BayBuzz Magazine - Mar/Apr 2013

DAMMING

CONCLUSIONS ON

IRRIGATION SELLING THE

BAY Amalgamation DEBATE BEGINS

e ...

No mor

MAR /APR 2013

E FRES BEE !

GROW LOCAL MIDLIFE CAREER

CHANGE VOICES

Rod Oram, David Trubridge Lawrence Yule, Russel Norman, Claire Hague, Paul Paynter, Kay Bazzard Anthony Vile, Keith Newman Brendan Webb, Jessica Soutar Barron

02

9 772253 262009

So, who’s got the drugs?

Hawke’s Bay’s Drug Deal

by mark sweet

FROM THE EDITOR

NOT business as usual BY ~ tom belford

In February, A Better Hawke’s Bay formally submitted its reorganisation proposal – recommending one council for all of Hawke’s Bay – to the Local Government Commission.

This action set in motion a process that within the year will officially present to Hawke’s Bay voters a fundamental choice about our future governance — status quo and muddling along versus unified leadership behind a more compelling vision for the Bay. At this point, it’s hard to predict exactly when that choice will land in our laps. It might be prudent to assume that our local body elections in October will be ‘business as usual’, in that candidates will be standing once again for the seats that now exist in our region’s five councils. And there are plenty of them – 49 councillors and four mayors.

Those unsatisfied with ‘business as usual’ are already discussing new candidates who will stand — possibly as a ticket — as advocates of unification.

Russel Norman, and David Trubridge assert that there are smarter ways to attain prosperity – for all sectors – ways that don’t ruin the environment that so many in the Bay treasure and enjoy (and our economic engine, after all) … and that don’t reduce us to indentured servants hawking cheap commodities.

Now there’s an issue – a choice – for 2013!

And so, just as with amalgamation, advocates of a clean, safe and economy-sustaining environmental future for Hawke’s Bay are also surfacing candidates.

Bring these two forces together, both wanting — above all else — change of direction, and one might suggest 2013 does not look like an especially propitious election year for incumbents … especially those on the Regional Council.

For Hawke’s Bay incumbents, the clock is already ticking. A ‘business as usual’ local election in 2013 will be anything but business as usual.

Not too far after the October election, a referendum on the reorganisation plan will occur, given that both sides on the issue are committed to making that happen and giving all voters a voice.

But choices about governance are not the only political dynamic gathering force.

At the same time, there’s increasing disenchantment with the region’s handling of environmental issues — most notably (but not limited to) the unaddressed environmental impacts of a $600 million dam in Central Hawke’s Bay, fracking, and more broadly, the impacts of major oil and gas development in the region.

Surrounding those resource issues is the perhaps even mightier emotional concern over precisely who is going to wind up owning and exploiting the Bay’s – the public’s – precious natural assets and the production from those assets.

And concern over where the unbridled zeal for growth at all costs is taking Hawke’s Bay. What will the Bay look and feel like in the future?

Attach the word ‘Jobs’ to any proposal in Hawke’s Bay, however zany and unproven, and the Chamber of Commerce crowd and the politicians clamber aboard … unthinkingly, uncritically.

Sure, we need more and well-paying jobs in Hawke’s Bay. In their opinion articles in this edition, voices like Rod Oram,

P.S. By now you’ve noticed, no more free copies of BayBuzz magazine. Thank you for subscribing, or purchasing a copy at one of our supporting stores. We will occasionally deliver sample copies as part of our subscription drive.

But make no mistake … no more freebies!

SUBSCRIPTIONS You decide what to pay

See inside back cover for details or visit ...

www.baybuzz.co.nz / subscribe Advertising trevor@baybuzz.co.nz ~ 021 0202 9622 Editorial tom@baybuzz.co.nz BayBuzz PO Box 8322, Havelock North 4157

ISSUE No.11 : MAR / APR 2013

THIS MONTH Inside drugs and drug dependency in Hawke’s Bay. Big choices loom ahead for the Bay as amalgamation and a $600 million dam project wind through the decision process.

How should we farm? Should we ‘grow local’? Can we spend HB’s $800 million of central government funding more effectively?

ISSN 2253-2625 (Print) ISSN 2253-2633 (Online)

FEATURES 18

ProgramMEs That Work

By Jessica Soutar Barron

With a bit of help from council, the people get it right on job training and food assistance.

38

Resilience Key to Smart Farming

By Keith Newman

Technology will help HB farmers overcome tough obstacles.

40

6 So, who's got the drugs?

Mark Sweet takes an inside look at drugs and drug dependency in Hawke’s Bay.

14

It’s Official … the Amalgamation Debate Has Begun

By Tom Belford A concrete plan to create one council for Hawke’s Bay has been formally submitted to the Local Government Commission. What is the plan and what happens now?

A House to Match My Prius

By Anthony Vile

We have efficient cars. Why not efficient houses?

44

Our Health and the Environment

By Jessica Soutar Barron Global warming, water, housing affect your health.

This publication uses vegetable based inks and environmentally responsible papers. The document is printed throughout on Sumo K Matt, which is FSC® certified and from responsible souces, manufactured under ISO 14001 Environmental management Systems.

24

24

SELLING THE BAY

By Tom Belford How do our councils spend millions promoting the Bay … and their own initiatives?

mar /apr 2013

contributors > JESS SOUTAR BARRON Jess is a wordsmith and project manager whose past gigs have included time with Sky TV, Hastings District Council and Band, as well as three years as a communications manager with the Metropolitan Police Service.

She also produces Fruit Bowl Craft Jam and Pecha Kucha in the Bay.

IDEAS & OPINIONS

CULTURE & LIFESTYLE

22

54

Lawrence Yule

Keith Newman

32

56

Paul Paynter

Kay Bazzard

36

60

$800 MILLION …

A LOT OF MONEY

BEWARE OF WITCHES

DAMMING CONCLUSIONS ON IRRIGATION Rod Oram

48

ADMINISTRIVIA HOBBLES CHARITIES

BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES

MAKING IT PERSONAL Jessica Soutar Barron

62

SMART GREEN AGRICULTURE

DIVERSIONS: SPEED DATING FOR SENIORS

Russel Norman

Kay Bazzard

50

64

David Trubridge

Brendan Webb

GROW LOCAL

INTO THE RETIREMENT HOME

58

BRAINS FIRST, THEN HARD WORK Claire Hague

THE BAYBUZZ TEAM > EDITOR Tom Belford Senior writers Jessica Soutar Barron, Keith Newman, Mark Sweet, Tom Belford columnists Antony Vile, Brendan Webb, Claire Hague, David Trubridge, Des Ratima, Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, Elizabeth Sisson, Kay Bazzard, Lizzie Russell, Paul Paynter, Phyllis Tichinin, Roy Dunningham, Tim Gilbertson editor’s right hand Brooks Belford photographyTim Whittaker creative, design & production Steff @ Ed art assistant Julia Jameson advertising sales & distribution Tracy Pope & Trevor Howes Online Mogul business manager Silke Whittaker printing Format Print

KEITH NEWMAN Keith is a journo with nearly 40-years’ experience across mainstream and trade media.

He’s won awards for writing about hi-tech, produces Musical Chairs programmes for Radio NZ and has published four books, one on the internet in New Zealand and three others on New Zealand history.

LIZZIE RUSSELL Lizzie grew up in Hawke’s Bay, and returned in 2010 after stints in Christchurch, Palmerston North, Wellington, Te Awamutu and Tokyo. She works at Hastings City Art Gallery and as a freelance writer, and is co-organiser of the Wildflower Sculpture Exhibition and the HB Readers and Writers Festival.

MARK SWEET Napier-born, Mark worked overseas in Hong Kong and Scotland, but returned to Hawke’s Bay, launching Pacifica restaurant.

Selected for the Mãori Literature Trust’s Te Papa Tupu programme where he was mentored in refining his just-released novel, Zhu Mao. He’s published Portrait & Opinion with Richard Brimmer.

TOM BELFORD Tom’s past includes the Carter White House, building Ted Turner’s first philanthropic organization, doing heaps of marketing consulting for major nonprofits and corporates.

Tom publishes BayBuzz and writes an acclaimed blog for professional NGO fundraisers and communicators in North America and Europe.

Letters to the Editor We encourage readers to criticize, expand upon or applaud our articles as you see fit.

Each of our magazine articles is published online – www.baybuzz.co.nz – where you can always comment … at any length and as often as you like.

But we are also happy to publish a limited number of readers’ letters here. You can email us at editors@baybuzz.co.nz or mail us at BayBuzz, PO Box 8322, Havelock North.

Afternoons in the Sun In his opinion piece, Douglas Lloyd Jenkins takes a wider view of the art community and judges us quite harshly for our parochiality.

