owner against one or more of them. This is an excellent result for councils. Without this judgment councils would be severely prejudiced by any delay in them being served with proceedings as they would then not be able to claim a contribution back from the other construction parties. To sum up, this judgment means that provided the council and the other construction parties are sued within time by the owner of a defective building, the court will be able to apportion liability between them regardless of whether the cross claim is outside of the 10-year long stop period. LG

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

Exciting times What the National Land Transport Programme means to us all.

THE CHALLENGE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT WILL LIE IN FUNDING THEIR PORTION OF THE MAINTENANCE AND CAPITAL WORKS.

Z Transport Agency released its National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) at the start of July. While there have been some detractors, let’s look at the positives. The budget is a staggering $13.9 billion of which $4 billion has been allocated for local roads over the three years covered by the programme. For contractors, NZTA has programmed for maintenance totalling $4.8 billion. This is a modest increase after the savings made following the work of both the Ministerial Task Force and the maintenance and operations review by NZTA. Savings have been made with the introduction of the Network Outcomes Contracts and it is believed these savings will continue. The total asset base of the State Highway network has increased and some of those assets, particularly tunnels and operational assets, simply require more maintenance. Over $4 billion is allocated for maintaining

PETER SILCOCK I’d like to introduce CCNZ’s new chief executive Peter Silcock who took up his new role at the start of July this year. Peter is attending the LGNZ Conference in Rotorua and is looking forward to meeting as many people as possible and strengthening the relationships between CCNZ and local government. Peter has extensive experience running membership organisations and in industry advocacy. He has worked for a number of industry organisations in the fruit and vegetable industry, most recently as CE of the industry’s peak body Horticulture New Zealand. Based in CCNZ’s Wellington office, Peter says his initial priorities are building his networks across the industry and working on how CCNZ can deliver more value to members. As he said recently, “the civil construction industry has an exciting future and I’m looking forward to ensuring that our members have a strong role in shaping it.”

local roads – a six percent increase from the previous NLTP. NZTA has provided $5.5 billion for road improvements over the threeyear period with additional investment in regional projects amounting to $250 million. There are also safety improvement initiatives, and cycle and walking improvement projects. The challenge for local government will lie in funding their portion of the maintenance and capital works. The Funding Assistance Rate (FAR) is currently around 50 percent (although this percentage varies for some local authorities). Funding identified in the NLTP indicates $2.7 billion will be provided from rates paid for local transport infrastructure and services. Note, however, that some local authorities have also made savings in the maintenance and operations area while still providing acceptable levels of service. These savings have resulted from the work of the Road Efficiency Group that provides guidance for efficiency using better practices and delivering enhanced value for money. In large part, these savings are due to the One Network Road Classification system used to establish levels of service for safety and many other aspects to improve value-formoney propositions. Some detractors say we should be planning for transport investment over a longer period. However, it should be noted that NZTA is evaluating projects that extend beyond the period of the NLTP to inform the next threeyear period. Transport is vitally important to New Zealand’s economic growth and productivity and we need to enhance safety on our roading network. This NLTP addresses these aspects while ensuring value for money is achieved from the investment proposed. Overall, it is a massive programme that will allow those members of Civil Contractors NZ that work in the roading sector to invest in the plant, training and people necessary to lift capability and provide the capacity this work will demand. LG

AUGUST 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

Resilient communities Working together to manage risk.

ecent events both here and overseas have highlighted the impact natural hazards events such as earthquakes and floods can have on communities and the economy. This is particularly true where health and welfare are inextricably linked to local government infrastructure such as transport, and water and wastewater services. The Local Government Insurance Market Review, the Managing Natural Hazard Risk in New Zealand report and the 3 Waters project all highlight the same message. For local government, considering the risks and future resilience of infrastructure in communities is critical to the welfare of all New Zealanders. According to the Local Government Insurance Market Review, systematic risk management is vital if local authorities are to become more selfreliant. The 3 Waters project identifies the need for well-informed decisions and innovation in infrastructure decision-making. And we know cost-effective risk management and insurance are important factors in mitigating these impacts.

