NZ Local Government Magazine 1502 by Contrafed Publishing

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

TAPPING INTO THE SCIENCE Water NZ’s new fluoridation code of practice p20

THE WAY WE WORK

Stephen Town talks employment relations p22

DUNEDIN’S SUE BIDROSE On developing a fraud-resistant council p26

INTELLIGENT CITIES How to move differently p34

LONG ROAD AHEAD Shaping future roads & water services p14

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IN THIS ISSUE NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

CONTENTS P30 IN THIS ISSUE

P18

P34

REGULARS

FEATURES

2 Editor’s Letter 4 In Brief 12 Events 13 Innovations 49 LGNZ

14 L ONG ROAD AHEAD Shaping future roads and water services 18 W HITE NIGHTS How better street lighting is stimulating Melbourne’s economy

COLUMNISTS 43 Drew Mehrtens: On Communications 44 Janet Brothers: On Health 45 Jeremy Elwood: On the Funny Stuff 46 Shyrelle Mitchell: On Legal Issues 47 M alcolm Abernethy: From Civil

Contractors New Zealand 48 Lawrence Yule: From LGNZ

P26

20 T APPING INTO THE SCIENCE Water NZ’s new fluoridation code of practice 22 T HE WAY WE WORK Auckland Council CE Stephen Town talks employment relations 30 M ICK LESTER Growing grassroots local government 34 INTELLIGENT CITIES How to move differently 38 A UCKLAND TRANSPORT SUMMIT A transport system for the future 42 S MART LOCAL GOVERNMENT At ALGIM’s International Conference

MY VIEW 26 D UNEDIN’S SUE BIDROSE On developing a fraud-resistant council

ON THE COVER

Long Road Ahead: Shaping future roads and water services. See page 14.

Cover image: © Madmaxer | Dreamstime.com

FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

EDITOR’S LETTER NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

Looking to the long term It is a truth universally acknowledged that each new year should generate a rash of new resolutions. So, as we enter into the second month of 2015 – and personal goals become tempered with the hard realities of daily routine – it’s more timely than ever to take a look at collective long-term visions for the future. Nowhere is this more important for local government than in two key areas: the future of our roads and water assets; and unlocking the economic potential of each and every one of our communities no matter where they may be. Over in the United States, President Obama said in a recent public statement that high-speed broadband is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. “It’s about helping local businesses grow, prosper and compete in a global economy.” And that’s exactly what Wanganui is doing here in New Zealand. Three times now it’s been our sole examplar in a select bunch of just 21 cities around the globe in a prestigious list put together by New Yorkbased Intelligent Community Forum. The one factor these cities share? They’ve all seized the transformational long-term opportunities that highspeed broadband offers. (See story on page 34.) Meanwhile, the Office of the Auditor-General is highlighting an issue of similar significance. Assistant auditor-general Bruce Robertson is calling on local authorities to start working out how they will manage their ageing roads and water infrastructure. (See story on page 14.) It’s another salient reminder of the importance of focusing on long-term issues. Here at Local Government Magazine, our own far more humble news is that we’re rolling out the next part of our long-term plan to be able to connect with the sector in multiple ways. We’ve launched Local Government Magazine News, a free newsletter which goes out in the middle of each calendar month. The newsletter complements the printed copy of Local Government Magazine which we’ll continue to publish at the start of each month. To get your free copy of the newsletter just go to www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz/ and hit the ‘enewsletter’ button on the menu bar. And please keep your comments coming. It’s my own truth – universally acknowledged or otherwise – that I really enjoy hearing your news.

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, Jeremy Elwood, Drew Mehrtens, Shyrelle Mitchell, John Pfahlert, Bruce Robertson, 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

Ruth Le Pla, Editor

ruth@localgovernmentmag.co.nz

Local Government Magazine is an independent publication owned and produced by Contrafed Publishing. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of any of its shareholding organisations.

@nzlgmagazine

ISSN 0028-8403

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TRANSPORT McConnell Dowell builds better communities through safe, smart, efficient transport infrastructure. Waterview Connection

This project is being delivered by the Well-Connected Alliance

www.mcconnelldowell.com Roger McRae Managing Director McConnell Dowell

IN BRIEF

Join the Future Living Skills project Sustainable Living Education Trust has been expanding its coverage recently and is inviting more councils to connect in 2015. Timaru, Invercargill and Wellington cities have recently joined this collaborative local government project, which provides practical skills and motivation for households to reduce their environmental footprint. More established members are Auckland, Hutt City, Marlborough, Waimakariri, Christchurch, Dunedin and Central Otago councils. They combine their staff expertise to write and update the shared content, and each subscribing council also has a local information page on the website www.sustainableliving.org.nz The trust’s Geraldine-based national coordinator Rhys Taylor says updating the Future Living Skills education materials to suit web delivery to community and neighbourhood groups is a major step forward. “Previously we operated through evening classes at high schools and depended on a few expert tutors. Now there’s a self-help option alongside such classes, with free public access to our materials opened in each district once the council subscribes. “We have the potential to achieve national coverage once more councils know about this low-cost option for community education on sustainability issues.” The topics covered include waste minimisation, home food growing, active transport, energy efficiency and building design, water use and civil defence for community resilience. For each topic, the project provides background information plus a learning guide to suit an informal two-hour group study session. There are also supporting materials such as visual aids and activities, backed up by details of local contacts and district-specific reference material. Rhys can be contacted on rhys@sustainableliving.org.nz or 03 693 8726.

1 1. Course participant Julie Adam: extended her backyard gardening to keeping hens. 2. Lesley Pawley with her two children: focused on safe food choices and connecting children with nature. 3. Course participant John Adams: grows veges at home.

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LAWA monitors beach water quality land and biodiversity, as well as more fresh and coastal water quality data. LAWA will also contribute to a new national environmental reporting regime being designed by the Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand. LAWA was developed by New Zealand regional and unitary councils, the Ministry for the Environment and the Cawthron Institute with the support of the Tindall Foundation to provide New Zealanders with more accessible information about natural resources. More information on www.lawa.org.nz

Environmental monitoring website Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA) has launched a new water quality service for beaches. Beachgoers can now access information on the quality of the water at over 350 beaches around New Zealand. Data includes a seasonal guide based on the past three years of monitoring as well as the results of weekly testing. Set up in March last year, the website also provides information on river water quality at over 1110 sites around the country. Local Government New Zealand regional sector group chair Fran Wilde says the website will eventually show information on water and air quality,

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IN BRIEF

Social media: NZ councils lag behind UK New Zealand local authorities are not as quick as their UK counterparts to utilise social media in delivering services, according to a new report. In its third annual survey on social media use in UK local government, BDO business advisory and accountancy firm has for the first time compared social media use by UK local authorities with their New Zealand counterparts. The report, Direct Message: how social media is bridging the gap between #localgov and citizens reveals that while UK councils’ use of social media in service delivery has increased rapidly since 2012, resulting in greater efficiencies, New Zealand councils have been slower to adopt. “While use of social media is now part of the culture of communications in local government across both countries, councils in the UK are using social media to support a much wider range of purposes with very positive results,” says BDO New Zealand associate Tim Gacsal. In the UK, ‘appetite’ for social media among councils is much higher – ‘extremely’ or ‘moderately’ high in 67 percent of UK councils – compared to 46 percent of New Zealand councils. New Zealand councils are also less inclined to see social media as a cost saver (46 percent) than those in UK where 77 percent of local authorities view it as an opportunity to save money. “This could be indicative of the fact that UK councils have faced greater funding restraints from central government than in New Zealand over the past five years,” says Tim, “so are more focused on finding cost savings.” New Zealand councils are not using social media to reduce time spent on activities to the same extent as their UK counterparts. For instance, 63 percent of UK councils have reduced production of leaflets compared to just 23 percent in New Zealand. While councils in both countries devote a similar amount of time to social media, both find it hard to illustrate a return on investment. The majority believe there is a return – but it is hard to measure. However, councils in New Zealand perceive social media as less risky than councils in the UK where 43 percent think it poses a risk to their council, compared to only 27 percent in New Zealand. “It would be interesting to explore further why perception of the risk posed by social media is so much lower in New Zealand than in the UK,” says Tim.

“But certainly across both countries perceived risk is becoming less of a barrier and responsibility for social media has spread from the communications teams to service delivery, customer service and policy teams who are taking advantage of engaging in a genuine dialogue with citizens.” Download the Direct Message report from: http://bit.ly/15hf4kd

Global smarts Mobile research specialist Juniper Research has just brought out a report analysing the emerging smart city landscape around the globe. Smart Cities: Strategies, Energy, Emissions & Cost Savings 2014-2019 looks at potential cost–and energy–savings from smart city projects, key trends, and many of the strategies and technologies being used. It has a particular focus on the smart grid, smart traffic management and parking, and smart street lighting. The full report is available for £2500 (around NZ$4940) from www.juniperresearch.com/research/smart-cities Alternatively, get a small, free taste-test, by downloading the complimentary whitepaper, Smart Cities – System of Systems, for a top-level look at the components, drivers and key data on smart city traffic management and planning. Download from: www.juniperresearch.com/whitepaper/smart-cities

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Baking in better local business Not-for-profit organisation Digital Office is asking local authorities to promote its free impartial service to help local businesses reduce costs, grow and engage more through the use of the internet. An international study across 12 countries found businesses using online technologies experience twice the revenue growth of those that don’t. Yet almost half of Kiwi SMEs don’t have any online presence. Of the $2.8 billion that Kiwis spent with retailers in the past year, 30 percent went to overseas companies. The Digital Office has set up a Digital Growth Programme to provide Kiwi companies with the skills to grow their business through the use of online technologies. One of the programme’s key offerings is Digital Journey, a free interactive online assessment. Digital Journey identifies a business’ current use of online technology and provides a personalised action plan to enable them to improve their use of the internet and web technologies. To date, over 1000 organisations have been through Digital Journey. Digital Office founder Stuart Dillon-Roberts says many Kiwi business owners and managers know they should be doing something but they don’t know where to start. “They’re often confused by the jargon, the range of options available, and don’t know where to go for impartial advice.” www.digitaloffice.co.nz

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Wellington based Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ) represents the Civil Engineering, Construction and General Contractor sectors in New Zealand. CCNZ aims to contribute toward creating a safe, viable and progressive sector, meeting the needs of all its members and presenting a strong unified voice. The member businesses that make up CCNZ play a vital role in the development of our country. They build and maintain our roading, transport, energy, public services infrastructure, as well as provide services to the residential and commercial construction sectors. We are looking for a strong and inspirational business leader. You will be a successful senior executive, potentially with a membership organisation background. Politically savvy, with lobbying and advocacy experience in central and local government, you will be a natural networker, able to build influential stakeholder relationships. An excellent communicator, you will need to be a down to earth and pragmatic leader, with a full complement of CEO level business leadership skills, including strong financial management capability. Knowledge of the civil construction environment would be helpful, though is not imperative. APPLICATIONS CLOSE: Tuesday, 10 February 2015

Gilberts Bakery in Dunedin lifted customer engagement and product sales after working with Digital Office to improve its website and social media presence. The bakery also added an ecommerce store to extend its sales reach and receive orders in advance.

APPLY OR VIEW THE POSITION DESCRIPTION: www.jacksonstone.co.nz REFERENCE: 42466

Spiire rebrands as Calibre

FURTHER ENQUIRIES: Darryl Templeman or Russell Spratt on 04 550 8000

One of New Zealand’s oldest engineering, project management and surveying consultancies has expanded its capacity. Rebranded as Calibre Consulting, the new business combines the former Spiire from New Zealand and Brown Consulting from Australia and Singapore. The business has a combined team of 600 professionals including 130 people spread across eight offices in New Zealand. Calibre Group bought Spiire from Downer EDI in early 2014. Spiire started as Duffill Watts & King more than 65 years ago. FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

IN BRIEF DATES FOR YOUR DIARY FEBRUARY 18 - 19 2015 Freshwater Management and Infrastructure Forum. Mac’s Function Centre, Wellington www.conferenz.co.nz/freshwater/ 24 - 25 2015 New Zealand Emergency Management Summit. Mac’s Function Centre, Wellington www.conferenz.co.nz/emergency/

MARCH 9 - 10 Road Lighting 2015. Langham Hotel, Auckland www.roadlightingconference.com/ 9 - 10 2015 ALGIM Infrastructure Symposium. Rendezvous Grand Hotel, Auckland www.algim.org.nz/algim-events/

One Network Road Classification update Following the development of the One Network Road Classification (ONRC) and its initial application to local road networks last year, Road Controlling Authorities (RCAs) this year will focus on developing transition plans that outline how the ONRC will be incorporated into local authority asset management planning. Guidance documentation to assist RCAs with the implementation of the ONRC performance measures is now published on the website of the Road Efficiency Group (REG) http://bit.ly/161hGCF This will help RCAs to ensure they are aware of the transition requirements of fully embedding the ONRC into decision-making for the 2018-21 National Land Transport Programme. REG moderation of ONRC classifications submitted by RCAs will be completed in the next few weeks with a national moderation scheduled for February / March. Following successful webinars for RCAs by the EquiP Road Transportation Unit in December there will again be a number of opportunities for RCAs to receive assistance with any queries they have in relation to the ONRC. For more information, please email steven.finlay@lgnz.co.nz or phone Steven on 04 978 1241.