Douglas, it is great to have your viewpoint – we need it in order think outside the square, but you seem to miss the transitionary function our artistic environment needs in nurturing resident artists, we need the affirmation of seeing our work displayed and being sold. It builds self-confidence and the vision of what is possible in terms of exploring our creative practice and the markets outside the Bay. We need a launching pad and HB citizens need and love to know what artists here are doing.

No doubt, he has in mind his vision of HBMAG, and we are all dying to see what is in store for us when it opens. It is amazing to see how HCAG has developed under Maree Mills’ directorship, in bringing nationally sourced exhibitions to Hastings and balancing that with regionally sourced work.

How fortunate it is that we have two such exciting and visionary gallery directors, plus Dr Suzette Major at EIT working in our region.

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

4

A great debate, what do others think?

Announcing the Napier/ Gisborne Railway Party The future of the NZ Rail Network is now on the line. We now have the possibility that Rural lines will be shutdown; it’s already started. North Auckland Line, also the spur to Dargaville, Napier to Gisborne, and probably the rest of Taranaki.

The only way now is to petition for a Non-partisan, Independent Review of the entire NZ goods and Services Transport Systems. Inviting all political parties to participate in setting the terms of reference, without fear or favour. To achieve this goal we need to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the NZ Transport System which includes Rail, Road and Shipping interests.

The future of our country is at stake.

We cannot allow just one transport mode to take virtually total control.

We absolutely need backup from other transport modes, for the future infrastructure development of our country.

Kudos

Kay Bazzard

BB is such a fantastic magazine. We read it and then re-read it every time we get one.

Announcing the Napier/ Gisborne Railway Party

Thank you to all the Buzz team for such hard work - it is so rare to have such cuttingly no-shit, courageous, real journalism.

We are very lucky to have you all.

I am relatively new to the Bay and have lived all over the shop - and still, the Buzz is one of a kind.

One way to make lines like the Napier- Gisborne line viable would be to ensure all trucking companies be required to have a financial interest in the NZ rail system; they would have to interface their businesses in such a way as to utilize this multi-billion dollar resource to best advantage, for all!

Dexter McGhie

I hope your off-the-wall, generous, brave and very witty subscription drive brings in many, many (paying) punters. It deserves it.

Best, Willow

Kudos I am an ardent fan of BayBuzz magazine. Thought provoking, educational and entertaining. I emit a sigh of relief to read the articles and to know there are concerned like-minded souls out there in Hawke’s Bay. Margaret (Maggie) Hollis

Afternoons in the Sun Firstly, congratulations on a fantastic magazine.

May I also thank you for publishing Douglas Lloyd Jenkin’s refreshingly frank article, ‘Afternoons In The Sun’, in your December issue. It offered a straightforward, honest and wholly realistic assessment of the issues faced by the local art market, public galleries and audiences.

Having represented artists in Europe for 20 years I have recently returned to Napier, and think Hawke’s Bay, and New Zealand, must be seen to take itself more seriously as an artistic community.

Discriminating favourably toward only our most talented artists will strengthen the core of New Zealand’s artistic reputation, the associated commercial market, and in turn, our emerging talent. I commend Douglas on raising this issue locally and stating his case so precisely. Lets also hope ‘Creative New Zealand’ takes note.

I believe New Zealanders are instinctively creative and deserve to be rewarded with art of exceptional quality, rather than tolerating the mediocre in quantity. As of February I will be the owner of a local Napier gallery, and look forward to growing its reputation by maintaining good selective practice.

Kind regards, Annika Bennett Director, Art & Enterprise Limited.

Chair, Auckland Festival of Photography

ADVERTISEMENT

Battle of the Titans

Entrancing the thousands . . . Bernard Denton and Horsesports Suzuki competing in the Olympic Cup at the 2012 NZ Horse of the Year Show. PhOtO: KAMPiC/Kerry Marshall.

There’s no shortage of quality, excitement, glamour, glitz and fun at the 2013 New Zealand Horse of the Year Show.

W

i t h A u s t r a l a s i a ’s top showjumping combinations, the world’s best mounted games riders, equestrian “royalty” and 2600 horses, the hawke’s Bay-hosted show promises to be one of the best. the jewel in the crown is the JB Olympic Cup, for Showjumper of the Year. With a $200,000 prize purse there are plenty of experienced combinations lining up from both sides of the tasman to vie for honours.

Defending champion Katie McVean (Mystery Creek) is on the cusp of creating history once again.

With three consecutive wins already to her credit this talented Olympian and World Champs representative is poised to take the glory with any one of her three likely mounts she plans to enter.

Fellow Olympians Maurice Beatson (Dannevirke) and Samantha Mcintosh (Cambridge) are just two of a raft of Kiwi riders who could upset McVean’s plans.

But there are some serious Australians to consider as well, with nearly 20 combinations lured to New Zealand on the Long White Cloud tour and the promise of hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money . . . if they can win the classes. they’re also here for Showjumping’s Holy Grail – the first of the Mitavite Australia versus New Zealand test series – at Church Road

All grace and beauty . . . Hannah Appleton aboard Fibre Fresh Zactac Graceful in the CDI*** FEI Grand Prix Freestyle Dressage at the 2012 NZ Horse of the Year Show.

Annabel Wigley and Frog Rock in full flight during the cross country of the three day event at the 2012 NZ Horse of the Year Show.

Winery on Sunday, March 10. the second test is part of the McMillan Equine Feeds Silver Fern Stakes during the hawke’s Bay Friday Night Extravaganza. individually, Alison Rowland probably leads the Aussie charge – she and her team will compete at the horse of the Year Show then head straight to Europe to start their 2014 World Equestrian Championships campaign.

Also likely to feature is Rory hovell, who will also head on to Europe with Rowland after their Kiwi adventures.

Regular trans tasman visitor Billy Raymont can never be discounted, nor can Jamie Kermod or Jamie Winning.

Sir Mark Todd is flying in from the UK for the show, and will compete in the BetaVet New Zealand Speed Championship on Sunday afternoon, just before the JB Olympic Cup.

he’s also scheduled to be part of the hawke’s Bay today Friday Night Extravaganza and will no doubt be having a close look at the cross country course for the Bell tea threeday event. the dressage includes the GJ Gardner Kur on Sunday – it’s a chance to see a more refined side of horsemanship, garnered from many hours of training.

At the other extreme – with no less training – is the 2013 NRM Mounted Games World team Championship which sees teams from 10 countries battling it out at break-neck speed for top-dog honours. there is so much to take in at the horse of the Year Show – with 17 disciplines over the six-day show, and the nation’s top titles at stake, it is a feast for the eyes, with dedication and commitment set to inspire anyone who visits.

PhOtO: KAMPiC/Kerry Marshall.

WHAT: The 2013 New Zealand Horse of the Year Show WHEN: March 12-17, 2013 WHERE: Hawke’s Bay Showgrounds, Hastings INFO: hoy.co.nz TICKETS: ticketek.co.nz

PhOtO: KAMPiC/Sarah Alderman.

dru SO, Who’s got THE

ugs?

BY ~ MARK SWEET

drugs

‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

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Meetings of Narcotics Anonymous open and close with this prayer, which recognises that addicts can abstain from destructive behaviour, and even though the past cannot be changed, the present and future can.

The gathering is attended by half a dozen folk who meet regularly to share their struggles and triumphs in overcoming drug addictions. “You can’t do it alone,” one of the participants tells me. “We all need support.”

Each person has a turn to address the group, and they all begin by giving their name, and saying. “I am an addict.”

“I’ve been clean for 14 years,” a man in his 50s tells the group. “Last Thursday was my anniversary. I remember so well the day I decided, no more.” And he continues to tell his story, not of his distant past, but how recently he nearly “fell over” when bereavement, compounded by an argument with a loved one, were triggers for relapse.

“Relapse is all about triggers,” says drug and alcohol counsellor, Dennis Coon. “Loss of job, relationship break-up; any form of stress where everything becomes too hard.

So we identify the triggers and put in place coping mechanisms; something positive to focus on, rather than the negative aspects of the trigger.”

While Dennis Coon deals with folk who have become addicted to drugs, Dave de Lange, head of Hawke’s Bay CIB, is charged with upholding the law proscribed in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975.

“We enforce the law in the different categories of drugs. Cannabis is class C, whereas the high ender drugs, like heroin and methamphetamine are class A. The categories reflect the seriousness and harm the drug can cause,” says Detective Senior Sergeant de Lange.

“Cannabis, ecstasy, and methamphetamine, or P, are the most common drugs we encounter.”

Cannabis “Hawke’s Bay has a good climate to grow cannabis,” says Dave de Lange.