What we need are skills and expertise. Local government has significant expertise managing the impacts of natural hazards and other risks but we need to work together as a sector and draw on external knowledge and capability. This work on risk and resilience led to last month’s announcement that LGNZ is joining with the crown to form an establishment board to investigate the business case for a local government risk management agency. As two spheres of government, we are concerned the economic shock of future events may not be easily absorbed. The establishment board is chaired by experienced director and businessman, Craig Stobo, chair of the New Zealand Local Government Funding Agency, and made up of council, government and independent representatives. The establishment board met for the first time at the start of June and is tasked with gathering asset-related risk information from councils and determining how services – including risk assessment and reduction, risk financing and transfer, and risk

BR O OI FI EL DS

education – will be delivered. Understanding the importance of this work we’ve also formed a technical local government sector Risk Management Advisory Group. This group will assist in identifying and testing services and data collection requirements, with members drawn from metro, regional, provincial and rural councils. The crown has also announced its intention to conduct a review of the 60/40 arrangements on central and local government cost sharing for underground infrastructure in the event of a major natural disaster. Local government will be a key player in this important related piece of work. The Risk Management Advisory Group will also work closely with the establishment board on the possible functions of a sector agency, and may be called on to advise on the 60/40 arrangements. This is a significant and important piece of work. Improving how we manage risk in local government is essential to safeguard the welfare of our citizens, communities and economies. LG

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Affordable housing: Shifting incentives for growth Last month the Productivity Commission released its draft housing report, “Using land for housing”, contributing to a renewed focus around issues of housing affordability. LGNZ supports this important work that identifies population growth, infrastructure and land readiness matters, and ideas to address barriers to land supply. LGNZ President Lawrence Yule agrees there are improvements to be made including setting targets for zoned and serviced land for growth, and greater monitoring of completed dwellings. “This will give the ability to monitor whether housing shortfalls are building up,” says Mr Yule. The report identifies both leading practices and areas for further policy consideration. Below are key recommendations from the report.

The Commission’s top recommendations: •

allow large cites to undertake integrated spatial planning as an alternative to current statutory planning mechanisms;

•

remove costly regulations that prevent the efficient use of land for housing e.g mandatory balconies for apartment;

•

give greater priority to cities and housing in the RMA;

•

more user charges, particularly for water services, and the removal of prohibitions on tolling and congestion charges;

•

greater use of targeted rates to fund growth infrastructure;

•

levy rates on Crown-owned land;

•

identify and pursue opportunities to develop Crown and local authority land in high growth cities; and

•

establish an Urban development Authority to assemble sites, master-plan scale developments, and partner with the private sector to deliver them.

“We agree with the Commission’s views that we need to shift the incentives for growth so that growth is not an “expensive inconvenience” for councils and ratepayers,” says Mr Yule. A regime that rewards communities for sound management of growth is likely to achieve better outcomes over time. However LGNZ sees that one of the biggest challenges is the need to re-gear the system so that the existing ratepayers support change. As the Commission points out, it is the existing property owners who resist the changes that might reduce housing prices through increasing densities and building heights. LGNZ also supports targeted funding for growth-enabling infrastructure and removing exemptions so the Government pays rates on Crown-owned land, which is consistent with the conclusions being reached by LGNZ’s own review of local government funding. LGNZ will be launching its report on local government funding at its conference in July. “Of importance is getting scale into the cities that are experiencing the highest growth and having the biggest problems with affordability. We need to make this a high priority for central and local government to work on together” says Mr Yule.

MAY 2015

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Local LocalGovernment GovernmentFunding FundingReview Review We need to put the right incentives and resources in place to drive growth

Local government is an important contributor to local economic success, managing $120 billion in total equity (roads, waters, buildings and property) with annual revenue of $8.3 billion, approximately 59 per cent of which comes from property rates and 17 per cent from user fees. But the right incentives and resources must be in place to enable it to drive growth. New Zealand councils have a high reliance on property taxes, which is unusual by international standards. The common international approach is for local government systems to have multiple taxing powers, important for both resilience and fairness reasons. The need for more flexible funding LGNZ recognises that property rates will continue to be the cornerstone of local government funding for the foreseeable future. However, it is also clear that communities require more flexible funding tools to meet current and future challenges. For this reason, we consider rates will need to be complemented by a stronger set of incentives and revenue sources that better match the needs of these communities – now and in the future. The Local Government Funding Review was commissioned in 2014 to address these issues, and the need to ensure that local governments around New Zealand have access to a mix of sustainable and appropriate funding sources to meet the challenge of New Zealand’s rapid demographic and economic changes. Over the last year, LGNZ has worked with a cross-sector working group to identify and address current problems in funding and potential solutions. The February 2015 Discussion Paper received feedback from over 65 sector and stakeholder groups, and individuals. The final document entitled “The 10-point plan: incentivising economic growth and strong local communities” outlines the range of

The document is based on four key themes: 1.

An effective partnership between local and central government around shared goals and strategies, pragmatic testing of new ideas, and strong incentives for both arms of government to perform;

Recognition of the value of the private sector and community by recalibrating relationships with those sectors to incentivise partnerships and the achievement of shared goals;

A local government which is open to innovation in service delivery, funding and financing; and

A diverse set of funding tools for New Zealand communities to respond to the different challenges they face, with property rates as a cornerstone supplemented by revenue sources that equip local communities to meet current and future opportunities.