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11 2015 New Zealand CFO Summit and Awards. SKYCITY Convention Centre, Auckland www.cfo.conferenz.co.nz/ 12 - 13 EAs & PAs Working in Local Government Forum – 2015. Chateau on the Park, Christchurch www.solgm.org.nz/ 25 - 26 Road Infrastructure Management Forum. Rendezvous Grand Hotel, Auckland www.ipwea.org/NewZealand/educationevents/ 25 - 27 NZ Land Treatment Collective Annual Conference. Wanaka www.nzltc.wordpress.com/ 30 - 31 IPWEA NZ Local Government Infrastructure Management Forum. Rydges Wellington www.ipwea.org/NewZealand/educationevents/

ON THE MOVE WHANGAREI DISTRICT COUNCIL is looking for a CEO to take over from Mark Simpson who has been in that role since September 1998. Applications – which are being handled by LGNZ’s Centre of Excellence, EquiP – close on February 9. Ruth Stokes is leaving Queenstown Lakes District Council to take over from Tony Avery as infrastructure and networks general manager at DUNEDIN CITY COUNCIL. Ruth has been general manager operations at Queenstown for the past 16 months. Before that, she was chief executive at CCO Lakes Leisure. She starts her new job in Dunedin this month. DUNEDIN CITY COUNCIL says Raewyn Lovett and Alan McConnon have joined DUNEDIN VENUES MANAGEMENT as directors, and Keith Cooper has been appointed as a director of DUNEDIN CITY HOLDINGS. Kevin Armstrong joins the NELSON REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY’s board of trustees. He has over 30 years’ experience working in global financial markets including roles with Merrill Lynch, the National Bank, ANZ and Westpac. Auckland Council’s head of information services Mike Foley takes over from longstanding president Mike Wanden at ALGIM. Mike Foley was the main man behind the technology and process system integration when Auckland’s eight legacy councils were being merged to form Auckland Council. He gets back-up from two vice presidents: Billy Michels (programme manager - IT at Waikato Regional Council), and Andrea McIntosh (information & records team leader at Whangarei District Council). Mike Wanden (Otorohanga District Council’s IT manager) remains on ALGIM’s board.

APRIL 14 - 17 New Zealand Planning Institute 2015 Conference. Aotea Centre, Auckland www.nzpiconference2015.org.nz/ 16 Inaugural SOLGM Gala Dinner & Awards. The InterContinental, Wellington www.solgm.org.nz/

28-29 NZ Building & Construction Law Conference. Crowne Plaza, Auckland www.conferenz.co.nz/buildinglaw

MAY 14 - 16 New Zealand Community Boards Conference 2015. Copthorne Hotel and Resort, Waitangi, Bay of Islands www.nzcbc2015.co.nz/

19 - 22 Building Officials Institute of New Zealand Annual Conference & Expo. SkyCity Convention Centre, Auckland www.boinz.org.nz/Site/annual-events/annusl-conference-expo

18 - 19 2015 ALGIM Web & Digital Symposium. Rydges Latimer Square, Christchurch www.algim.org.nz/algim-events/

22 - 23 2015 ALGIM GIS Symposium. Rendezvous Grand Hotel, Auckland www.algim.org.nz/algim-events/

20 - 22 Asia Pacific International Stormwater Conference. Pullman Auckland www.waternz.org.nz/

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

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We’ve launched Local Government Magazine News, a free e-newsletter for the people who make good local government happen. In the middle of each calendar month we’ll share with subscribers latest news and information in easy bite-sized chunks. To get your free subscription just go to www.localgovernmentmag. co.nz/ and hit the ‘enewsletter’ button on the menu bar. The newsletter complements the printed copy of Local Government Magazine which comes out at the start of each month. For anything and everything to do with the articles please contact editor Ruth Le Pla ruth@localgovernmentmag.co.nz or 021 266 3978. For inspirational help in sharing your advertising messages just give Peter Corcoran a call on 07 825 7557 or 021 272 7227. Or email him at peter@localgovernmentmag.co.nz

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Do you have the best ever executive or personal assistant? So many CEs have told us how much they rely on the all-round wonderfulness of their closest assistants that we’re keen to hear more. So if your top helper piles through the work, keeps you grounded AND saves your bacon, drop us a line and tell us exactly what makes them so special. We’re keen to hear from you: ruth@localgovernmentmag.co.nz We’ll run some of the best accolades in the March issue of Local Government Magazine which, co-incidentally, comes out just in time for SOLGM’s “EAs & PAs Working in Local Government Forum – 2015” on March 12 – 13. That’s being held at the Chateau on the Park, Christchurch. More details on SOLGM’s website: www.solgm.org.nz

And the winner is... Congrats to Kelvin McMillan who won the prize draw at the recent New Zealand Recreation Association (NZRA) conference. Kelvin gets a free one-year subscription to Local Government Magazine. When he’s not out being lucky at conferences Kelvin is a senior policy planner at Christchurch City Council.

ADVERTORIAL

ENVIRONMENT SAVING WEB TOOL RELEASED Downer’s research and development arm Road Science has recently released a pioneering online tool named Should I Seal (SIS). SIS is designed to provide clear advice to Downer’s roading sector teams on when to spray bitumen emulsion. A collaborative journey between Road Science and MetService has created a tool which combines weather forecasting technology and product behaviour to reduce the risk of wash-off from an unexpected rain event. Downer roading teams can use SIS on any device with internet access. Once logged in they are taken to an interface with simple icons showing whether or not it is safe to seal on a particular day. Factors taken into account include product type, humidity, temperature and rain forecasts. Most of New Zealand’s 11,000kms of state highways and 50,000kms of local roads are sealed in chipseal - a thin layer of aggregate chip set in bitumen. Maintaining New Zealand’s roading infrastructure costs over $500 million NZD per annum. Travellers and workers can testify that the spraying of hot cutback bitumen (sprayed at 170oC) is a hot, dangerous process with a poor environmental impact, but this sealing technique has been absolutely necessary for New Zealand’s economic development and road safety. However there is a safer more environmentally friendly alternative. Downer New Zealand’s specialist research and design facility Road Science, based in Mount Maunganui, has created new generation emulsion products as a substitute to hot cutback bitumen.

process by which many foods, including tomato sauce, remain suspended and pourable without the elements separating or settling. Remarkably Road Science emulsions are sprayed using the same techniques as hot or cutback bitumen, however they have the following advantages: • Greater safety. The ability to spray at less than 90oC means Road Science emulsions are safer. The cooler temperature dramatically reduces the risk of burns and eliminates the risk of explosion. • Reduced carbon footprint. A recent study by CarboNZero has proven new generation emulsions have a lower carbon footprint in every area of the products’ lifecycle. • Superior thickness. This leads to less run off and the ability to spray on very steep slopes. Road Science General Manager Dean Riley believes SIS has closed the last remaining potential risk in

undertaking bitumen emulsion sealing within New Zealand. “It will provide the contractor, road controlling authorities and environmental protection agencies with increased confidence in the use of bitumen emulsions for the chipsealing of their networks.” MetService Business Development Manager, Peter Fisher, says the business relationship between Road Science and MetService is an example of science-based collaboration. “The weather forecasting intelligence provided to Road Science enables them to plan with a high-level of accuracy when environmental conditions will enable the successful application of their emulsified products. The relationship with Road Science is a superb example of how companies can collaborate to deliver outcomes of greater value across multiple horizons; commercial, environmental, and health and safety.” If you would like to know more about Road Science phone 07 575 1151 or visit www.roadscience.co.nz

Emulsification is the process of combining two liquids that cannot be mixed. It is, in essence, the same

John Vercoe, Road Science Technical Manager FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

EVENTS Auckland Transport Summit

1. Jason Power (WTP NZ Infrastructure) & James Logan (Hynds). 2. Len Brown (Auckland Council). 3. David Warburton (Auckland Transport). 4. Thomas Simonson (LGNZ) & Simon Oddie (Synergine Group). 5. Laurence Kubiak (NZIER) & Brigid Rogers (North Harbour Business Association).

6. Lawrence Amos & Will Young (both from CSP Pacific).

2014 International ALGIM Conference

1. Phil Josephs (Agile). 2. Violet Christison, Chris Whiley & Peter Wimsett (all Tararua District Council). 3. Tony Rankin & Emily Hitchiner (both from Datacom). 4. Jason Dawson (Hamilton City Council). 5. J oshua Alcock & Scott Cowen (both from Fortinet International).

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6. F ruen Purnell (Adobe) & Vikas Chakranarayan (Ingram Micro NZ).

INNOVATIONS

DHI’s Model Warehouse Toowoomba City Council in Queensland, Australia, has joined the list of local authorities on both sides of the Tasman now using the Model Warehouse, DHI New Zealand’s system for managing water modelling data. Late last year, the Australian council began using the system to better manage its water modelling needs and fulfill its strict quality assurance requirements. In New Zealand both Environment Canterbury and Tauranga City Council already use the Model Warehouse which initially hit the shelves in 2013. The DHI New Zealand system produces a technically-innovative way to manage modelling data. Built over a period of four years, the model was created to fill a growing need for sophisticated data management in the water modelling sector. The secure framework enables users to store and manage their models in one platform, bringing a comprehensive solution for water modellers from both small and large consultancies, right through to public sector, utility and council users. DHI’s managing director Suzana Shipton first developed the idea for the Model Warehouse after seeing fellow modellers and model owners struggling with encapsulating knowledge and with protecting the model’s integrity. Many have tried using single-file centric document management systems which was mostly unsuccessful.

“If you view project data as a puzzle, you require all the pieces for a complete picture,” she says. “The Model Warehouse offers the ability to easily view all of the project facets in a user-friendly interface.” From the first steps, the system supports modelling, through updates and scenarios, ensuring all the hard work is safe and the knowledge captured and shared. The storage capacity within the framework allows for all model-related files including documents, notes, spreadsheets, GIS data and models from other software vendors. All changes and additions are tracked and the project history can be restored. Full auditing capabilities are also available.

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FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

WATER & ROADS

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LONG ROAD AHEAD Shaping future roads and water services Local authorities need to manage the challenges of delivering future water and roads services, says the OAG's Bruce Robertson.

’ve been heartened by the reaction that we’ve had to our report Water and roads: Funding and management challenges. As you’ll know if you’ve seen the report, the Auditor-General has a strong message for local government – step up. There are challenges ahead and they need to be met. Most importantly, the time to be thinking and preparing is now. These comments don’t relate to the past work of local authorities but to the challenges that local authorities’ own data suggest lie ahead. There’s also supporting evidence in our two graphs (below) which show a downward trend in forecast annual expenditure and the widening gap between depreciation and renewals. When combined with the helpful historical perspective from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research about renewal “echoes” and the dynamics of regional economies and population, you get the picture. The challenge is about continuing to manage

service delivery to your communities in the future. We see the “step up” necessary in three aspects: • developing and protecting reliable data on which modelling the future can be based; • integrating the key asset management planning disciplines with financial management − the two are “joined at the hip”; and • enhancing the management capability within councils to plan ahead for these challenges − asset management requires good long-term thinkers as well as smart operators of today’s asset systems. We’ve talked a lot to the sector while we prepared the report and after its release, and we’re keen to continue that. We called on a panel of experts – drawn from within the sector, the consulting community, central government and academia – to discuss the matters highlighted in our then draft report.

% 90

$billion

80 75 70

15 10 5

20 22

20 19

18 20

17 20

20 16

13 20

20 14

Financial year

Forecast accumulated renewals expenditure 22

Forecast accumulated depreciation

21 20

20 20

The renewals/depreciation gap

Financial year

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

1. Forecast annual renewals expenditure as a percentage of the depreciation expense, 2013 to 2022. 2. Forecast accumulated renewals expenditure and depreciation.

FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

WATER & ROADS Their opinion was that they could see three renewal “echoes” looming: • Roading assets are now approaching their second and third renewal cycles. • Bridges are next approaching a renewal cycle in 2025. • Although more difficult to predict because of some of the maintenance and renewal strategies being used, the next major renewal phase is likely to take place during 2040 to 2060. And, of course, there’s the overlay of regional demographics, our economy and environmental standards. Should we be alarmed? Probably not, but it is time to start (if you haven’t) and continue (if you have) focusing on how your local authority will deal with its specific challenges of managing service delivery to your communities into the future. Without doubt, all local authorities face these challenges. As an aside, I note that the findings of our report are almost completely consistent with Local Government New Zealand’s recently published paper Exploring the issues facing New Zealand’s water, wastewater and stormwater sector. This highlights the value of the current long-term planning around and the introduction of 30-year infrastructure strategies. Those 30-year strategies will be for 2015 to 2045 – a period when our expert panel suggests that major renewal cycles will, or could, kick in.

Financial Management Information System

Contextual matters

Component condition

Infrastructure strategy s. 101B

Network performance

PUSH PULL

Financial strategy s. 101A

Maintenance and renewal approach

Deterioration

Funding levers

Depreciation

Asset Management Information System Consequence/prioritisation/scenarios

Figure 3.

3: Aspects of asset management that contribute to good infrastructure strategy.

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How you approach this now is critical. We had a go at showing how we see asset management and financial strategy interacting to contribute to good infrastructure strategy (see figure 3). The approach shown in the diagram emphasises the importance of quality data to feed into scenarios, consequences and prioritising of options in the infrastructure strategy. It also shows the pivotal input of (external) contextual matters and the financial strategy. If you’re an accountant, look closely at the bottom line – and note the need to join deterioration (or, if you like, renewal profiles) with your estimate of depreciation. Of course, the challenge for water and road planners goes way beyond the immediate 30-year (2015-45) infrastructure strategy – it lasts a lifetime. We welcome how our report has been received and the discussion that it has encouraged. We hope that the debate continues and focuses on the key matters. We welcome further comment and look forward to working with you as you meet the challenge of delivering service to your communities through your water and road networks. LG

Three renewal “echoes” are looming.

It is time to focus on how your local authority will deal with its specific challenges of managing service delivery to your communities into the future.

Without doubt, all local authorities face these challenges.

• Bruce Robertson is assistant auditor-general, local government and heads the Office of the Auditor-General’s local government group.

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FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

LIGHTING

WHITE NIGHTS 1

How better street lighting is stimulating Melbourne’s economy

elbourne has successfully revitalised its CBD and developed a strong night economy. Yet few people realise the city’s street lighting has been a vital part of the plan over the past 25 years. Ian Dryden, the City of Melbourne’s team leader industrial design, says replacing the city’s old, yellow sodium lighting in the 1990s was one of the most effective steps in a strategy to attract people back to the inner city. Now a new lighting strategy will see all Melbourne’s street lights replaced again − this time with LED − to halve the city’s electricity bill. Ian says white street lighting has turned Melbourne into a safer, more liveable city and has helped attract people back to the CBD in their thousands. “There were just 100 residents, including hotel dwellers, living in the CBD in 1992. Now we have 29,000,” says Ian. “We also have a 24-hour economy with 450,000 people in the city on a busy night and 300,000 on a quiet one.”

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In 1992 Melbourne was a “car-clogged freeway” with a nine-to-five economy. Suburban flight had left central city buildings with only a 40 percent occupancy rate above the first floor and a lifeless central city shopping precinct. “People said the city felt dark, dingy and unsafe,” says Ian. Armed with research from the US showing that white light improves visibility and safety, and halves vehicle braking reaction times, Melbourne made the decision to “turn the CBD white”, he says. Other street calming measures, such as wider pavements, were also introduced to create a pedestrian-friendly environment. But the biggest improvement factor was the road lighting. Under white lights people felt safer and the city looked so much cleaner that ratepayers complimented the city cleaners on their work. In 1992 Melbourne turned to metal halide technology for its white lighting revolution, but six months ago – after rewriting its lighting strategy to include environmental

measures – Melbourne made the decision to undertake a five-year programme to upgrade all its road lighting to LED. Under the new lighting strategy, the city expects to reduce its road lighting energy bill from $1.6 million to $400,000 a year, says Ian. “The changeover to LED will save 45 percent of the city’s total energy bill.” Designing a sustainable city, attracting the evening crowd, and maintaining safety and amenity are all themes of the new strategy. Smart controls are also part of the plan. Controls will allow lights to be dimmed when the streets are quiet. They will also assist with maintenance since controls signal when a light is out and can pinpoint the location with GPS. The city also plans to take lighting in its smaller streets and lanes “off the grid” by powering them with rooftop solar installations. “We’re on a journey of improvements that are all being funded out of our capital works budget,” says Ian. LG

FIND OUT MORE City of Melbourne’s team leader industrial design Ian Dryden is a keynote speaker at Road Lighting 2015: Smart City Investment, the Australasian lighting infrastructure conference and exhibition on March 9 –10 at The Langham Hotel, Auckland.

2 1. The Greek Precinct, cnr Lonsdale & Russell Streets, Melbourne. 2. Swanston Street, Melbourne.

The conference is designed to assist road controlling authorities plan a transition to LED road lighting through long-term infrastructure strategies, with a view to halving road lighting energy consumption and maintenance costs, and improving road safety. It will also focus on future-proofing street lighting infrastructure for use as a platform for smart city development – centrally-controlled, adaptive to traffic and weather conditions, and able to facilitate plug-in points for electric vehicles. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, a cornerstone sponsor of Road Lighting 2015: Smart City Investment, estimates that a full-scale conversion to LED road lighting would save New Zealand about $10 million in electricity costs alone. Additional savings would come from reduced maintenance, and fewer road injuries and street crime that international cities are experiencing. The 100 gigawatt hours of electricity saved each year would be enough to power 11,000 homes. The conference has the support of EquiP (LGNZ’s Centre of Excellence), the New Zealand Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM), the Road Controlling Authorities Forum and several other professional associations. More details on www.roadlightingconference.com

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FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

FLUORIDE

Tapping the science into

Fluoride in the drinking water Water NZ has released a new code of practice for water fluoridation plants built or upgraded after January 1 this year. And new CE John Pfahlert says fluoride opponents may choose their opinions but they can’t pick their science.

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othing seems to ignite public debate in a community as fast as a proposal by a territorial authority to start fluoridating the town drinking water. So it’s no surprise that the topic has been in the news a lot over the past couple of years. Water fluoridation is the adjustment of the natural content of fluoride in drinking water to a level that helps protect teeth against tooth decay. In New Zealand, the decision to adjust the level of fluoride in water supplies is held by drinkingwater suppliers (local authorities and other owners). The Ministry of Health recommends the adjustment of fluoride to between 0.7 and 1.5 milligrams/litre as the most effective and efficient way of preventing tooth decay in communities receiving a reticulated water supply. There is no legal requirement to add fluoride, with each decision to do so up to the relevant territorial local authority. The latest policy development is advocacy by LGNZ for the decision to fluoridate, or not, to be assumed by the Ministry of Health. The argument in favour of this option is based on the fact that fluoridation is a public health issue. LGNZ says the decision should be made by health officials, rather than local government which just owns and operates the water assets. It’s an option that certainly requires further consideration. Fluoridation is likely to remain a controversial subject. Water New Zealand’s role is to contribute good

Water New Zealand’s role is to contribute good scientific information to help local councils make their decisions.

John Pfahlert: Working to clarify the fluoride debate.

scientific information to help local councils make their decisions. The November issue of Water New Zealand’s journal Water, ran an article describing some of the background facts about the practice of water fluoridation, summarised the recent significant events surrounding the science and politics of fluoridation, and introduced the responses of the water industry to ensuring that fluoridation of water is carried out in a safe way. In August 2014, The Royal Society of New Zealand and the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor released a major review titled Health Effects of Water Fluoridation: a Review of the Scientific Evidence. This document summarised an assessment of the scientific evidence for and against fluoridation of drinking water. The review found that the levels of fluoride

used in New Zealand create no health risks and are beneficial in the prevention of dental decay. Indeed the study concluded that water fluoridation is a good use of ratepayer funds as the savings in dental costs are likely to be more than the cost of adding fluoride. In December last year, Water New Zealand published a Code of Practice: Fluoridation of Drinking Water Supplies in Zealand. Where councils have made a decision to fluoridate, the code specifies good practice in the design and operation of water fluoridation plants to ensure that where fluoride is added, it is done so safely and effectively. The code applies to all new and upgraded water fluoridation plants after January 1, 2015, and to existing plants after January 1, 2020. Currently, 46 water treatment plants

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Currently, 46 water treatment plants in New Zealand add fluoride to the water supply.

in New Zealand add fluoride to the water supply. Together they supply 2.1 million New Zealanders – or about half the population. While the availability of sound scientific information to inform decision making is essential, Water NZ realises that it’s unlikely to make the public decision-making process any less heated. Proponents and opponents are still likely to resort to their entrenched views. However, while opponents are entitled to their own opinions, they aren’t entitled to their own science. Hopefully the factual reports issued in 2014, including this new code, make the discernment of the facts somewhat easier going forward. LG Find out more To view or download Water New Zealand’s new Code of Practice: Fluoridation of Drinking Water Supplies in New Zealand, go to www.waternz.org.nz

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

WELLINGTON Ph: 04 499 9824 Andrew Cameron

FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

EMPLOYMENT

The way we

work

Auckland Council has an enormous opportunity to change the way it handles employment relations in the next five to 10 years. Chief executive Stephen Town details the plan.

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hat do council employees really, really want? Not certificates for good performance, that’s for sure. Morning teas don’t cut it either. No. As in most other workplaces, local government employees most want someone to tell them when they’re doing a good job and say thank you. “It’s really so simple,” says chief executive Stephen Town who, charged with reforming employment relations in New Zealand’s largest council, is spearheading a radical change to a behavioural-based remuneration and reward system. At its core, the council's “the way we work” programme is a commitment between the council leadership, management and the Public Service Association (PSA) – which with some 58,000 members is the country’s largest union. In management-speak, its wideranging 10-to-15-year vision aims to create a “high performance, high engagement, high trust organisation” through interest-based problem solving. How council compensates and provides employment security for staff

are two elements of an overarching 16part plan to lift its game and lock in the best bits. According to Stephen, who was speaking at the latest SOLGM Summit in Dunedin, Auckland Council is already a substantial way down the track. It’s been piecing together its “the way we work” partnership right from the supercity council’s inception. He concedes that high levels of anxiety about the supercity initially drove many council officers to join the PSA. The numbers continue to run high with around 55 percent of Auckland Council staff holding PSA membership even now. Former politician and trade unionist Laila Harré was the specialist human resources leader in the Auckland Transition Agency working for Mark Ford on the design of the supercity, he notes. “So it’s no accident that our relationship with our main union, the PSA, is unique in local government.” While council is committed to the programme, its eight CCOs are not locked in to it and are currently being “encouraged” to adopt as many of its behaviours and practices as they’d like.

Stephen Town: Piecing together a new partnership.

The partnership means the PSA should be present in the very initial discussions among a departmental or group management team about the need to think about change. They’re also supposed to be present in the consultation, implementation and post-implementation phases. “As you can imagine in an organisation with 8000 to 10,000 people [spread across council and the CCOs] the application of that commitment varies quite widely,” says Stephen. “So I’ve seen some quite stunning examples of change being worked through totally consistent with ‘the way we work’ principles to involve the PSA right through the process, with them confirming for staff at the end of the process that there is wide buy-in from the PSA into what we’re trying to achieve. “Then we go right along the spectrum to some things that we’re not so pleased about and we’ve had to do some spectacular rescues to pull that process out of a pretty negative place, and then try and

rebuild it and retrofit ‘the way we work’ back in.”