“It’s grown all year round, outdoors during the summer when the climate is suitable, but there’s always cannabis being grown indoors.

Large scale cannabis is grown in the forestry and in the bush, and for indoor growing somebody will set up a room or a garage, usually in a rural area, but also in an urban setting, with artificial lighting and heating.

There’s money to be made, basically.

We focus on the drug-dealing houses.

Mostly a ‘tinny house’ just sells cannabis.

It’s not nice to have a drug-dealing house in your street. They disrupt the community, and drive other crime.

A lot of the drug-dealing houses have children living there and for them it seems acceptable and normal. And many children see their parents, their parents’ friends, and neighbours all using drugs, so the kids think it’s okay.”

Kids using drugs and alcohol is of major concern to Dennis Coon.

“Over the last five years we’ve had a lot of young people between the ages of 14 and 16 coming who are heavily into alcohol and drugs.

Some of these young people drink 10 to 12 cans of these ‘lolly water’ mixes in a sitting, and use cannabis at the same time. And synthetic cannabis is still about.

You can get it from the local dairy. One’s called K2, and we’re very concerned about the damage it can do.

Young people’s bodies are still developing and they can do long-term damage. Our concern is that if they’re drinking and drugging at this age, what are they going to be like when they reach their 20s? We predict far reaching issues with mental health.”

Psychiatrist Greg Young confirms Dennis Coon’s concerns.

“A young person’s brain is growing and changing, and in males, that doesn’t stop until their mid-20s. We should be Continued on Page 9

»

Classes of Controlled Drugs Classes of Controlled Drugs New Zealand’s Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 is a national drug control law that classifies drugs into three classes, or schedules, based on their risk of harm: Class A, or First Schedule: Very high risk of harm.

• • • • •

LSD Heroin Cocaine Methamphetamine Psilocin and Psilocgbin (mushrooms)

Class B, or Second Schedule: High risk of harm.

• Cannabis (hashish, cannabis oil, or other preparations) • Morphine • Hydromorpone • Pethadine • Amphetamine • MDMA (Ecstasy) Class C, or Third Schedule: Moderate risk of harm.

• Cannabis (plant, leaf, fruit or seeds) • Barbiturates (phenobarbital, barbital, etc.)

• Benzodiazepines (diazepam, alprazolam, lorazepam, nitrazepam etc)

drugs

concerned about exposing a developing brain to any sort of chemical. It probably has to be accepted that many people can use cannabis and not become psychotic, but there’s a significant minority who are very vulnerable to its effects.

We know that some people who take cannabis or synthetic cannabis can present with worsening of psychosis. Some of them go on to have enduring problems.

For a young person who is susceptible to schizophrenia, for instance, smoking cannabis can be disastrous.”

On my way home I visit a friend of 30 years who grows his own ‘dope’. I’ve telephoned first because I know he doesn’t like people just ‘popping in.’

His plants are scattered throughout his garden, and he has to point them out they’re so well concealed. He prunes and trains them to trail along the ground, a bit like cucumbers grow.

“I bought the seeds back from Thailand years ago,” he says. “I give some to my sister and keep the rest for personal.” I know his sister. She’s a teacher in Auckland, and a mother with three adult children. “A couple of ounces lasts her all year. She puffs up with her girlfriends.”

My friend is an advocate of decriminalisation of cannabis. He compares it to alcohol, and eloquently points out the hypocrisy with the damage caused by our

legally-sanctioned drug, alcohol, costing the taxpayer $4 billion a year.

Dave de Lange won’t be drawn into the politics of cannabis de-criminalisation, but he says, “We see the damage cannabis does, and it certainly has a big impact on the mental health sector, and a lot of cannabis users do move on to using other drugs.”

Ecstasy (MDMA) E’s are synonymous with the rave dance culture that started in the late 1980s. Mostly taken in pill form, it’s made to a chemical formula: methylenedioxymethylamphetamine.

As CIB’s Dave de Lange points out: “Ecstasy is fashionable, and it’s easy to conceal. People drop one and they’re set up for the night. They don’t have to pop out and top up like a lot of other drugs.”

He suggests: “Have a yarn to some of the publicans, because they’re more aware of what the party drug scene is like, but we know people take their E and go out to the pubs and clubs partying, but they won’t drink any alcohol. They just drink water.”

I take his advice and ask the publican at one of Napier’s most popular bars.

“Sure,” she says, “there’s been an influx of people drinking only water. It used to be mid- to upper-class people, but we’re getting all sorts now. Maybe it’s because E’s got cheaper. I don’t know, but

“Relapse is all about triggers ... so we identify the triggers and put in place coping mechanisms; something positive to focus on, rather than the negative aspects of the trigger.” dennis coon drug and alcohol counsellor

it’s not good for the bar business.”

Ecstasy is classified as an empathagen, and its original name for street sale was Empathy, but that changed to Ecstasy, Continued on Page 10

» Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

9

drugs

“I met people who totally wrecked their lives, like this wealthy real estate agent driving a BMW ending up totally broke, riding a push-bike in a matter of a year. And another fella, a straight fella, forced to pay his debts with anal sex.”

Penny ... on surviving P When P came on the scene I was totally against it. All my mates were into it but I turned my nose up at it. It was the same when everyone started smoking pot. I was like, nah, I don’t want to do that.

penny

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

10

because it sounded more marketable.

I ask psychiatrist Greg Young if the most ‘desirable’ effect of Ecstasy is how it breaks down the walls of communication by alleviating feelings of guilt, remorse, and fear.

“I don’t know much about E,” he says, “It doesn’t present to psychiatrists as much as cannabis and other drugs. But all drugs that chemically affect the brain have the potential to be damaging. Interestingly though, when you say Ecstasy reduces the feelings of guilt, remorse and fear, that’s exactly what alcohol does. But as Douglas Sellman has pointed out, alcohol is unique in increasing propensity to violence.”

Professor Douglas Sellman is director of the National Addiction Centre at the University of Otago, and a staunch advocate of changing New Zealand’s drinking culture.

He doesn’t pull his punches when he says, “We await a government concerned enough about the victims of uncontrolled alcohol use and with guts enough to stand up to the alcohol industry. That day will come, just as it did with tobacco policy.”

(The Press, 3 September 2012) When I asked addiction counsellor Dennis Coon his opinion of the most destructive drug, he said, “Most people say methamphetamine, but I think the world’s worst drug is alcohol.”

Methamphetamine Police spokesman, Dave de Lange, tells me heroin and the old home-bake have fallen off in favor of methamphetamine, and he’s deeply concerned of the effects this drug is having on individuals, families, and the wider community.

“Methamphetamine, or P as it’s mostly called, is really damaging,” he says. “From our experience we see people who have started using P and their deterioration is shocking, and it causes so much trouble for families. They can’t trust a member who’s Continued on Page 11

»

Then one night I had a taste and it was good fun. It started just once a week on Friday nights. I’d share a hundy dollar bag with my girlfriend. It was good fun, but then it escalated and I wanted it during the week.

In our culture we were all drinkers, but when crack came along we were up all night, and the house was tidy as. But it was innocent then. I was 24.

In the beginning we were grabbing it off our mate. He was way more down the line then we were. We became really good friends because we were going to work together. He was really insane – biting the steering wheel and his eyes were always out there. And I just thought, hey, you’re amusing, you’re hilarious, not realizing he was so far gone on P. Then I met this other guy who paid me in P to live at my house. One morning when I woke up there was a car full of Mongrel Mobs sitting in my driveway because he owed them money. That was pretty scary.

He was supplying the President of the Mongrel Mob. Later on this guy went to jail for breaching his bail and I had his phone, so I rang his dealer, and I said to the Pres, ‘You want me to do it for you?’ and he said, ‘Sounds good,’ and we were driving up the Coast, and I thought, ‘My God, I’m in a car with the President of the Mongrel Mob, I could end up raped and dumped in a ditch.’ I didn’t have any understanding of gang culture then. But because I was new on the scene everyone thought, ‘that’s his new little crack ho,’ but in fact it was the other way round.

He made me feel safe. I didn’t understand at the time why no one hassled me.

The thing that got me heavily into P was I fell in love with this fella.

In the beginning it was so exciting. We were so gassed. He had a lot of mana and I was mana hungry so I gobbled it all up. I was modest about it, and respected the other men, so they were good to me.

My man was a bit of a spooky dude.

When a lot of people were around he’d be reading, or pretending to read, but he was really listening, and then when he did talk he’d speak really softly so you had to listen carefully, and what he said was really profound.

He had major intuition, and I was intrigued and in awe of him, but then it all went down hill with the P, and he lost all his money. He was spending $900 a day.