•

funding options and solutions that we think will deliver stronger local communities and economies, and describes the steps LGNZ will now take to get there. The recommendations LGNZ’s 10-point plan proposes a stronger relationship between local and central government, as well as with business and voluntary groups. It also looks to improve local government’s position in innovating for change with a broader funding toolkit that allows communities to more appropriately meet their community-specific needs. The case for incentives The ability of local government to partner with others to efficiently achieve shared goals, and the incentives for all parties to encourage local economic growth, are vital parts of the conversation. Incentives can boost the relationship between local and central government, as well as between local government and its business and volunteer communities. Incentives can create greater innovation in service provision, and provide a more diverse range of available funding tools. LGNZ is committed to delivering its vision of local government contribution to strong local economies and national success. Achieving excellence is not just a case of ensuring councils possess funding mechanisms that correspond appropriately to their functions. A broader approach is required, which involves increasing public understanding of local government services; a strong community mandate; efficient and effective performance of services; and strong partnerships with local volunteer organisations, local businesses and central government. We look forward to a productive and constructive relationship between local and central government, business and communities, to address the options and to implement the solutions that we all need. LGNZ’s 10-point plan is available at www.lgnz.co.nz.

Upcoming KnowHow workshops 7 September: Getting the best out of your CCOsSelwyn District Council Successful CCOs (Council Controlled Organisations) can help your local authority make a more valuable contribution to your area’s economic development. However, the divisions between local and corporate governance are not always straightforward and the responsibilities of a director can be complex. In this workshop we’ll familiarise you with different legislation and review the role of a director of a CCO. 11 September: Financial Governance 201- Wellington (LGNZ) Following on from Financial Governance 101, this workshop gives a deeper understanding of reporting requirements, treasury management tools and financial options based on asset information; then explores how they impact on financial decisions. We begin by discussing your issues and questions around financial governance. We then tailor the session around these subjects, using relevant case studies to examine your questions. 11 September: Applied Governance Essentials for Local Government - Hamilton CC This workshop provides an understanding of the role and fundamental responsibilities of a council in a governance setting. Distinguishing between direction and managing, you will understand the purpose and differing roles.

To register for KnowHow workshops please visit www.lgnz.co.nz/equip-and-knowhow/

< The ability of local government to partner with others to efficiently achieve shared goals, and the incentives for all parties to encourage local economic growth, are vital parts of the conversation. >

MAY 2015

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EDITOR

The Final Word The time has come to do some blue sky thinking about a resource management regime that works for our communities, businesses, regional economies and our environment Earlier this year, LGNZ released its new three-year Business Plan to its members. We recognise that after 25 years the time has come to do some “blue skies thinking” about a resource management regime that works for our communities, businesses, regional economies and our environment. Local government will lead this thinking by initiating a project under our Business Plan on what a fit for purpose resource management regime looks like.

It is time for us to take a step back from engaging with key stakeholders on the many and frequent amendments to the current resource management framework and look at it with a fresh set of eyes. LGNZ is dedicated to working with its membership to build a prosperous New Zealand and to ensure that local government plays its part in developing a country that meets the current and future needs of its people.

New Zealand needs a resource management system that is agile and reduces churn, cost and time. Future changes to the Resource Management Act will be a focus for local government, particularly the law versus the culture of practice that sits around it. But LGNZ is keen to look at this more widely this and it is essential to get the problem definition right.

< The reference group will

consider options and solutions for a fit for purpose resource management regime. > To address this, LGNZ, as part of its key projects for the year ahead, is putting together a group of members and stakeholders with interest and expertise in order to try to build a common understanding. This reference group will seek to consider options and solutions for a fit for purpose resource management regime. With their input we will be developing a think piece that will shape the future of New Zealand’s resource management system. LGNZ will lead first principles thinking on what a durable and successful resource management system might look like for New Zealand. We need to consider how such a regime could work for all of New Zealand’s communities, businesses, regional economies and for our nation’s environment.

Reference group considerations •

What is the core purpose of resource management regulatory regimes;

•

What are the key drivers for change;

•

What are the “enduring questions” for the local government sector;

•

What are the big challenges and issues for New Zealand over the next 50 years;

•

What are the environmental outcomes New Zealand should try to achieve;

•

What are the implications of these big picture challenges for how New Zealand goes about allocating and managing natural resources;

•

Are there alternatives to a single statute; and

•

What is the relationship between the economy and the environment.

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EDITOR

SHAPING OUR ENVIRONMENT PLANNING | DESIGN | ECOLOGY | GEOSPATIAL MAPPING & GRAPHICS | CULTURAL ADVISORY

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