FOUR BEHAVIOURS The plan also tackles typical organisational issues such as how to manage people who perform either really well or very poorly. Expect the spotlight to fall on some of the latter in the next 12 months. “We have,” says Stephen, “to promise to be much better at not using restructuring as a way of dealing with poor performers because that really gets the PSA’s back up and I don’t blame them.” At the other end of the spectrum, he says it’s hard to believe reports from as many as five departments in council that they have no poor performers. “That makes up about 1800 staff so that’s just not real.” One group alone, he says, has 95 percent of its 550 employees seemingly “walking on water” with their abilities to exceed their performance expectations. “That does not happen in organisations so we had to do

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL How do you have an intimate conversation with 11,000 people? That’s just one of Stephen Town’s many challenges. This year Auckland Council’s chief executive plans to spend three weeks going to each and every one of council’s offices to get across key messages and hear back from staff. Such are the huge numbers that he may have to repeat the roadshow sessions − which are likely to be spread across March, July and October − five times a day. And each time he may be talking with 800 people. “But I intend to talk with them face-toface about why we need to do what we need to do.” Last year, Stephen received hundreds of messages when he invited anyone too shy to ask a question in such a big forum to text him instead. All questions got a response. He also does quite a bit of work, including performance conversations, on video. “Last year, when I was talking with staff at the central city campus there were 1800 people in the Aotea Centre,” he says, “and I looked out there with the stage light shining in my eyes and thought it’s pretty tricky having an intimate conversation with an audience this size. But you still have to try.”

FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

EMPLOYMENT I think our relationship with our main union is unique in local government.

We have to promise to be much better at not using restructuring as a way of dealing with poor performers.

We had to do something quite radical to change the performance conversation.

“The way we work” encourages people to display four specific sets of behaviours as they go about their work.

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something quite radical to change the performance conversation. That’s why we have gone for a behavioural-based system.” “The way we work” encourages people to display four specific sets of behaviours as they go about their work: • to serve others; • achieve (“actually get some things done that you intended to do”); • collaborate (ie, work with others); and • develop yourself. Announced last year, these behaviours draw on findings from a series of exercises during council’s first three years to establish values and develop a framework for performance recognition. “The way we work” initiative may also help clarify what Stephen describes as one of the most important priorities for people who work in local government – they want to understand what their career development opportunities are. “With 11,000 people in our group, and 12 percent turnover, if we can create a matching redeployment system and proper career development planning for people there’s a huge opportunity to create well-planned internal

movement across our group,” he says, “and that gives people quite superb career pathways within the Auckland Council group.”

ROCKY BITS Stephen says a sticking point may prove to be the PSA’s policy position to reward everyone irrespective of performance “while we’re pretty determined that if you’re in a poor-performing category you won’t be getting a remuneration reward”. “So we’ve one challenge that we know each other has a different position on and we’ve got to go to the conversation table.” To Stephen’s mind, it’s all about being able to demonstrate you can put yourself in other people’s shoes and articulate their issues from their perspective. “That’s pretty much how I see my relationship with staff, too. I don’t see people that work with me as employees. I look at them as customers... “And that’s the best way to role-model what you want staff to do with your community: which is to engage and enable and serve. After all, that’s why I turn up for work every day.” LG

A MATTER OF SCALE • Together Auckland Council and its associated CCOs employ over 11,000 people. • That equates to around 8825 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff. • Council spent $671 million on employment in the year to 30 June, 2014. • That’s equivalent to around 22 percent of its operating budget. • That percentage spend has remained the same for the past four years. • It’s the same percentage spend as councils in Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington and Tauranga.

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FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

MY VIEW

SUE BIDROSE

On developing a fraud-resistant council Chief executive Sue Bidrose manages with gusto as she helps steer Dunedin City Council through troubled waters.

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ue Bidrose reminds me of my favourite sister-in-law. I’ve got eight of them so it’s more than my life’s worth to let the other seven know who tops the list. Suffice it to say, Sue’s the one with the most intellectual, emotional and funny smarts. She’s got them all in bucket loads. “I’ve been looking at your LinkedIn profile,” I start, innocuously, in a mild ice-breaking kind of way. “Oh, blimey!,” she says, as though I’d said something amazing and daringly dangerous. And off we go: her life a rollicking good tale of wanting to draw Antarctic plankton for a living, going walkabout in Africa and managing with old-fashioned honest gusto. I’d already spotted Local Government Magazine placed conspicuously on top of a pile of other magazines on my way into her office. I’m still not sure if that was stage-managed for my benefit or − as editors like to imagine − the world is chock-full of organisations displaying their work. Still, it was a friendly precursor to the warm welcome I receive. For Sue fair bounces across the room to greet me and there’s no let-up in the conversation. Maybe her knack of putting people at ease stems from her background as a psychologist, counsellor and mediator. In any case, she readily admits she tries to unlock issues by focusing on what makes individuals tick. “You know the saying, ‘if you’ve only got a hammer then everything looks like a nail’? There’s some truth in that,” she says. “For me, everything is a people problem.” Sue reckons some of the best advice for a local government CE is to keep a personal perspective in any dispute, problem or complaint. That holds equally true when working with councillors,

community and fellow council officers, she says. I’d hazard a guess that her positive focus on people has been a handy tool ever since she first sat down in the CE’s chair in November 2013. For within a few weeks of taking over from former CE Paul Orders she set in train a process that unearthed a historic fraud at the council that has dominated publicity about her tenure ever since. “Paul had spent a lot of time focusing on the financial position of the council, the CCOs and the [Forsyth Barr] stadium,” she says. “As he left he said to me, ‘now your work begins on the council itself − there’s a lot of systems and process work here that’s needed’.”

SYSTEMS Sue started to tackle legacy systems that had lumped responsibilities together. One person, for instance, had responsibility for purchasing, selling, insuring and keeping the asset register and there weren’t the appropriate checks and balances in place, she says. “And we didn’t have a centralised contracts database, for example, which meant we had instances where members of staff were rolling over contracts outside of their delegated authority and nobody knew.” She got the ball rolling and sat down with new chief financial officer Grant McKenzie to work through a list of the processes in most urgent need of attention. “When he asked for an independent assessment in some of the areas of separation of duties,” she says, “that’s how we uncovered the fraud.” In May last year vehicle fleet unit team leader Brent Bachop died suddenly, his death referred to the coroner. Three days later Dunedin City Council engaged

FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

MY VIEW BEING SUE BIDROSE Chief Executive, Dunedin City Council Nov 2013 – present General Manager Services and Development, Dunedin City Council 2013 – 2013 General Manager Strategy and Development, Dunedin City Council 2010 – 2013 Director: Community Wellbeing, Waitakere City Council 2008 –2010 Director Strategic Performance, Waitakere City Council 2005 – 2008 National Client Manager, Work and Income NZ 2003 – 2005

Deloitte to investigate what appeared to be a discrepancy in the number of its Citifleet vehicles. At its heart was an alleged fraud totalling more than $1.5 million and centering on the council receiving no proceeds from the sale of 152 of its fleet vehicles. The alleged fraud dated back more than a decade. The matter escalated in August when, after Deloitte completed its review, a formal complaint was laid with the police who were asked to investigate any matters arising from the report. And for many months, Sue was caught between public and media cries for more information and a request by police not to release the Deloitte report until they had completed their own investigations. That’s since been resolved: a redacted version of the Deloitte Dunedin City Council Project Lewis – Investigation Report going public in the last few working days before Christmas. In a press statement outlining the Deloitte report, Sue says it’s clear that a “single person committed the fraud in a number of different ways over an extended period of time”. Dunedin Clutha Waitaki area commander inspector Jason Guthrie says the police investigation will be subject to a final review early this year. Sue says she lost sleep on quite a number of occasions over the whole episode. A Southland Times “scoop” calling on her to

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Policy Manager, Employment Policy, Ministry of Social Development 2002 – 2003 Other roles, education and appointments include: • Senior Research Analyst, Social Policy Agency (later amalgamated into the Ministry of Social Development) • Director of Workwise • PhD in psychology, University of Otago

resign was “pretty hard” to take. “When you’ve got a new chief executive and they uncover a 10- or 20-year-old fraud within several weeks of taking on the job you generally pat them on the shoulder,” she says. “You don’t usually ask them to quit. “That lost me some sleep in terms of my own personal reputation. But all you can do when you’re a CE is you know people are going to throw eggs and you’ve got to act with your own integrity. And that carries me through quite well. It’s about having a public service ethical compass and I’m comfortable with where mine points.”

ACTION Practically, for much of last year she’s been facing down the issue on two fronts – first, by looking at both cultural and leadership initiatives designed to clarify what is and isn’t okay, and, second, enshrining a series of new checks and balances into council processes. (For more information see the box story “Better processes”.) The cultural stuff includes everything from how officers should handle any gifts they may be offered and (former) perks such as cheap entry to council swimming pools or discounts at art gallery shops. And there are much clearer rules, for example, about when someone can or cannot take a council vehicle home. She talked it all through with the AuditorGeneral and the new guidelines are based

on the way they and central government departments deal with these issues. “There are a lot of these changes underway. Some of this is around our attitude to perks and public service ethic and what it means when you’re spending someone else’s money.” The checks and balances tighten up items such as council’s contracts and interests registers, declarations of interest, and the formal processes around separation of duties and cash handling. “Look, the vast bulk of my staff are fantastic,” says Sue, “but it’s about all of us just being a little bit more aware.” As far as possible, she’s also tried to front-foot and share her learnings on how to create a fraud-resistant council: among other activities speaking at SOLGM’s mid-year CEOs’ forum and at the group’s annual summit which was held on her home turf of Dunedin at the end of last year. Most of the staff are now on board with the changes, she says, which is a useful measure of success. Nevertheless, it’s been a hard year for Dunedin City Council. “The fraud, and the ripples from it, has made it so difficult for a lot of people,” she says. “The parking wardens get a hard time from members of the public saying, ‘ah, I bet you nicked a car’ or the building consent people get teased about it. We’re all over it. I’m over it. We’re all over being teased about whether we stole a car. It’s bloody awful.”

FINANCES

I can’t help wondering how different our conversation would have been if there hadn’t been any fraud allegations for her to unearth and how she might have been better remembered for her other work last year. She’s proud that, for the first time in more than a dozen years, last financial year council paid off more debt than it took on. And that’s right across the entire council family, including all CCOs as a whole, the much-debated Forsyth Barr Stadium and council itself. The driving force behind that, she says, was a lot of “bloody hard work” that started at the time she first got there. “The first thing I did was go through [the finances] and say ‘we’re gonna run into trouble, we can’t keep having the rates rises, we need to take out all the discretionary capex and we need to have a conversation

with our community to say ‘okay we’ve done some fabulous things, done a wonderful redesign of the town hall, we’ve built Toitu- Otago Settlers Museum, we’ve got a fantastic $100 million wastewater treatment, we’ve got the stadium... actually, now is the time to pay the bill.’ “We need to get ourselves in hand, stop having eight/nine/10 percent rates rising because the community is at the end of its limit and we need to live within our means. But at the same time we’ve got to create a city that’s vibrant and that people want to live in.” She says she’s neither particularly egocentric nor especially ambitious. Other people have described her as “fair but nononsense” and say she’s well-regarded in local government circles. Sue says she’d be proud to have been called either of those things. “Wally, who was my head of marketing in my last council used to call me an iron fist in a velvet glove. I’m quite comfortable with that because I’m really clear on issues like

public service ethic – there’s no grey line for me. Undermining a councillor, or a council wish, is always a no-no for me. Always.” And the velvet glove, bit? “That’s always about the people. We’re all flawed individuals doing our best and people make mistakes.” And that, she says, is understandable as long as you’re then prepared to look at what you’ve done wrong, work out how not to do it again and put it right. She says she's “no kind of oracle” with a particular message to impart to the wider world of local government. Then she encourages others to revel in the “joy and privilege” of working with a great group of elected people. “You might not always agree with them but they’re the ones who’ve been picked to represent that community by that community and – whether you individually like them or not − you owe them your respect and allegiance. That’s the lovely part of the job. That’s the exciting part for me.” LG

Find out more To read a redacted copy of Deloitte’s Dunedin City Council Project Lewis – Investigation Report go to www.dunedin.govt.nz/deloittereport. Some parts of this report have been changed for privacy reasons.