Then the dealer got busted and it all came to a crashing halt. But there’s always someone to take their place, and I wasn’t needed anymore. I’d played my role well, and earned respect, so then I became his little spy.

So we scored from other dealers, and the most meth I ever saw was $300,000 worth sitting on the table. This dealer was showing off. I noticed that with big drug dealers. Their weed was always stronger, their crack was always better, their cars were always faster, and their cocks were always bigger. It was never a female thing. But females were always better at selling it.

There came a point where I had to get out, and I didn’t leave my old life on bad terms. I could have come here, or another town, and done the same stuff – different town, same shit, because P’s everywhere. But I’d had enough.

No way am I going back to that sort of life. No way.

drugs

Drug Prices Cannabis $ • Tinnie (about 1gm max) 20 $ • 3g bag 50 $ • Ounce bag 300 – $350

Ecstasy / Ecstasy Mimics • Tablet

30 – $40

$

Methamphetamine (P) • • • •

Point (1/10 of a gram) 1/4 bag (.25gm) 1/2 bag (.5gm) 1 Gram

100 $ 220 – $250 $ 450 – $500 $ 900 $

Penny has a theory of why she survived P. “The dealer was this straight looking pakeha fella from a well-to-do family, and he explained to me how to smoke it properly to get maximum effect, and what happens in your brain if you don’t use it properly. And he told me that expression, ‘he’s fried or she’s fried,’ is right, because once your brain is fried, you stay fried. That means you’ve sizzled out all your serotonin, and you don’t recover.

Penny is adamant that P is not physically addictive. “I know that because I’d come back to Napier for a week and not think about P. All I needed was good feeds and heaps of sleep, and I was fine.” She says, “It’s not like heroin. It’s not physical, or wasn’t for me, it was all in my head. But P sure does fuck with your head.”

I tell Greg Young about Penny’s experience, and he says, “I think she’s making a distinction about how you experience the drug rather than whether it’s a mind or body drug. The brain is the brain for the body, and one of the symptoms of methamphetamine withdrawal is extreme lethargy and fatigue, sometimes to the point of incontinence in bed, because the person hasn’t the energy to get up. Is that a mental symptom or a physical symptom?”

So what does methamphetamine do to the brain?

“Basically it stimulates a massive release of brain chemicals, a whole variety of brain chemicals, but particularly chemicals that cause pleasure like dopamine and serotonin. They become depleted and that’s why at the end of the effectiveness of the drug people report feeling absolutely dreadful, and the only way they see to feel better again, is to take more of the drug.”

I ask Dr Young why some people are more vulnerable to addictions than others.

Continued on Page 12

»

From a BayBuzz reader:

“Congrats on publishing such an informative and valuable publication.

We would still be in the dark on so many of the issues and decisions made by our many councillors if it was not for your dedicated work.”

86% of BayBuzz readers agree strongly that BayBuzz meets a need other publications do not.

From the Mar/Apr 2013 issue BayBuzz will only be available on annual subscription or for $5 per issue. Subscribe now at www.baybuzz.co.nz!

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

got a drug habit. They try to help, but in the end they often just wash their hands of them. It’s very sad, but there often comes a time when tough love is the only answer.”

Penny calls herself, ‘a survivor of P,’ and tells me: “I became totally skinnied out, big bags under my eyes. I looked like a witch, but I’d look in the mirror and think I looked great.”

And, “Yeah,” she says, “the whole thing is so cloak and dagger, and even your best friend from 20 years – if they’re on it too – they’re the worst. You don’t trust anybody, and I met people who totally wrecked their lives, like this wealthy real estate agent driving a BMW ending up totally broke, riding a push-bike in a matter of a year. And another fella, a straight fella, forced to pay his debts with anal sex.”

Although Penny was a P addict for 10 years, she has successfully rehabilitated herself, and is 18 months clean, and it’s hard to believe the vibrant young woman I’m talking to was once, ‘skinnied out.’ But

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drugs

“... often when you talk to people who have one kind of addiction, there are family members with other addictions, and a lot of guys I talk to who have cannabis or meth addictions, will have fathers or grandfathers who are alcoholics.”

A personal perspective from Mark Sweet

greg young, psychiatrist

The invitation came by email.

This was one party I couldn’t miss.

I’d known the host from wild Auckland days in the 70s, when we’d drink whiskey and smoke pot, then dance the night away at Swine’s nightclub, popping a pill if someone offered.

Mandrax was the rage.

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

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“That’s a very hard question to answer,” he says, “but we know a propensity to addiction is determined partly by genetic risk. Alcoholism can run in families. And often when you talk to people who have one kind of addiction, there are family members with other addictions, and a lot of guys I talk to who have cannabis or meth addictions, will have fathers or grandfathers who are alcoholics.

Also in some childhoods there’s a breakdown of security for the child and that child is in a state of constant vigilance.

For whatever reason the child is vulnerable – a sexual predator might be on the scene – and that constant vigilance makes the child anxious. It’s wearing and the child wants relief from that, so alcohol or cannabis or glue or petrol, and nicotine, is a way of relief.

And the other thing is it’s hard to experience pleasure when you’re constantly vigilant. You can’t relax to experience pleasure, so you use a drug as a more direct route.”

I mention this to the publican who’s “sick to death” of people coming into her bar high on drugs.

“Insecurity? I don’t know about that,” she says. “We have a crowd who come in here, we call them ‘the powder crew’ and some

We shared a flat for a while, but he moved out when my taste in drugs grew more extreme. This was the era when Mr Asia, Terry Sinclair, thought he was doing Kiwis a big favour by distributing cheap heroin – $40/gram, about the same price as three slim Buddha sticks. Med students provided fresh needles and we would meet on Friday nights to get smashed.

Now my friend was turning 50. He lives in a mansion, and he finances his adventure lifestyle from property investments. He has a wealthy wife, and children educated at private schools, and he drives a car that costs as much as the average house.

For all that, my friend has never lost his appetite for drugs. And, of course, he is not alone.

At the party, where Taittinger flowed all night, if that was your drug of choice, a woman I know well asked if I’d like an E. “What are they like?” I asked.

“Slow start,” she said, “but getting better

now.” She was grinding her teeth, which isn’t a good sign.

“How many others have had one?” I asked. “Loads,” she said.

I scanned the crowd, and spotted the wife of landed gentry who looked happier than I’d ever seen her before.

“Not the Duchess?”

“Yep.” “And her?” I pointed to a woman I knew to be a judge.

“Shit no,” my friend said.

The judge was looking at a cluster of revellers passing a joint. She pulled her husband’s sleeve, and soon they left the party.

Later, I went looking for a toilet, and stumbled into a room where three men were hunched over a low table.

Lines of white powder were furrowed on a mirror. The man whose turn was next – he had a rolled $50 note stuck up a nostril – hurried to the door, and said, “Sorry, mate, this is private.” And as he closed the door I couldn’t but notice the Rolex Oyster on his wrist.

I don’t know if I was more offended that he didn’t recognize me, or wouldn’t share his cocaine, but I had a chuckle to myself. ‘You bet it’s private, mate,’ I thought. ‘Some of your clients might be shocked.’

drugs

10 most important things known about addiction 1. Addiction is fundamentally about compulsive behavior.

2. Compulsive drug seeking is initiated outside of consciousness.

3. Addiction is about 50% heritable and complexity abounds.

4. Most people with addictions who present for help have other psychiatric problems as well.

5. Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder in the majority of people who present for help.

6. Different psychotherapies appear to produce similar treatment outcomes.

7. ‘Come back when you’re motivated’ is no longer an acceptable therapeutic response.

8. The more individualized and broadbased the treatment a person with addiction receives, the better the outcome.

9. Epiphanies are hard to manufacture.

10. Change takes time.

of them run major businesses in Hawke’s Bay, and I know some of their wives are on P, and others take prescription drugs like Diazepam and Tramadol. I think it’s more about people wanting to be stimulated, always looking for a high, but then again, some of the men are like big kids who have never grown up.”

As Dave de Lange points out, “Drug use is across all sectors of society. It’s a choice people make and unfortunately for some people it has a really bad effect.”

And, says the policeman, “We draw a line in the sand. For better or worse, controlled drugs are illegal, and for me, saying a low level of drug taking is okay, is the same as saying a low level of family violence is okay.

It’s not okay.”

‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’

“We (the Police) draw a line in the sand. For better or worse, controlled drugs are illegal, and for me, saying a low level of drug taking is okay, is the same as saying a low level of family violence is okay.

It’s not okay.” dave de lange head of hawke’s bay cib

Source: Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, National Addiction Centre (NAC).

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

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HOME OF

It’s Official … the Amalgamation Debate Has Begun by ~ TOM BELFORD

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

14

On 5 February lobby group A Better Hawke’s Bay (ABHB) formally submitted its reorganisation application to the Local Government Commission (LGC). That application and other supporting information is available on the ABHB website: www.abetterhb.co.nz Editor’s Note: The writer is a founding member of A Better Hawke’s Bay and a strong advocate for consolidation of the region’s five councils into one.

After months of skirmishing around undefined possibilities, a concrete reorganisation proposal is finally on the table. And a serious debate on the specifics of reorganisation can begin.

Already the Commission has visited the region, meeting with councils as well as with applicant ABHB, describing the review and consultation process that will unfold.

Here’s what to expect.

The review process The LGC is expected to signal officially that it has received an application that is qualified, in terms of demonstrated support, in mid-March. At that point, it will notice the ABHB proposal and invite comments on it from any point of view, as well as any alternative reorganisation proposals.

The Commission will conduct its own analysis of the situation, consider comments, and eventually put forward a reorganisation plan that it considers appropriate for the region. It now

appears that the proposed Hawke’s Bay reorganisation is the number one potential scheme on the LGC’s docket.

Once a final LGC plan is formally notified, under present law it would go into effect without further approval. However, a petition calling for a poll (i.e., referendum) on the plan can be initiated. If, within 60 working days, 10% of electors in any district affected by the plan sign the petition, then a poll must be conducted.

If that happens, the plan goes into effect unless rejected by a majority of all those voting across the entire region.

Thus, a relatively small number of voters can trigger a poll, but only a majority across Hawke’s Bay can block the reorganisation.

Much has been asserted about the proponents of reorganisation being antidemocratic. And indeed a lobby group, Dedicated and Democratic HB (DAD) has been formed to ensure that a poll occurs.

However, in fact, A Better Hawke’s Bay has publicly committed itself to support

a poll, and to help secure the necessary petition signers. With both reorganisation supporters and opponents (or skeptics) equally committed to a poll, it is a certainty that one will occur.

Every voter in Hawke’s Bay will have his or her say. One concern put to rest.

Further arguments at this stage over the ‘democratic process’ are but distractions from the core issues. The rules have been set. A vote will occur.

How long will all this take? Here’s a likely scenario.

Signals from the Local Government Commission suggest that a reorganisation plan might emerge in six months or so (August/September). If that’s the case, local body elections set for October would take place as scheduled. Thereafter, the expected region-wide poll on the plan would occur, perhaps before year’s end.

If the scheme failed, those elected to the current bodies would simply continue with business as usual.

If the scheme were approved by voters, another election would occur before mid2014 to choose the new council (or fill whatever structure the LGC put forward).

More on the politics of all this later in the article.

So, it’s time to debate the merits of reorganisation. What is proposed?

Hawke’s Bay Council (HBC)

1 Mayor

+ Napier (6)

Wairoa (2)

16 Councillors

CHB (2)

Hastings (6)

5 Community Boards

Napier

CHB

mayor elected Bay‐wide.

Napier and Hastings would be equally represented on the Council, and Wairoa and Central Hawke’s Bay would have two seats each. The proposal seeks to reflect both the urban population realities of Hawke’s Bay and the significance of the rate-paying and overall economic contribution of our rural sector.

ABHB also proposes the creation of five Community Boards that within their scope of authority (focused on local community issues) would negotiate community plans and budgets with the Hawke’s Bay Council and make decisions on local priorities and initiatives. Each Board would have five elected members, with one selected as chair.

Because there are a number of holding companies and ‘council-controlled organizations’ floating around the region (e.g., managing the port, developing property, operating attractions and facilities), ABHB also proposes that these be consolidated. This creates nothing new;

Rural

Wairoa

Hastings

Mãori Leaders Forum

instead, simply provides a rational structure for a number of entities that already exist – a structure that can invite and use commercial expertise, and be more visible and transparent to ratepayers.

Finally, the ABHB proposal speaks to Mãori representation, acknowledging the increasing numbers and economic importance of that segment of the region’s population. At this point, ABHB has been seeking input from Mãori leadership, as will the Commission, and has simply recommended building upon the advisory mechanisms that presently exist, most especially the new Regional Planning Committee that sits with the Regional Council.

As Mãori become more familiar with the reorganisation plan and process, other representation proposals might surface. However, the LGC does not have the authority to make structural changes in this area. Those must be considered under the Electoral Act.

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Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

The Hawke’s Bay Council At this starting point, the plan on the table is that advanced by A Better Hawke’s Bay (see adjoining chart).

ABHB proposes one Hawke’s Bay Council for the entire region – the area presently served by our Regional Council – holding all authorities and responsibilities of the five councils now operating in Hawke’s Bay. As summarised in ABHB’s application to the Commission, the proposed Hawke’s Bay Council (HBC) would consist of 16 councillors, elected by wards, largely congruent with existing HBRC electoral boundaries, and one

1 Council

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amalgamation Boundaries? 23% of Napier resident workers commute to Hastings; 14% of Hastings resident workers commute to Napier.

The claims This article merely seeks to bring readers ‘up to speed’ on where reorganisation stands in Hawke’s Bay and what is being proposed. Substantial debate over the merits will follow in subsequent editions, and surely elsewhere. That said, the contours of the debate are fairly apparent.

tim.co.nz

Those who advocate for one council expect that such reorganisation will yield: • Less duplication and significant cost savings; • Efficiencies in time and resources for all those – businesses, community groups, individuals – who must now deal with multiple councils; • More efficient, consistent and effective day-to-day policy-making and implementation; • Simplified and more accessible and transparent planning processes; • Strategic unity around key regional spending priorities and investments, including planning of major facilities and infrastructure; • Unified and more coherent attention to key social and economic challenges facing the Bay, like enhancing job skills and opportunity; • One focused voice to the ‘outside’ world – be that to central government, overseas markets, or prospective visitors and immigrants.

• With community identities protected and control over strictly local matters embedded in elected community boards.

Opponents of full consolidation into one council argue that:

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

16

• Significant cost savings will not be achieved; • Many other efficiencies and reductions of duplication could be achieved simply by more concerted cooperation amongst councils; • One or another community will lose its identity and ‘rightful’ decisionmaking autonomy; • A larger unitary authority will be more ‘distant’ from the people and less responsive; • Ratepayers in one area will be saddled with past debts of other areas; • Regional council duties are unique and must be held apart from the functions and responsibilities of our four ‘territorial’ councils; • Local governance structure is irrelevant to addressing the Bay’s social and economic challenges.

And yet another perspective, especially from those ambivalent about reorganisation, is that ‘moving the deck chairs’ is far less important than who steers the ship. For these skeptics, it’s difficult to separate the enduring structural issues from the immediate political personalities involved.

For all sides, the issues are passionately felt, and each side will seek to substantiate its claims and make its case.

What are the politics?

In two words … messy and complicated.

Let’s assume the Local Government Commission indeed puts forth a single council structure resembling the ABHB proposal. And let’s assume local body elections occur as usual in October (actually, mail ballots will return between 22 September and 12 October). Of course, readers can spin their own scenarios.

In the BayBuzz scenario, interested parties will try to influence the LGC deliberations and debate will rage – and hopefully public education – over the next six months or so.

Early in this interval (perhaps while this edition of BayBuzz is still fresh), another independent consultant report commissioned by the five councils will be released. This one will delve into the cost savings that might be achieved in various local body ‘reform’ scenarios, including full amalgamation. The consultant has earlier estimated $25 million in savings might be realized from full amalgamation, with decreasing amounts for less ‘radical’ changes. Both sides eagerly await what he calculates next.

Consultants aside, all our councils will complete new annual budgets in the April-June window, also serving to focus ratepayers on local government cost. The same will happen in Auckland, where savings realized (or not) from reorganisation there will be further documented, providing ‘evidence’ for one

side of our regional debate or the other.

Then, on 26 July the window will open for candidates to declare for existing local body seats. That window closes on 23 August. [Pending legislation might move both dates one week earlier.]

It is probably safe to assume that candidates will be expected to have a position on reorganisation – perhaps at first, merely in general; but once the LGC announces a plan, more specific positions will be required. One might even expect that candidate ‘tickets’ will emerge around the amalgamation issue, although surely other issues will be on the table as well.

In Hastings district, for example, add to the mix the referendum on removing fluoride from the district’s water. And throughout the Bay, the Regional Council’s dam plan could prove contentious.

What’s a poor candidate to do?!

Finally, depending on when the LGC announces its plan, the petition campaign for a poll could overlap the electoral campaigning window.

All in all, get ready for a heap of doorbell ringing and canvasing later this year at every event with more than a carful of attendees!

So, who’s on top?

It’s early in a game that most likely won’t play out entirely until early 2014.