BETTER PROCESSES Chief executive Sue Bidrose says a wide range of work has been completed to improve and modernise Dunedin City Council’s processes. This includes: • The introduction of a new audit and risk subcommittee, with an independent chair. • All tenders that are awarded through the Dunedin City Council’s tenders board are published on the council’s website for greater transparency. • A central contracts register has been put in place. • Council’s whistleblower policy has been updated. • A review of fleet card processes and the issuing of cards. Further work in progress includes: • The appointment of a dedicated risk and internal audit manager. This position has been advertised. • A fraud awareness campaign and training for all staff starts this year. • A risk management framework, which is almost complete. • The development of new procurement and tendering processes across council.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO DUNEDIN • S ue Bidrose grows up in Wainuiomata: a predominantly state housing area in the Hutt Valley. In her teens she dreams of drawing plankton in the Antarctic for a living. • As a teenager, she works with her grandmother as a cleaner in government departments in Wellington and then in a pet shop-cum-florist. • G ets work as a public servant in her first job out of school in the late ’70s. “I worked for a crusty old scientist at Wallaceville Animal Research Centre as a junior laboratory technician and loved it.” • B uys a second-hand microscope with one of her first salary payments and teaches herself to look through one eyepiece, focus on a bit of paper through the other and draw by switching her mental attention. “I can still do it: it’s just one of those odd things.” • S ays working at the Animal Research Centre gave her a great grounding in

public service ethic. “In the mid ’80s, of course, the whole idea of public service ethic took a different turn and we all became people who focused on efficiency and effectiveness and had ‘clients’.” • M oves into the not-for-profit sector, does an internship in psychotherapy and counselling, works at Youthline, and does some marriage guidance work. • S pends a year as a social worker in London then makes her way round Africa for a year. “Then I headed home in 1990/91, popped down to Dunedin to visit a friend and fell completely in love with Dunedin.” • D oes a doctorate on the impact of trauma on young children’s mental and memory development. • G ets a job in Wellington at the Ministry of Social Development. Works in the research unit and then the policy team eventually becoming the national manager for sickness and invalids benefit. • M oves to Waitakere Council in a policy and

planning manager’s role. “By then, I was well used to policy but I thought planning was just writing long-term plans. Much to my surprise I had this whole team of people reporting to me who were writing a district plan. I’d never even heard of one before and suddenly I was their manager. So it was a fairly steep learning curve. I was very grateful they were tolerant of my complete ignorance of even the existence of their profession.” • Works at Waitakere Council and loves “being so much closer to the community than you are in central government”. • A malgamation prompts a move to a smaller council. • Takes a general manager’s job at Dunedin City Council which employs 647 FTEs and serves a population of 120,000. • I s made chief executive “three years and 23 days” later.

FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

COMMUNITY BOARDS

GROWING

GRASSROOTS LOCAL GOVERNMENT Mick Lester is on a mission to nurture the next generation of people willing to enter local government. He tells Ruth Le Pla how it’s going.

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atching up with Mick Lester is a bit like trying to pin down a kangaroo. I’d lucked a meeting with him in Wellington a while back and since then he’s been bouncing round the country doing what he does best: supporting community board members in what, for many, are their first steps into local government. When later we talk on the phone he’d been in Kaitaia in the Far North two weeks before, then in Mataura in Southland. Two weeks afterwards he heads off to Christchurch, then he’s in Rotorua, then the Hutt and goodness knows where he’ll pop up next. He wears quite a few hats, to put it mildly. For the past 14 years he’s been a Hastings District Council councillor and on its rural community board. For the past four years, he’s also been the zone three representative for the nationwide Community Board Executive Committee and he’s now in his second term as its chair. The committee, which acts in an advisory capacity to LGNZ’s National Council, is charged with advocating in favour of community boards and promoting best practice amongst them. It’s these latter hats, of course, that keep him on the road so much. “It’s a lot of travelling and time,” he says in his understated way. He says he’s not sure exactly how many community board members there are in total throughout the country “but the legislation says you must have a

minimum of four and a maximum of 12 members and we’ve got at the moment, I think, 106 community boards”. They stretch from Kaitaia in the north right down south to Bluff. And, given his travels, Mick must be a familiar face to most. “Really, I’m in a supporting role,” he says. “It’s about educating community boards as to what they can do because these people are absolutely at the grassroots level of local government. “Many people don’t realise board members get an absolute minimal pay,” he says. “A lot of them are getting $2000 a year and they’re putting in an awful lot of time for that.” He says it’s “not even worth thinking about” what this would average out to on an hourly basis. “It would be way, way, way below the minimum wage. It’s essentially an elected voluntary role.” For the record, Mick’s own role as chair of the community boards executive is totally voluntary. He estimates he dedicates a day a week to the role on average and, apart from some travel expenses, doesn’t get recompensed.

ENCOURAGING He sees serving on community boards as an apprenticeship for potential councillors. And he’s concerned about the various barriers placed in the way of people who may be willing to take such first steps into the sector. He argues that if we’re to encourage

FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

COMMUNITY BOARDS It’s about educating community boards as to what they can do because these people are absolutely at the grassroots level of local government.

If we’re to encourage more 25- to 35-year-olds to step forward we need to see the world through their eyes.

Mick’s well aware he’s currently working with a ‘very, very small pool’ of young people to date.

more 25- to 35-year-olds to step forward, for instance, we need to see the world through their eyes. And that must include acknowledging they’re likely to be using their income as their sole means of support. “Therefore it’s only people who are retired or who can afford to do it that are prepared to put their name forward to be elected as community board members.” With the rate of pay for councillors nationwide not exactly sky-high, the same argument rings true higher up the tree, of course. To Mick’s mind, a lot depends on the timing of meetings. “I’m continually encouraging people to think carefully about the occupations, age and commitment of people to their outside jobs other than community boards,” he says, “and to hold meetings at times when it’s convenient for them to be there.” It can be as simple as scheduling get-togethers for evenings rather than afternoons when most people would be at work. “The complication is that to have a good community board you have to have the support of your mayor, the CEO and the officers within the council. And the difficulty with having meetings later is that they’re outside the working hours of the officers.” He’s “absolutely” seeing some – although not all – councils grasp that point and show a willingness to change.

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YOUNG SPEAKERS The desire to encourage and include younger people is also increasingly evident at the nationwide community board conferences which are held every alternate year. At the last big get-together, held in Wanaka in 2013, Mick included a healthy number of younger speakers. “They were marked 12 out of 10,” he says, “while old grey-headed people like me got much lower marks in the assessment at the end of the conference. “It just works because they have new ideas. They see things from the perspective of their age and, to my mind, they are the future. We have to have fresh ideas to enthuse young people to go through what I consider to be the apprenticeship for being councillors.” Expect more of the same at the next conference which will be held in the Bay of Islands in May this year. (See box story “Diary date”.) Still, although he doesn’t have exact numbers, Mick’s well aware he’s currently working with a “very, very small pool” of young people to date. Members have since been asking if the two-yearly national community board conferences could happen every year. “But we’d need a lot more finance to do that,” he says. “Many councils around the country are very supportive of their boards,” he says, “but nonetheless it’s a matter of the amount of finance councils have available to allocate to boards – and especially to allocate to board members to go to a conference.” On the whole, he sees mayors, CEOs and officers as “incredibly supportive” of their community boards because they see the benefit of what the boards can do at the grassroots level in their communities. “It all comes down to the old thing. I accentuate that it’s a matter of establishing trust between the board and council, and between the board and officers whose job it is to look after them. In most cases there’s one officer in council who is responsible for being the go-between between council and the boards. So you’ve got to have trust.” LG

DIARY DATE • New Zealand Community Boards Conference 2015 will be held in May in the Bay of Islands with a focus on real-life examples of how some communities have influenced change for the benefit of ratepayers. • Keynote speakers will include Far North District Council deputy mayor Tania McInnes who will talk about the Focus Paihia initiative and show what voluntary commitment, combined with local council and community board support, can achieve. • The mayor and CEO of Thames-Coromandel District Council will talk about the changes made within their council to raise the profile and effectiveness of their community boards within their council structure. • Other speakers will include Minister of Local Government the Hon Paula Bennett, LGNZ president Lawrence Yule and LGNZ CEO Malcolm Alexander. • The conference runs from May 14–16 at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort, Waitangi, in the Bay of Islands. For more information go to www.nzcbc2015.co.nz

FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

TRANSPORT

SMART

CITIES How to move differently

Intelligent Community Forum co-founder John Yung urges Auckland to shift its thinking as the city heads into the next critical six months of decision-making about its transport options.

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o John Yung, a conversation about transport isn’t really about transport at all. It’s about movement. And that movement doesn’t even have to be physical. Intriguingly, it may well be about not moving much at all as smart communities around the world tap into a wealth of new ideas about how the cities of the future will be constructed and run. John is chair and co-founder of the Intelligent Community Forum, a New York-based think tank that studies the economic and social development of 21st century communities and each year celebrates the best examples through its global awards programme. (See box story “What’s so special about Wanganui?”) Speaking in New Zealand recently at the Conferenz Auckland Transport Summit, he says he sees his job as being “a bit of a Johnny Appleseed” sharing ideas on the opportunities to create new visions about what cities are all about. Take Malmo, Sweden, for example, which solves the age-old problem of disposing of household rubbish by installing a huge underground vacuum system that sucks refuse straight from buildings to a centralised disposal facility where electricity is generated from it. “Garbage has now become the new gold,” says John. “This just shows you that movement can take place in a lot of different ways.” Meanwhile, in Nice, France, the connected boulevard project has some 200 sensors on everything from light fittings to parking metres and the sides of kerbs. These

constantly monitor and feed back real-time information on traffic flows, street lighting, waste disposal, environmental quality and the best places to park. Such systems turn big data into huge insights. Smart cities can usually save money on these activities which they then invest in other ways. In San Francisco, for example, where 30 percent of the congestion on the street was discovered to be caused by people trying to find parking spaces, they’re focusing on building smaller cars and working out ways to park them differently. Auckland’s problematic status as New Zealand’s JAFA-filled, traffic-jammed commercial capital pales in comparison with what’s happening overseas. According to a Toronto Board of Trade study, Torontonians each waste an average of 550 hours a year sitting in traffic. “That,” says John, “adds up to an economic dis-benefit of about Can$11 billion.” Worse still, pity a thought for the poor people who got stuck for 12 days in China’s by-now-famous 62 mile traffic jam on the highway between Beijing and Tibet. “Moving from point A to point B is going to change over the next 20 to 30 years,” says John. “In fact it may change as soon as this decade. People are deciding to move differently. And if you decide to live in an urban centre, your movement patterns are going to change dramatically.” While it’s good to look at examples from overseas, John says each city must make

1. Bike racks jammed with bikes. 2. Traffic congestion. 3. Barcelona Smart City.

4. Long traffic jam in China. 5. Intelligent Community Forum co-founder John Yung.

FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

TRANSPORT WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT WANGANUI? While big cities can talk the talk, it’s often the smaller ones that knuckle down and transform themselves. That’s according to Intelligent Community Forum chair and co-founder John Yung whose group late last year named Wanganui as one of the World’s Smart21 Intelligent Communities for 2015, ranking it alongside cities such as Edmonton in Alberta, Canada; Columbus in Ohio, USA; and New Taipei City, Taiwan. Each year the Intelligent Community Forum lists 21 communities around the world which have taken steps to prosper in the broadband economy. It then whittles this group down to just seven before announcing a final winner at its summit in the middle of the following year. “Big cities tend to sit on their hands a lot,” says John. “They debate, they investigate, studies are done and nothing happens. This is where attitude comes in. You have to have a champion and you have to keep things moving.” In Wanganui’s case, he says, council was very active, a lot of councillors were deeply supportive of the idea and the community got right in behind it. Mayor Annette Main chairs the Whanganui Digital Leaders Forum (WDLF) made up of representatives from council, iwi, and the education, arts and recreational sectors. She describes work to date as a “community-wide campaign” to use broadband services in ways that have improved economic, social and cultural opportunities.

Intelligent systems turn big data into huge insights.

If you live in an urban centre your movement patterns are going to change dramatically.

It’s a matter of attitude.