The most obvious opposition to amalgamation centers in Napier, under the leadership of Napier councillor Bill Dalton and re-aspiring Labour MP Stuart Nash. Dalton has spearheaded creation of Dedicated and Democratic HB (DAD), and champions the anti-amalgamation cause on his blog. Nash writes occasional opinion pieces in the press opposing amalgamation.

Beyond politicians – these two, a few other Napier (and Regional) councillors and staff, and mayor Peter Butler in CHB – it’s very difficult to identify a business or civic leader opposed to reorganisation.

That hasn’t stopped the Napier City

amalgamation

Council from using ratepayer dollars to propagandise against reorganisation, devoting the entire December edition of Proudly Napier to a blast against “enforced amalgamation”. Precisely because sitting councils have an obvious conflict of interest, legislation forbids councils from pulling stunts like that once the LGC has proposed a reorganisation plan.

Supporters of reorganisation are more demonstrably broad-based … more visible because 1,000 of them have registered as supporters of A Better Hawke’s Bay, most choosing to be publicly listed on ABHB’s website.

Supporters from all sectors and from across the Bay are publicly identified, including leaders of the Mãori community like Ngahiwi Tomoana of Ngãti Kahungunu, Alayna Watene of Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, and Des Ratima of Ngã Marae.

Ngahiwi Tomoana wrote to A Better Hawke’s Bay … “I am writing to confirm the support of Ngãti Kahungunu Iwi for a new council structure for Hawke’s Bay. We would encourage you to promote a single authority across the region and congratulate you for your leadership.”

Adds Alayna Watene, “Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga is the largest non-governmental deliverer of services to Mãori in Hawke’s Bay. As such, it needs strong relationships with the region’s civic leaders.

It would be much easier to build these connections and understanding if we had to work with just one council.”

Just weeks ago, ABHB released the results of a region-wide random survey professionally conducted by Curia Market Research. One thousand interviews were completed with Hawke’s Bay voters.

The results indicated very high awareness (86%) for the reorganisation issue, specifically for the One Council proposal.

Further, 67% agreed that an independent review of local government structure in Hawke’s Bay would be useful.

More importantly, 64% favoured some reorganisation of local government structure in Hawke’s Bay. This included majorities in each jurisdiction – 53% in Napier, 53% in Wairoa, 60% in CHB and 75% in Hastings. Only 25% region-wide support no reorganisation.

These early survey results, heartening to advocates of reorganisation, are still far ahead of any region-wide referendum nine months or more from now on a specific plan.

Nevertheless, they indicate that the “Moneyed Minority”, as councillor Bill Dalton, de facto leader of DAD, derisively refers to supporters of amalgamation, is a rather sizable ‘minority’ after all. In other words, game on!

BayBuzz understands that “Moneyed Minority” tee-shirts will soon be available.

For more reorganisation information: A Better Hawke’s Bay

www.abetterhb.co.nz Dedicated and Democratic HB www.dadhb.co.nz Local Government Commission www.lgc.govt.nz/lgcwebsite.nsf

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

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tim.co.nz

Programmes that work by ~ jessica soutar barron

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

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What is the role of our local councils in terms of doing good, socially … bettering our prospects economically? This role is still to be defined, here in Hawke’s Bay and nationally.

Central government currently feels a council’s job stops once the rubbish is collected, the dogs are registered, the potholes are filled and the rates, the really important bit, are struck. Leave to us chores like promoting jobs, curbing family violence and feeding those without food, Wellington says.

But finding local solutions to local issues can mark a way forward for a community.

And often all it takes is ignition from some

form of stable, organised, governing body – like a council.

Councils possess a number of assets useful to community projects of all types – systems, processes, personnel, historical memory.

While community projects and initiatives, in their infant days, lack many of the basic mechanisms required to help them develop.

When done well, the two can combine for a great marriage. Not a hand out, a hand up. Teaching fishing skills, not dishing out fish. Knowing only that part of the equation, joint-ventures with councils make sense. Add to the pot benefits such projects bring to councils’ own endeavours in terms of meeting desired community outcomes and it’s a ‘no-brainer’.

Two examples of such synergy are up and running in Hawke’s Bay. Both were started with the help of Hastings District Council. Both are slowly moving away from their council midwives. Both are framed and focused by the needs of

Hawke’s Bay people. And both tackle social need head on.

Finding work Jobs is an area where a little help from council can go a long way.

Youth Futures is a multi-headed programme focused on getting youth work-ready, and enabling employers to confidently add young people to their payrolls.

The lofty aim of Youth Futures is to get 100% of young people (16-24) into training or employment. It’s been given two years to get started, to put in place a workable plan, and to make the whole structure sustainable.

As well as Hastings District Council, EIT, Work and Income, Ministry of Social Development, Hawke’s Bay District Health Board, the Police, Napier, Wairoa and Central HB Councils and Ngãti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated are all on

board, as are a handful of employers and high schools.

The employer representative on the Youth Futures Advisory Group is Furnware Chief Executive Hamish Whyte: “What I like about it is that we sit in the same room as MSD, HDC, EIT, employers, iwi and school principals and we find solutions together. The Council has seeded us to work collaboratively and agencies are enjoying communicating with each other.”

Youth Futures began with some work experience opportunities being opened up at Hastings District Council.

From there, other organisations got involved using the same model. These included Furnware as well as Tumu, Westpac, MWH and Unison. In 2012, its first year, 50 students participated in the programme.

Coordinator Jan Crawford works from within Hastings District Council, in a role funded in collaboration with a number of agencies. She sees it as a bit of a match-making operation, with Council maintaining the energy and ‘setting up’ employers and youth. The programme also helps youth look at building attractiveness as an employee.

“For young people it’s about what they are offering and how they can improve it. For employers it’s about

having the confidence to take on youth,” Crawford says.

The work experience programme sits alongside several other endeavours.

Taikura Steiner School runs workshops for youth from all over Hawke’s Bay on CV preparation, presentation and interview skills. Workers from a range of diverse fields go into schools and talk about their jobs.

“Youth need to understand possibilities for work in Hawke’s Bay, and what it is to be ready to do those jobs. They don’t understand it because they don’t see it,” says Hamish Whyte who in future planning would like to see a roadshow whereby youth visit work places in Hawke’s Bay, including his own Furnware.

“You can have a cool job making chairs, they don’t know that. My passion is that we show them. It’s about opening their horizons.”

He adds: “We love people knocking on the door with their CV but it’s rare. You’ve got to make them want it.”

Jan Crawford: “There’s plenty of money going in to youth employment, but we’re still seeing negative statistics. The target age group is 16-24, but we know that you have to start earlier, so you’ve got them thinking effectively.”

By 2020 there will be more people leaving the workforce in Hawke’s Bay than

We would love to hear from you.

For more information or to identify other ways you might help, contact Jan Crawford on 871 5110 Ext. 5516 or janc@hdc.govt.nz Or visit www.youthfutures.co.nz Our ultimate goal is 100% of our young people in education, training or employment!

hamish whyte joining it. “We have to make sure every one of our young people is engaged, trained and ready to work here,” believes Crawford.

A major part of Crawford’s role is building awareness among employers.

“I’m going out and talking to them, getting them engaged in the idea and beginning to see options for them to participate. At the very least we want to see people talk about how important this is that we get our kids into work. Many of the issues we have in youth employment, money wouldn’t fix, it’s about energy and collaboration.”

Continued on Page 20

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» Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

If you are able to assist a young person in our community by providing a permanent role work experience

“You can have a cool job making chairs, they [youth] don’t know that.

My passion is that we show them. It’s about opening their horizons … We love people knocking on the door with their CV but it’s rare. You’ve got to make them want it.”

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programMEs that work

“People ownership of a project does make things stronger. I am a great fan of not leaving it to Council. But sometimes you need Council at the beginning – it’s the fertiliser and water.”

Andrew Reyngoud

andrew reyngoud

tim.co.nz

Projecting from national figures, there are approximately 3,000 16-24 year olds out of work or training in Hawke’s Bay, about 1,700 of those are Mãori. Although pragmatic about employment facts and figures in the Bay, Whyte is optimistic about the future. “I see Hawke’s Bay as a vibrant, energetic region, and there’s some cool and groovy businesses here … I love this place! … We just need a little bit more confidence and some ‘getting to know your neighbour’,” he says.

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

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Feeding people Kai Collective is run by a committee and coordinated by Andrew Reyngoud, pastor at Flaxmere Baptist Church.

The idea was sparked in May 2012 by Wayne Bradshaw and Henare O’Keefe, Hastings district councillors. The two were driven by twin motivations. “They hated seeing food go to waste, and they have a heart for people,” says Reyngoud.

In its simplest sense Kai Collective is a group of organisations that work together to coordinate food ‘rescue’ in Hawke’s Bay. “From field to stomach, 40% of our food is wasted,” says Reyngoud.

The early stages of the project involved bringing people together and getting them talking; that was facilitated by Council, who also put towards the project about 20 hours of administrative time.

The Collective acts as a central depot letting organisations know when and where food can be collected. Those groups then go on to distribute food to individuals from Waipukurau to Napier.

Due to the nature of the issue, it’s impossible to identify how many individuals benefit. But there are 27 organisations who have accessed Kai Collective since its

inception, including marae, foodbanks, schools, Plunket and women’s refuge. In under a year, Kai Collective has distributed 8.5 tonnes of food.

“Hastings District Council helped initiate the project, but none of this is just in the Hastings district; it’s far wider than that,” explains Reyngoud.

“People ownership of a project does make things stronger. I am a great fan of not leaving it to Council. But sometimes you need Council at the beginning – it’s the fertiliser and water.”

The organisations contributing to the Collective all have different visions and objectives. The key to sustainability may be the diversity of people, and ideologies, involved. Having a low footprint in terms of infrastructure costs also helps considerably.

A lot from very little Food comes from such places as Heinz Watties, McCains, Hawke’s Bay Seafoods, Kaweka Foods and various apple growers. Initially, non-perishable foods were the most desirable for the Collective to handle, but now, after running trials, the group can act as a central pick up point for frozen and fresh foods, getting it out to people who need it before it becomes unusable.

Kai Collective is going from a bright idea to a well-oiled machine, pretty good for no budget and a bunch of volunteers who do a whole lot of other things as their day jobs.

“We are still a very young organisation and we’re getting our systems and processes up and running. What we needed was a little bit of initial help from Council, and that they didn’t put barriers

in our way.” Reyngoud emphasises that although it can help, money is not the chief requirement for progress.

“The percentage of money spent on social services is miniscule, but many organisations can do an awful lot with very little.”

Reyngoud quotes Ernest Rutherford when he says: “We’ve got no money, so we’ve got to think.”

“Money will always be a real issue, so right from the start we asked: ‘What can we do for free?’”

Without funds, other things were needed to get Kai Collective up and running. Thinking was the main one, but also time. “We had to look at the ‘spare’ in people’s lives, that which can be donated, one of the main ones is time.

Our focus has always been on what we’ve got, not on what we haven’t.”

What Kai Collective will always need more of is food. “We’ll always find a way to use what we’ve had donated.”

Reyngoud’s hope for the future is that food banks and schools get the food they need to feed children; and that people move from dependence to independence.

“The need in the community is great.

We do want to move people away from a reliance on food banks. (A lack of) food is a symptom; the next wave of work is to look at reasons.”

Reyngoud says he would feel a great sense of accomplishment if the Collective was able to rescue more food than it’s currently receiving. “The waste is enormous. We don’t need the entire 40%, even if 1% of that which is generated in Hawke’s Bay found its way to us, then it would be more than enough.”

Employers who wish to know more about Youth Futures should contact janc@hdc.govt.nz Food producers interested in knowing more about Kai Collective can contact vikki.j@eastcoast.familyworks.org.nz

Wayne Kirk Mitsubishi 19 Thackeray St, Napier 06 835 5269

Cnr Karamu Road & Alexandra St Hastings 06 8733077

800 million

$

by ~ LAWRENCE YULE

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

22

As the region hears about unemployment, the state of the economy, local government reform and the Ruataniwha Dam project, the Government is quietly spending $2.2 million a day ($800 million per annum) supporting our health, education, police, roading, social welfare, housing and a multitude of other things. While this is over five times greater than the rates collected in the region, it is still your money.

It came as no surprise to me when I read the recent Winder Prosperity Study for Hawke’s Bay, that a key opportunity for us was to better align the spending of this government money. More to the point, I personally believe we would get far better and more consistent results if the Government actually gave that money to a regional structure in bulk and decisionmakers here in the Bay allocated it in a planned, integrated and efficient way.

That may sound radical, but simply put, the current top-down structure and bureaucracy is having no real impact on our negative demographic statistics.

Despite the best-intentioned government interventions, on just about every demographic measure this region is near the bottom of the heap. I don’t say that to be alarmist; it simply is what it is.

Key building blocks to an individual’s success can usually be traced back to the quality of family life, education and employment. These are exactly the same areas that consume the majority of the government resources, so why is it that with $800 million coming into the region we are slipping further behind and the

... a lot of money

system is failing families and people?

It is not the fault of hard-working teachers, doctors, nurses, policemen and social workers. It is the fault of the system. It is silo-driven and controlled by people who have masters based in Wellington. I am not even sure we need more money to fix this.

I have seen countless examples where the system has failed families and people in need and it becomes a crisis situation before a group meeting is held with all the agencies. Often over 10 organisations attend such meetings, yet not one has overall responsibility for finding a solution. There are times when the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing and in many cases, issues around privacy prevent information being shared.

Frequently there is no long-term policy approach. Three-year contestable contracts do little to address long-term embedded issues when contract churn abounds.

There is a myriad of hard-working ‘not for profit’ groups working away in our community trying to make a difference, but funding is scarce and not secure.

A day in the life of Henare and Pam O’Keefe shows just how powerful a small

called Youth Futures, EIT loses significant resources and student placements. Both are controlled by different agencies of Government.

In my view the system is broken and we need to consider something different.

The current system is sub-optimal at best and in many cases is failing our people. While I would prefer a system where the Government bulk-funded the $800 million against an agreed plan and governance regime, I doubt that Central Government will allow this loss of control.

But why not at least trial a new model – with more local control – in one or two areas that are critical to lifting the wellbeing of people in Hawke’s Bay. The two areas I would nominate for our region are

job training and development, and early child welfare.

Another option would be to appoint a regional CEO in each region to manage the total government spend, in a transparent and structured dialogue with local elected officials … those who ‘feel the heat’ when things go wrong. I am confident it would create efficiencies and deliver better services to the people that need it. In supervising such a large budget he or she would be a key player in the success of each region, and accountability would be easier to place.

Some may consider this radical thinking, but I believe, to meet the needs of Hawke’s Bay, the time has come to be radical.

More from our readers.

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

amount of money can be in supporting passionate advocates for families in need.

I deeply admire and respect the work of Henare and Pam, ably supported by Rex Graham and Julie Green and the U-Turn Trust. In this regime they just get on and do things from the bottom up. No issue is too challenging and, not surprisingly, significant private money has flowed in to support their work that makes a difference. Henare and Pam stand by their convictions and the people they support. Many different approaches have been used, including the popular Tunu Tunu barbeque which rolls into streets to give free sausages and bread (all which is donated) and the development of the Flaxmere boxing academy. This wasn’t government led, it simply came out of a passion to make a difference.

My views on local government reform are well known, but perhaps not so well understood is my reason for wanting a change. I am deeply concerned about the future opportunities for our young people.

Unless we line up all of our resources (central and local government) in a unified and planned way, we are not going to maximise those opportunities. Resources are limited but the demand is great.

The bottom-up approach needs to be family centric and involve everything including housing, education, nutrition, sport and employment. It needs to be in a form that makes people self-reliant and proud. There is no way we are going to keep our young people in Hawke’s Bay if the jobs on offer only pay $14 per hour.

Nor is there any future in thinking young Mãori and Pasifika people are simply embedded in poor demographic statistics.

The population is ageing and these same people will be critical in the future of Hawke’s Bay. Young people actually want a future here.

Last week, I wrote a letter of support to the Budget Advice Service as they seek funding from external sources. The demand on their services has never been higher and hundreds of hours are put in by volunteers. The fundamental question here is who should fund them? Currently the Ministry of Social Development, Hastings District Council and trusts fund this service. Critical to the success of any family is the ability to manage their money, yet these people who help families manage their money are themselves now faced with trying to find money to support the largely voluntary work.

Another example of a lack of clarity is around work force development. At the same time as Hastings District Council works under a government contract with employers to deliver a workforce project

23

“I so appreciate reporting that I can trust -- a magazine worth the time to read.”

“I’d like to congratulate you and your team on a fantastic magazine.

It is well written, thought-provoking and beautifully laid out.”

“It is an excellent voice in HB and raised the level of political engagement a notch or two.”

From the Mar/Apr 2013 issue BayBuzz will only be available on annual subscription or for $5 per issue. Subscribe now at www.baybuzz.co.nz!

tim.co.nz

SELLING THE BAY by ~ TOM BELFORD

The typical ratepayer thinks of ‘council’ as the people who fix roads and footpaths, award (delay!) building consents, operate libraries, deal with animal and noise control, maintain parks and sportsgrounds, get rid of stormwater and wastewater.