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2. 1. Graduates at the Computers in Homes and Stepping Up programme. 2. Awa City Computer Clubhouse.

its own plans in the context of its own community. Auckland, he says, will build beyond its current infrastructure to become a smart city. It’s already using some smart technologies on buses and adopting more advanced library systems. “It could add additional things and become more advanced but that’s not the issue,” he says. “It’s a matter of attitude.” Nor, to his mind, does it matter who leads the transition to an intelligent community although he agrees that without the right attitude in the local authority it would be a hard transition to make. “Certainly, you need a sense of good governance or a willingness of governance to work with the community.” The mayor of Pirai, a small Brazilian town outside Rio de Janeiro, led the charge to lift opportunities for the people of his community by ensuring good net connectivity was available for anyone. “The idea was to give every kid a computer,” says John, “so people in the jungle would have the same educational opportunities as people in cities.” Meanwhile up in Ontario, Canada, it was the president of the University

of Waterloo who championed the push for Waterloo to transform itself into an intelligent community and become one of the top innovation centres in the world. “In another community it could be a developer,” says John, “or a leader among social enterprises or community associations who wants these things to happen.” In other communities they are opting for making bicycles and even cars available for communal use. And technology means many times people may not need to move around much at all. “Can a certificate be printed locally as opposed to you having to go to a city hall to collect it?” Meanwhile, intelligent communities go the next step by focusing on the people and looking holistically about how cities work. High-speed broadband is an essential service as part of an intelligent community and, as the number of sensors and monitors increases, leaders must maintain their community’s trust in the systems. “Things are changing. So when you plan your cities you have to think differently,” says John. “So let’s start thinking outside the box.” LG

Council and the WDLF share a vision to have 100 percent connectivity for everyone in the community, regardless of socio-economic status, age and whether people live in an urban or rural setting. Initiatives to date include: • Lobbying (since 2006) for an ultrafast broadband network. Ultrafast Fibre Ltd began building the network in August 2011. Almost 90 percent of the build is now complete – equating to $35 million worth of infrastructure; • Connecting 80 educational institutions to ultrafast broadband; • Employing a full-time digital facilitator at council to drive digital outcomes throughout the district; • Rolling out the Wanganui District Council Online project which aligns with government’s aim to improve interaction with local authorities by ensuring Wanganui people can do transactions online. (Dog registrations and parking ticket payments are already online. More services will follow); and • Developing an ‘innovation triangle’ between local government, tertiary education and business to help drive digital growth in the community. Projects include: • The Computers in Homes programme which delivers training, a computer and a free internet connection for a year to families with low internet literacy and without an internet connection;

• T he Awa City Computer Clubhouse which provides a safe space for people aged 10-18 to connect, explore and create using a variety of technologies and applications; • Connecting nine schools in the peri-urban area to 100mb/s fibre; •W ork by Wanganui Rural Community Board deputy chair Tex Matthews and Palmerston North-based company InspireNet to provide broadband connectivity in the backblocks of Wanganui; • I nspireNet’s provision of 100MB of data per month per person to use on wi-fi enabled devices through 22 hotspots around the central city and suburbs; and • T he Aotearoa People’s Network which provides free internet access at libraries. This is the third year running Wanganui has made the Smart21 list and it remains the only community in New Zealand ever to have been included. John says representatives from Hamilton have visited him in North America to explore the idea and he’s encouraged them to make an application. He reckons some of our bigger cities such as Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland should do the same. “It doesn’t cost anything to put in an application and cities that have made it onto our list have gotten free publicity around the world. “Right now, Wanganui is the model for intelligent communities in New Zealand and probably should be promoting itself accordingly.” Find out more on www.intelligentcommunity.org/

FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

TRANSPORT

AUCKLAND

TRANSPORT SUMMIT A range of experts met recently to discuss ways of adapting Auckland’s transport system for the future

RETHINKING CITIES Cities can be good − rather than bad − for the environment. So says Auckland Council principal transport planner Joshua Arbury who is calling for a rethink on how cities are viewed. Joshua contests that with good planning, design and transport, cities can be the solution to environmental problems. Studies on vehicles in the city of Chicago, for example, show the traditional view that cities produce large amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) per capita is morphing into an emerging understanding that city dwellers produce relatively low amounts of GHG. He says that in order to become more environmentally friendly, Auckland needs to embrace its ‘urban-ness’. “Doing so will also support achieving our liveability goals and our economic prosperity.”

According to Joshua, location and transport matter more, and can make more of a positive environmental impact, than “fancy environmental gizmo gadgets”. Outlining Auckland’s transport woes, he says transport accounts for 40 percent of Auckland’s GHG emissions with almost 35 percent coming from road transport alone. And while Auckland may be the third most liveable city, it ranks just 43rd for the quality of its infrastructure. Depending on the methodology used, congestion costs Auckland’s economy anything from $250 million to $1.25 billion a year. While many different cities have different impacts on the environment – both in terms of their emissions and their physical footprint – a lot boils down to transport.

WELCOME CHANGES Road Transport Forum chief executive Ken Shirley welcomes what he sees as changing local government attitudes towards freight moving through local areas. Without naming specific locations or individuals, he says “some parts of local government around the country – not all, I might add − have had

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a very poor and unhelpful attitude towards freight”. Ken says some mayors and others have opposed the idea of freight trucks in their town “not realising their town wouldn’t be there without the freight and the connectivity”. “That’s changed,” he says. “And the change is very welcome.”

OUTLINING THE VISION When it comes to public transport, it’s about getting the basics right. Greg Edmonds says people want fast, reliable and affordable services. And both local and international research shows that uptake of public transport is not due to geography, population size or density, age, income, ethnicity or education. Greg, who is chief operations officer for Auckland Transport, says people are looking for service quantity, cost and ease of use “and payments systems matter”. Outlining Auckland Transport’s vision for the city, Greg says: • Auckland’s city centre, harbour edge and town centre will be engineered for people not cars; • Technology will help people choose how they travel – saving time and money; • The city will boast a rapid and reliable network of busways and electrified rail connections; • Cyclists will have a complete and safe network of dedicated cycleways; • Congestion will be managed − despite a population of 2.2 million by 2040; • Each Aucklander will average 100 annual trips by public transport by 2040; and • Public transport use to the city centre each morning peak will be 68,100 by 2040: up from 34,500 trips in 2014. Meanwhile, Auckland currently has low uptake of public transport per capita: with an average of just 44 boardings per person in 2011 compared with 150 in Canadian cities and 90 in cities in the US.

Aucklanders continue their high dependence on private vehicles with 76 percent of commutes still by car. Fares for public transport are not fully integrated – which penalises transfers and complicates journey planning. Average fares are 50 to 100 percent higher in Auckland than in Canadian and Australian cities. There are relatively few park-and-ride spaces. Auckland has 5300 such spaces compared to San Francisco’s 49,640 (where the city centre has a population of 825,111). And there’s still a lack of sufficient rapid transport network services. The city rail link, he says, is vital to unlocking the rail network.

28 & 29 April 2015, Crowne Plaza, Auckland

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FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

TRANSPORT

SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF Some 100 pallets of nappies, and the same number of pallets of Coca-Cola, toilet paper and each of 22 fast-moving consumer goods lines are delivered each week to every large supermarket in Auckland. Such short-haul freight is a major contributor to Auckland’s traffic woes, rather than the long-haul freight associated with Ports of Auckland and MetroPort. So says Chris Carr, managing director of Auckland-based transport company Carr & Haslam. According to him, road freight activity associated with the Ports of Auckland and MetroPort represents just a tiny part of overall freight carried throughout Auckland. He says a more realistic and accurate picture comes from looking at the “little short-haul stuff” that represents the vast bulk of freight moved around the city. Chris says that while Ports of Auckland is the city’s largest single freight node, it represents just two percent of the freight carried around town. “So you need to forget about that when you’re looking at the overall picture because there’s so much little stuff that happens... Think of the number of couriers, electricians, plumbers ... the number of people having their houses renovated with the bobcat going in with a digger and taking all the stuff out.”

Chris says the two main distribution warehouses in Auckland − in Mangere and Mt Roskill – between them deliver over two million pallets of goods per year to supermarkets in the Auckland region. And each day, there are 80,000 tonnes of aggregate moved LG between quarries and places around Auckland.

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ALGIM

SMART LOCAL GOVERNMENT Kiwi councils celebrated their best projects at ALGIM’s international conference

2014 ALGIM SUPREME AWARD sponsored by Microsoft NZ 2014 ALGIM COLLABORATION AWARD sponsored by Information Leadership Winner: Waikato Regional Council – Marine Mate mobile app New Zealanders love the water and spend considerable leisure time on, in and under it. So imagine the challenge of developing a mobile application with different rules in each of New Zealand’s marine spaces. Waikato Regional Council – through collaboration with Land Information NZ, Maritime NZ, ACC, the Ministry for Primary Industries, Water Safety NZ and 19 local councils – has done just that, releasing a free smart phone app called Marine Mate. A one-stop-shop for all water users, Marine Mate provides up-to-date

information that can be accessed anywhere, anytime. It does not require an internet connection once downloaded and is intertwined with essential information that enhances safety in and on the water. What the judges said: This winning entry embodies the vision of smart local government and the true meaning of collaboration. Bringing together multiple agencies in central and local government, it delivers a smart solution by taking information and transforming it to provide an easy-to-use customer-friendly answer.

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Winner: Hamilton City Council – Finance Project (Dynamics AX Implementation)

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Winner: J ason Simons, manager information services group, Wanganui District Council Jason has demonstrated outstanding leadership in local government ICT. His staff have described him as a supportive leader and a calming influence who is magnanimous, open and creative in his leadership style.

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DREW MEHRTENS / ON COMMUNICATIONS SENIOR MEDIA AND PUBLICATIONS ADVISOR AND PIM, THAMES-COROMANDEL DISTRICT COUNCIL. andrew.mehrtens@tcdc.govt.nz

Rock at comms in 2015 Reach the mind. Touch the heart.

WRITE LIKE YOU'RE HAVING A CONVERSATION.

hether you’re new to government communications or a hardened pro past trying to disguise the grumpy lines we see staring back at us in the mirror, let’s kick off 2015 with five tips for beginners and a little inspiration for experts.

1 Don’t write for 12-year-olds Our audiences aren’t the idiots some people tell us they are. The advice to “write for 12-yearolds” has been handed down through the years but is a useless thing to tell most people. Why? Only a handful of writers can really pull that off. But that’s not the point. Most of the time, that advice is intended to mean ‘write so someone who doesn’t understand our jargon and policies can understand the point’. So why not just say that? Here’s my version for 2015: never underestimate your audience’s intelligence but never overestimate their familiarity with your subject. 2 A target market is not an audience When a television show targeting women from 35 to 55 doesn’t pick up enough viewers, it usually gets taken off the air. Just as targeting a demographic doesn’t automatically translate into viewers, our listing target audiences in a communications plan does not automatically translate to converting that wish-list into an audience. Putting out a sudden burst of marketing when a consultation opens and hoping to get great results can be like expecting to pour a truckload of manure at the base of a tree you haven’t watered for a year and hoping your manure will make the tree burst into fruit. So here’s my second tip: design communications plans with a phase for attracting an audience. In that phase, give them a reason to part with their email, for example, so you can spend a month building anticipation. Then, when you launch

your project, consultation, or whatever, you have an audience ready and waiting to get their hands on your offer, or ready to act. 3 Communicate fast Use more visual language. Make it so they can get it in seconds. Then, if you’ve interested them, give them a way to find out more. When you only have written language to work with, tell them a version of the story they will care about first, up front, in about one sentence. Don’t wait until halfway through a press release or a report to get to the point. Work on it until you nail it. Then give the interested ones more information for when they decide it’s worth reading further. When you only have verbal language, use metaphors, similes, illustrations and stories to paint pictures. But do it fast. Pick something familiar to your specific audience that only takes a line to deliver, not a minute to set up. 4 Keep yourself fuelled As we embark on another year of pouring ourselves out, remember to keep yourself fuelled and inspired. As with a vehicle, keep your comms fluids topped up to prevent gears seizing, running out of gas from exhaustion or being unable to keep wiping the poop from your emotional windscreen. 5 Remember how to make a difference Write like you’re having a conversation. Have the courage to be the conscience of your organisation. Change culture by inspiring, not by pushing. Lead by showing, not telling. Care. Be gracious. Celebrate the strengths of others. Help them shine. Pitch the value of your work to your organisation equally as well as you pitch the value of your organisation to others. Remember that your audience is intelligent; it’s just that they don’t have time to wait for you to get to the point. Reach the mind. Touch the heart. LG

FEBRUARY 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

Food for thought Take the one-month food challenge. You won’t regret it.

N TRY THINKING A BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE EATING.

utritional guidance makes a lot of sense when you think of your body as a machine that needs good quality fuel to operate at its peak. Give it poor-quality fuel, or not enough of the right type of fuel and the machine will become sluggish and lose its get up and go. That’s why breakfast is the most important meal of the day. An effective breakfast will kickstart your body to convert fuel into energy. Miss out on this meal and your body will think it’s facing a famine and slow down your metabolic rate – the speed at which it changes food into energy. While skinny people tend to have a faster metabolic rate and larger people a slower one, most people can use physical activity to increase their metabolic rate. And while simple carbohydrates will provide a short burst of energy – think of how children act after taking in too many simple carbs at a birthday party − complex carbohydrates provide a longlasting energy source. That’s why high-energy workers and sportspeople require a higher intake of carbohydrates than sedentary workers. Low-sugar, low-fat, high-carb cereal is an effective breakfast. So is toast or baked beans. If you’re doing physical work you’ll need carbohydrates to

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keep your energy level up during the day. So your lunch needs to consist of mainly carbohydrates. Filled rolls, sandwiches, bananas, yoghurt and fruit buns are all good choices. The dinner meal needs to repair and refuel for the following day so this should be a combination of protein, carbohydrates and fats. Good examples are pasta, red meat, chicken or fish, vegetables, potatoes, or rice pudding. Your body takes more energy to break down fats and proteins into energy. That’s why you’ll feel sluggish after a large fatty midday meal: your body is struggling to be active while digesting the fats. If you’re not shovelling gravel, digging holes or working in some other physical manner − ie, if you’re working in an office or driving a vehicle − you will need fewer carbohydrates as your energy output will be less. You need the same type of food: you just need less of it. And bear in mind that by eating the same things every day you’ll miss out on lots of nutrients which help to keep your body healthy. In many instances, variety is the spice of life. If you restrict your fruit intake to mandarins, for example, you’ll get your vitamin C which is needed for the growth and repair of tissues, to help heal wounds and form scar tissue, and to repair and maintain cartilage, bones and teeth. That’s all good. But by also eating apricots you’ll boost your levels of vitamin A. And that is important for normal vision, the immune system and reproduction. Vitamin A also helps the heart, lungs, kidneys and other organs to work effectively. So try thinking a bit more about what you’re eating. For the next month try having more complex carbohydrates for breakfast and lunch. These carbs take longer to break down and make you feel full for longer. And bump up your intake of protein at dinner. You’ll notice a difference in your energy levels. LG

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

Calm before the storm On the exemplary virtues of genteel traffic flows.

B THIS MONTH GIVES US AN INKLING OF HOW OUR CITIES MIGHT WORK, IF WE SOMEHOW MANAGED TO GET MORE CARS OFF THE ROAD AND BECAME BETTER AT DRIVING THE ONES THAT ARE.

y the time you read this, I presume any last traces of your summer break are well behind you, and you’re probably looking out from wherever you work at the usually fantastic February weather, wishing we could find a way to postpone Christmas by a few weeks. Speaking for myself, November and December were, as they always are, incredibly busy, so as I write this I am luxuriating in the last remnants of January. I live in Auckland but have also lived in other cities around New Zealand, so I can say from experience that for urban dwellers January is the best month of the year. It’s when our cities become little more than villages and we can become visitors in them. We export all of our usual big city annoyances – traffic jams, café snobs, urban SUV drivers – to the holiday towns. And while the poor residents of Coromandel, the Bay of Islands and Central Otago deal with the influx, those of us who stay home can finally enjoy the best of what our towns have to offer. January is the only month when I know I can drive to virtually any spot in the city in 15 minutes, find a parking space, and guarantee an outdoor table at the bar or café of my choice. I can go from the beach to a park to a supermarket to a shopping mall: all without feeling I’m one missed red light away from appearing in a remake of the Michael Douglas movie Falling Down. It’s not just here. I’ve experienced similar January bliss in Wellington and Christchurch. And I fondly remember living in Dunedin,

walking through the student ghetto for block after block without ever seeing another person. The freedom felt almost apocalyptic. This month gives us an inkling of how our cities might work, if we somehow managed to get more cars off the road and became better at driving the ones that are. I don’t know the exact percentage of how many fewer vehicles are on Auckland’s roads during the first month of the year. (If anyone reading this does, feel free to enlighten me.) But between being free of the bach owners, the school drop convoys and the morning commuters, it’s significant enough to make me wonder how so many more vehicles can possibly fit on our roads year round. There’s a more genteel attitude on the roads at the moment. People aren’t in any hurry to get anywhere. They’re off the clock and able to sit a little lower in their seats, letting you go around them, if you can be bothered. If we could hang onto this calm year round, imagine how much more enjoyable the daily grind would be. But, alas, all good things must come to an end. That holiday feeling rarely lasts much longer than the wait at the Kopu Bridge and, before you know it, Greenlane is back to its usual 24-houra-day gridlock. We lose any thought of letting someone else merge into our traffic, and courier drivers double park at will, as if their vans are not only brightly painted but also invisible. And for the next 11 months, we act like the harassed, hurried and hostile urbanites we were before our annual January descent into civility. LG

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FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

SHYRELLE MITCHELL / ON LEGAL ISSUES PARTN E R, B ROOKFI E LDS LAWYE R S. oreilly@brookfields.co.nz

Duty to inform How to protect yourself when issuing conditional consents.

C COUNCILS OUGHT TO CONSIDER ADVISING LANDOWNERS TO TAKE INDEPENDENT LEGAL AND TECHNICAL ADVICE.

ouncils commonly receive applications to construct or alter a building on land containing a natural hazard. In certain circumstances a council is required to issue a “conditional consent” pursuant to s72 of the Building Act 2004. This may carry implications for the council and the property owner. What steps can the council take to protect itself in this situation? Natural hazards are a feature of the New Zealand landscape. While they come in various forms, s71(3) of the 2004 Act defines them as land subject to erosion, falling debris, subsidence, inundation and slippage. When faced with an application to build on land featuring a natural hazard, councils must refuse to grant consent if the land is subject to one or more natural hazards, or the building work is likely to accelerate, worsen or result in a natural hazard on that land, or any other property. The restriction does not apply when the council is satisfied that adequate provision has been or will be made to protect the land, building work, or other property from natural hazards; or restore any damage to that land or other property. What constitutes “adequate provision” will be site specific. Councils can confirm compliance by requiring provision of a site specific report from a chartered professional engineer in support of the building consent application. The report should record that the applicable statutory requirements will be satisfied by specific reference to those requirements and a detailed description of the method of compliance. A PS1 certification of the design and assessment of compliance with the New Zealand Building Code should also be required.

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Despite s71, the council must issue a building consent for building work on land subject to a natural hazard if the work will not accelerate, worsen, or result in a natural hazard on the land, or any other property; the land is subject or is likely to be subject to one or more natural hazards; and it is reasonable to grant a waiver or modification of the building code in respect of the natural hazard concerned (s72). Each time an “s72” consent is issued the council must impose a condition on the consent and notify the Registrar-General of Land under s73. This notification alerts prospective purchasers (and those such as lenders or insurers) via the certificate of title (CT) that the land is subject to a natural hazard. In terms of protecting the council’s potential liability, s392 of the Building Act provides that the council is protected from civil liability where a notice has been issued under s73. However, thought also needs to be given to whether the council is obliged to advise the land owner of the additional implications of a “conditional consent”. These implications can be onerous, for example, if the owner makes an EQC claim for damage caused by the type of natural hazard that caused the entry to be made, EQC has the discretion to decline the claim. Councils ought to consider advising landowners to take independent legal and technical advice so that they understand and acknowledge the nature of the hazards and any legal ramifications arising from a notification registered on their CT. Written confirmation on the council’s property file that this step has been taken would also be of assistance if issues arise from the natural hazard at some time in the future. LG

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

Changing landscapes CCNZ’s priorities in the next 12 months.

THERE ARE MANY CHANGES COMING IN 2015 THAT WILL REQUIRE CLIENTS AND CONTRACTORS TO SHARE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE.

hen Civil Contractors NZ was given the opportunity of a contributing a column to Local Government Magazine each month, former CE Jeremy Sole and I agreed to share the opportunity by alternating the writing between us. During Jeremy’s tenure we shared many tasks while working with NZTA and the Ministerial Task Force. We enjoyed many healthy debates, developed ideas and then went about promoting them. We had a lot of fun as we faced the challenges as they arose. It’s been a hell of a ride over the past five years and I mean that mainly in a good sense as it has been exciting, stimulating and rewarding. Following on from Jeremy’s column in the December / January issue of the magazine I’ve been considering what the next steps may be. Our focus is now on contributing to the changes that are coming – and there are a lot of them. The government has introduced a lot of legislation at a frenetic pace. It’s driven, I believe, by financial considerations, and then by the Canterbury Earthquakes and Pike River. Government is reviewing the Construction Contracts Act and intends to include provisions for retentions to counter company collapses, and the domino effect through suppliers and subcontractors that such a collapse can create. Recent advice from MBIE is that due to a number of competing legislative priorities before Christmas, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith was unable to take the Construction Contracts Amendment Bill (with the retentions changes) through the remaining parliamentary stages in 2014. The Minister intends to complete all remaining parliamentary stages of the Bill in the first quarter of 2015. The changes will have an impact on clients, consultants, contractors and subcontractors alike and will improve cash flow throughout the industry. Disasters highlight any deficiencies in a system and help drive change. In infrastructure this is particularly evident around resilience and systemic failures. Considering earthquake issues, there is a greater

push toward resilience in terms of materials used and design. This means that much of the work in Canterbury is highlighting how, as engineers and contractors, we can design and build more resilience into our essential infrastructure. Canterbury’s construction environment has also seen a lot of work being done around procurement with many forms of contract – from purely traditional contracts through to design and construct – being used. A healthy mix of contract types is absolutely essential to ensure the resilience of the contracting industry. To get the most out of the procurement process – and particularly how tendering is managed – we need to have consistent and transparent procurement processes that are fair and impartial, fit for purpose and followed rigorously. Procurement processes should also be cost-efficient: something which can be achieved by using standard forms of contract as in the NZS 39XX suite of documents published by Standards New Zealand. Also among our big issues are the most extensive changes to health and safety legislation that the country has ever seen. These are possibly going to have the greatest impact on our industry and that of our clients. Clients have a much greater obligation as a Person Controlling a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) to manage the health and safety risks of their project and will need to work alongside their consultants and contractors to manage those risks. Contractors will also need to demonstrate their compliance with the new legislation and will more than ever involve their workers as part of their health and safety systems. (It should be noted that many contractors already have extensive worker representation with their health and safety systems.) There is much work to done in this area with the legislation yet to be passed, regulations developed and the many supporting documents to be written by WorkSafe NZ in the form of Approved Codes of Practice and Best Practice Guidelines. There are many changes coming in 2015 that will require clients and contractors to share their knowledge and experience. LG

FEBRUARY 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

Looking ahead Prosperous economy brings benefits

R LGNZ IS WORKING ON MULTIPLE PROJECTS THAT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO ECONOMIC PROSPERITY ACROSS NEW ZEALAND’S REGIONS.

egional economic development is important to New Zealand as a whole because all regions could benefit from a more buoyant economy. As we in local government consider the year ahead, the sector is looking forward to working more closely with central government and business to unlock economic potential. The country’s economic growth strategy needs to consider the nation as a whole and the needs of the regions. Understanding the wider goals of NZ Inc is beneficial for cities, towns, rural and provincial areas alike. The key to future growth is having a firm grasp on each region’s place in our economy, their contribution to NZ Inc and what makes their region unique. This supports government priorities to build a more productive and competitive economy, and deliver better public services. LGNZ took a step forward in this space last year with the launch of a NZ China Mayoral Forum to establish better connections between New Zealand and more than 600 cities and provinces in China. This will increase engagement to unlock trade and investment opportunities that over time will support New Zealand’s economic growth. Local government plays an important role in economic development by providing critical infrastructure and services for businesses, such as roading and water, to enable them to operate effectively. The sector invests more than $8 billion a year across New Zealand. We need to ensure we have critical infrastructure in place for our tourism aims, and to be able to meet national goals around production and exports. Strong businesses contribute significantly to economic buoyancy as jobs attract people to regions. Every region will have its own competitive advantage and distinctiveness that can help identify specific areas where

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collaboration can add value to the NZ Inc export effort. They need to understand their local business and industry composition and links to other regions, which is best done working alongside business. We are now living in a global community thanks to technology making everyone more connected and increased trade linking economies across the world. That means our regions are competing not just with each other for our existing population, but with the whole world. Strong, world-class infrastructure and a buoyant job market have never been more important for attracting and retaining skilled migrants. LGNZ is working on multiple projects that will contribute to economic prosperity across New Zealand’s regions. The LGNZ Local Government Funding Review, seeking a sustainable model for the future, is working on how the sector can contribute even more positively. The LGNZ 3 Waters Project has developed for the first time a clear picture of the state of our three waters (potable, waste and drinking) assets and services. Now we understand the issues we are preparing a set of solutions to establish a world-class three waters system in New Zealand that will support economic growth for the future. The Business Friendly Councils guidelines LGNZ published in 2014 detail the six key principles for creating a business-friendly council. This year we aim to work across the regions to encourage a culture change within councils that is more understanding and supportive for local businesses. Prosperous and resilient local economies provide better living standards for local communities and, more broadly, contribute to New Zealand’s economic prosperity. By working together with central government and business, we can make vital progress. LG

EDITOR

Changes in Government Policy Statement 2015 The Government Policy Statement on land transport announced at the end of last year sets out the Government’s strategic priorities and objectives for land transport over the next decade, as well as the funding direction necessary to achieve them. Local government is a critical co-investor in roading; owning, managing and bearing risk for over 88 per cent of the road network. Our rural roading network makes a huge contribution to the profitability of New Zealand. Planned investment in land transport aims to improve performance of the land transport system by focusing on economic growth and productivity, road safety and value for money. GPS outcomes are intended to help local government through provision of better access to markets, employment and business areas. Financial resources will go toward road improvements and maintenance, regional networks, public transport and cycleways. Comparison of the 2012 and 2015 GPS budget finds that, aside from consolidation of funding classes, projected annual funding of all activity classes is planned to increase between 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent over what was projected in the GPS 2012.

These increases in dollar estimates are mostly nominal, and increase at or slightly above the pace of annual inflation – consequently, the impact of budget increases are largely neutral. Additionally, it is important to note that the band of funding is relatively large in most activity classes. For example, the 2015 GPS reflects an upper range of funding in 2015/16 for Local Road Improvements of $230 million, while the lower range of funding is $150 million, a difference of $80 million. Historically, reflection of the economic contribution of local road networks has not been as strong as it should have been and LGNZ has long advocated that the economic contribution of local and regional roads be better recognised. The GPS 2015 outlines a new Regional Improvements activity class which replaces ‘R-funds’ with an upper budget expenditure of $90 million each year for the next three years. We are pleased to see this incremental step towards better allocation of road funding for high need regional projects.

The GPS includes several other new features in this direction, including: • national objectives for the land transport system as a whole, setting out the results expected to be delivered from the allocation of funding from the National Land Transport Fund, and how these results will be measured; • clear links to investment in an activity class, the results to be achieved, and how these results will be measured; • merging of some activity classes together to make it easier for the NZ Transport Agency to shift resources to the most efficient form of investment; and • placing more emphasis on reporting of the measurable value delivered by investment.

< LGNZ will continue to advocate for a stronger recognition of the contribution of local roads to the country and sees this GPS as a step in the right direction. >

Summary of key activity classes and planned budget funding

Source: Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2015 - Questions and Answers http://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Our-Work/Documents/GPS-2015-Questions-and-Answers.pdf FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

EDITOR

Audit and risk LGNZ has a strong focus on audit and risk. This is an important component of LGNZ’s wider work to strengthen governance and performance across the sector. Having strong audit and risk committees in place is best practice, to help ensure standards of quality and compliance across council operations. The need for audit committees

Benefits of an audit

Ethically, local authorities are required to have audit committees. It is also a legal requirement under the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA). The Act requires a local authority to manage revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities, investments and general financial dealings prudently and in a manner that promotes the current and future interests of the community.

An audit aims to provide a high, but not absolute, level of assurance. In a financial report audit, evidence is gathered on a “test” basis because of the large volume of transactions and other events being reported on. The auditor uses professional judgement to assess the impact of the evidence gathered on the formation of the audit opinion.

EquiP, LGNZ’s Centre of Excellence, has put in place services that provide hands-on assistance in establishing an audit and risk committee to embed best practice audit, risk and financial reporting.

The concept of materiality is implicit in a financial report audit. Auditors only report “material” errors or omissions – that is, those errors or omissions that are of a magnitude or nature that would affect a third party’s conclusion about the matter.

The LGA also states that a local authority should ensure prudent stewardship and the efficient and effective use of its resources in the interests of its district or region. Identify and mitigate risk Whenever local government undertakes action to support their intended outcomes, there will always be risk. These risks cannot be avoided but must be identified and managed. The role of an audit and risk committee is to use good governance skills to gain an assurance that the risks have been identified, and where possible, have been mitigated. An audit and risk committee is the ideal structure to achieve this. Local authorities, like the managers of most public entities, must publish an annual financial report. The auditor examines the financial report, compares its representations with the recognised framework and gathers appropriate evidence. The auditor forms and expresses an opinion on whether the report complies with the recognised framework of generally accepted accounting practice (known as “GAAP”); and fairly reflects the entity’s financial performance and financial position. The entity publishes the auditor’s opinion with the financial report, so that readers of the financial report have the benefit of knowing the auditor’s independent perspective.

Independent perspective that auditors bring An auditor provides independent perspective by: • examining the representation or action and comparing it with a recognised framework or set of pre-determined criteria; • gathering evidence to support the examination and comparison; • forming a conclusion based on that evidence; and • reporting that conclusion and any other relevant comment.

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The auditor does not: • examine every transaction – this would be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming; or • guarantee the absolute accuracy of a financial report – although the audit opinion does imply that no material errors exist; or • discover or prevent all frauds (the entity’s management is responsible for ensuring that internal control is adequate to minimise risks from fraud). In other types of audit (such as a performance audit), the auditor can provide assurance that, for example, the entity’s systems and procedures are effective and efficient, or that the entity has acted in a particular matter with due probity. However, the auditor might also find that only qualified (or even no) assurance can be given. In any event, the findings from the audit will be reported by the auditor.

EquiP’s Audit and Risk Service Achieving and maintaining excellence requires diligence, expertise and significant work on a continuing basis. EquiP’s Audit and Risk Service provides the tools that enable councils to effectively implement and oversee best practice to strengthen governance, audit and risk performance and financial reporting – including how to effectively communicate financial performance. Local Government (Financial Reporting and Prudence) Regulations 2014 sets out benchmark measures and data reporting methods councils are required to implement to report and communicate their financial activities. The Local Government Audit and Risk Management guide provides a starting point in establishing key functions that oversee audit and risk people and processes.

EDITOR

KnowHow audit and risk committee workshop LGNZ’s KnowHow offers a workshop that can be run for councils anywhere in New Zealand on request, titled ‘Audit and Risk Committees – Roles and Functions.’ Audit and risk management are essential functions of any governing body. This workshop begins with an overview of risk management and what the governance role is in risk management. A cornerstone of transparent and successful local government is solid financial reporting – we discuss the role of the audit and risk committee in the functions of external financial reporting and engagement with external and internal auditors. The final discussion focuses on the role of audit and finance committees. Topics include: • • • •

risk management and the role of an elected member; the importance of good reporting; the roles of external audit vs internal audit; and why an audit and risk committee?

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 04 924 1200.

The independence rules The auditor must be independent – both in fact and appearance. This means that the auditor must avoid situations that would impair the auditor’s objectivity or create personal bias that could influence (or could be perceived by a third party as likely to influence) the auditor’s judgement. Relationships that could have an effect on the auditor’s independence include: • personal relationships (such as between family members); • financial involvement with the entity (such as by way of investment); • provision of other services to the entity (such as undertaking valuations); and • dependence on fees from one source.

Upcoming KnowHow workshops 16 February: Audit & Risk Committees - Rotorua Audit and risk management are essential functions of any governing body. This workshop begins with an overview of risk management and what is the governance role in risk management. A cornerstone of transparent and successful local government is solid financial reporting. We discuss the role of the audit and risk committee in the functions of external financial reporting and engagement with external and internal auditors. 19 March: IOD/LGNZ KnowHow – Applied Governance Essentials for Local Government - Wellington This workshop provides an understanding of the role and fundamental responsibilities of a council in a governance setting. The programme distinguishes between direction and managing, allowing you to understand the differing roles and purpose of each. The objectives are to raise governance standards and capability within your council, to strengthen governance structures within councils and to improve decision-making within the local government sector. 15 April: A Practical Guide to Public Consultation – Nelson Good consultation provides the foundation for good decisions. With the right consultation your council will make choices that are right for, and supported by, your community. This hands-on workshop uses case studies and exercises to help you understand different consultation strategies. To register for KnowHow workshops please visit www.lgnz.co.nz/equip-and-knowhow/

EquiP’s Audit and Risk Service EquiP has carefully selected a team of experts with the proven knowledge of audit and risk processes. We can provide an additional package of services that can be flexibly tailored to: • • • • •

enable and embed best practice audit, risk and financial reporting; provide hands on assistance in establishing an audit and risk committee; ensure the functions of audit and risk management run smoothly; strengthen the relationship to an external auditor and the audit process; support the audit process to ensure rigour and reliability in reporting of forecasts and other financial benchmarks; • provide valuable ‘first point of call’ advice on an on-going basis to ensure effective implementation of best practice guidance; • provide an independent assessment of your council’s current audit, risk and financial practice and levels of performance; and • advise how your council best responds to community and media enquiries regarding the reporting of financial benchmarks.

FEBRUARY 2015 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

EDITOR

The Final Word Creating health and safety regulations that protect and support communities While local government across the country supports many of the proposed changes under the Health and Safety Reform Bill, there are some that could adversely impact the involvement of communities in local activities. One such change would treat all volunteers as workers, making councils liable for local residents who choose to pitch in at events and projects such as beach clean-ups or when school groups plant trees in parks. Local government is seeking changes to the Health and Safety Reform Bill for the benefit of communities, to allow councils to continue working with local residents on voluntary environmental, school and community projects. The sense of engagement people receive from volunteering is important for residents to feel they are connected and contributing to their community. Councils would no longer be able to effectively work with the vast numbers of people who do various volunteer activities if the proposed changes take place. Volunteers play an important place in communities across all of New Zealand but these changes would threaten councilsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; resources for events such as stream clean-ups, and their ability to support vital community centres where volunteers work.

< Local government is seeking changes to the Health and Safety Reform Bill for the benefit of communities, to allow councils to continue working with residents on voluntary environmental, school and community projects. >

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Rural areas that have volunteers in libraries, museums and local information centres would be hit the hardest. On average, people in New Zealand spend 13 minutes per day in volunteering activities, the most in the OECD where the average is four minutes per day. Changes proposed in the Health and Safety Reform Bill around volunteers would negatively impact communities by limiting councilsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; abilities to provide the public with opportunities for civic engagement. In contrast to Australia and the United Kingdom, it seems New Zealand legislation has failed to keep pace with international best practice and changes in work practices. While most people would agree to a law that prevents workplace injuries and deaths, the proposed changes also have some worrying aspects that would affect our much loved kiwi lifestyle. The Billâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proposed provisions for volunteers may threaten the Kiwi way of doing things. Up and down the country, volunteers plant trees, pick up rubbish, fundraise and deliver a myriad of other community projects. Volunteers are also involved in events run by councils such as summer festivals. Obviously we want everyone to be safe but to treat these people as employees will see their expertise side-lined. Not only will community spirit be quashed but some councils will choose not to run projects which could be made possible by volunteers. We agree that every effort should be made to ensure no injuries or accidents happen in the workplace. No legislation can, however, make life totally safe. We all must still have personal responsibility and the sector considers the correct balance between the imposition of a duty and the potential to incur liability for volunteers is already achieved under the current Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992. Local government supports these changes generally, and liability would be tightened where needed, but in the case of volunteers, we consider the current approach provides the right balance.

REFLECTIONS ON UPSTREAM ENERGY IS THE MAGAZINE FOR ALL UPSTREAM ENERGY INDUSTRY SECTORS. OIL & GAS IN FOCUS

The upstream energy industry’s only print magazine is now published four times a year and each issue has a distinct commercial theme.

Vol.8 No.2 2014

Summer (January) PERSPECTIVES

An annual report on the country’s upstream energy sectors written by selected association chiefs, expert commentators and industry representatives, who reflect on the previous year and ‘forecast’ the coming year. Described as the ‘primer’ for the country’s upstream energy scene.

Autumn (April) OIL & GAS IN FOCUS

An annual review of our petroleum and hydro-carbon industry, with a focus on large projects and activity sites around the Taranaki region, and exploration and future plans in other prospective regions.

INNOVATIONS & TRENDS Vol.8 No.2 2014

Winter (July) INNOVATIONS & TRENDS

Looking at upstream energy sectors in terms of innovations and trends in project design, plant building and project operations. We cover equipment, technology, software, methodology, operational trends, and look at what’s around the corner for our future.

Spring (October) AUTOMATION

A wide review of automation processes in all upstream energy sectors. AUTOMATION Vol.8 No.2 2014

New subscribers Make sure you get every issue of EnergyNZ magazine. Email admin@contrafed.co.nz with all your details including your name, address, postcode and EnergyNZ in the subject line. An annual subscription only costs $30 (including GST and postage within NZ).

EDITOR

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