What do councils market?

We began, using the Official Information Act (OIA), by asking the Hastings and Napier councils for a “listing of all promotional activities – designed to promote the Hastings (or Napier) brand, specific Hastings (or Napier) attractions and events; or to attract visitors, immigrants, businesses, or investment to Hastings (or Napier) – financed in whole or in part by HDC (or NCC)”.

We asked for the amounts expended

tim.co.nz

on these activities. We narrowed the request to the latest full fiscal year, ending 30 June 2012.

We made our OIA request back on 5 October 2012. In theory – I stress, in theory – councils have 20 working days to reply to OIA requests.

From that day forward, this investigation became a tale of two cities.

The information from the Hastings Council has been fulsome, and paints a fairly complete picture of the scope and cost of that council’s marketing programme.

The Napier City Council has elected to stonewall the request.

We’ll take each in turn.

Hastings Council Marketing ByBayBuzz reckoning, HDC spent about $3.6 million on ‘marketing’ in FY2012.

Where did it go?

The Hastings Council hosts a discrete

Marketing, Communications and Events Department, with an annual budget (FY12) of $1,028,469, which includes $355,231 for personnel. These folks do anything from placing adverts regarding upcoming council meetings or the need to conserve water to planning public consultation around council initiatives.

Also in that amount is promotional Blossom Festival Fiesta of Lights Horse of the Year HB Racing Spring Carnival Art Deco Trust Waiata Mãori Music Festival Takitimu Festival International Cultures Day Rugby World Cup Matariki Festival

$61,623 $10,000 $50,000 $25,000 $10,000 $10,000 $35,000 $10,000 $44,140 $10,000

Continued on Page 26

»

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

But our councils are also marketing machines, spending millions to promote events and attractions, lure tourists and businesses to the Bay, and of course sell themselves and their pet projects to the public.

We have five such marketing machines in Hawke’s Bay with, not surprisingly, a fair degree of overlap and duplication.

BayBuzz decided to dig into two of them – the Hastings and Napier City Councils – that we expect would devote the most resources to selling their wares.

However, getting a full and accurate picture of the marketing spend of just these two councils proved to be a challenge. Amalgamation anyone?!

25

SELLING THE BAY

“There is no doubt that events are one of the most effective ways to create economic impact in a short period.”

Do we really value events? ...

kevin murphy

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

26

support totalling $265,763 for specific events: The Council’s view would be that such events are ratepayer supported because they build community spirit and/or attract visitors (i.e., revenue) to the district.

Event promotion is a sensitive subject around Hawke’s Bay. After all, Hawke’s Bay Tourism is ratepayer supported to the tune of $850,000 per year to attract visitors, and key to their strategy is ensuring signature events with major drawing power from outside the region.

An ‘event strategy’ – intended to upgrade the Bay’s events offering and encourage more visitors outside our peak summer season – was already on the ‘to do’ list when Hawke’s Bay Tourism was founded in July 2010. When the strategy finally emerged in mid-2012, none of the councils wished to fund a staff position to implement it. Mayors Yule and Arnott proposed a ‘bed tax’ to support such activities, an idea that has gone nowhere (and is opposed by HB Tourism).

Kevin Murphy, commercial manager at Sport Hawke’s Bay, has been a strong proponent of developing, implementing and funding a regional events strategy.

See his assessment to the right.

Beyond events, the Hastings Council supports key facilities that aim to attract and satisfy happy, or at least entertained, visitors and residents.

Splash Planet received a FY12 subsidy of $1.1 million. The Hawke’s Bay Opera House received $690,000. And the Hastings I-Site cost $344,000.

Promoting the business of Council Apart from the fun stuff, HDC must market its own day-to-day business – official meetings, road closures, important announcements – to Hastings residents.

Much of this communication occurs through newspaper and radio advertising – about $178,000 and $104,000 respectively – and websites.

Website development accounted for approximately $77,000 in direct expense in FY12. Additionally, maintaining the content on core sites (HDC itself and MyChoice) requires partial attention Continued on Page 27

»

Did you know we have a regional events strategy? Well the answer is yes. But is it effective? The strategy is saying all the right things, but at the moment little is being achieved.

Here’s some background.

Three years ago I returned from another New Zealand Event Professionals Conference with a handful of Hawke’s Bay event organisers disheartened once again that our region was not keeping pace with other regions in the event sector.

By this I mean that some regions had good systems in place to encourage events. They were helpful to potential event organisers and even had funds for bidding for new events or to enhance current ones in their region.

We had no regional process to capture anything similar.

It was not long after that Hawke’s Bay Tourism (then named Venture HB) with assistance from Sport Hawke’s Bay engaged the services of a Christchurch company to create a Hawke’s Bay Regional Events Strategy. This process included meetings with everyone involved in events in the region, with special focus on those that had a visitor impact. The strategy was created by those passionate about the region and that wanted Hawke’s Bay to be a leading candidate for hosting future events, sporting and non-sporting.

One of the initial outcomes was to establish a Regional Events Strategy Advisory Group. This was to consist of key event personnel who wanted to see Hawke’s Bay on the national stage; including myself. One year on and I admit you can’t expect miracles but we seem to be treading water. The reason I say this is that to influence national and international event organisers to use Hawke’s Bay it has to be more than a smile and a welcome mat. Many events need assistance in some financial way and it is here we seem to have stalled.

Napier and Hastings councils (who are represented in the group) continue to operate some form of assistance to some events in their own cities, but ... we haven’t been able to convince our politicians that one group to coordinate event assistance is the best way forward.

So when we get a new event keen to come to Hawke’s Bay we struggle to collectively support the event. For example, in October the National Gymsports Champs will be held here

by Kevin Murphy

tim.co.nz

and the likely economic impact is $1 million, but as a region we can’t offer a clear process of financial assistance, how frustrating is that?

There is no doubt that events are one of the most effective ways to create economic impact in a short period. One only has to look at current examples like the Iron Mãori event ($700k) or secondary school tournaments in winter to see this.

The councils don’t like to be seen to be favouring one area of the public, but when events are giving an immediate impact, as those examples above, it would be a smart investment.

The councils are one important piece of the puzzle (and they own many of the facilities that are used), but it is time that we also find other investors passionate about our region’s ability to host events. Or we could just do nothing and accept it is too hard.

This is not likely to be the option of a passionate event industry. But how much more needs to be said when we see other cities doing it well.

Kevin Murphy Commercial Manager Sport Hawkes Bay & Regional Events Advisory Group Member

SELLING THE BAY

from four staff. And meantime, still other costs are associated with operating and maintaining websites for facilities like the I-Site, library, Splash Planet, and the Hastings City Art Gallery.

Finally, the Council spent $38,345 on printing and distributing the HDC’s monthly publication, My Hastings.

Editorial resourcing for that publication is absorbed in various staff roles.

Attracting business and investment HDC devotes some staff time and apparently minimal cash to promoting inward business development.

As its chief expense, Council supports Business Hawke’s Bay to the tune of $40,000 per year. HDC has also contributed to projects to promote the Whakatu and Irongate Industrial Parks ($10,000), Icehouse (a business grower, $5,000), an E-Commerce initiative ($2,000), a video and brochures for the Chinese market on business opportunities and general information about Hawke’s Bay ($2,500).

Finally, a delegation to Hong Kong and China to develop trade opportunities cost $12,113.

As noted at the top, all of these marketing expenses add up to approximately $3.6 million for the Hastings Council.

How does that compare to the Napier City Council? If only we knew!

tim.co.nz

Napier City Council Marketing The BayBuzz Official Information Act request to the Napier City Council produced one meager reply, and then a series of evasions (more on that in a moment).

On its face, it is clear that NCC spends money on exactly the same kinds of promotional functions, facilities and activities as Hastings.

It supports major facilities like the HB Museum & Art Gallery, Aquarium, I-Site, Marineland, Par 2 MiniGolf, Kennedy Park, and War Memorial Conference Centre … to say nothing of $1 million

on Art Deco buses.

It supports Art Deco itself, brochures for cruise passengers and sponsors other activities and promotions like “Ride of Your Life”, “Win a Weekend”, “Escape to Napier” and Sister Cities.

It communicates to its constituency through the web, its newsletter Proudly Napier, and the glossy Napier Life Magazine.

And it pays staff who plan and participate in various economic development activities aimed at increasing visitors and trade.

Continued on Page 28

» Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

27

SELLING THE BAY

tim.co.nz

Yet it struggles to find financial documentation for all of this.

BayBuzz’s initial OIA request to Napier City Council – the same request that yielded all the information reported above from HDC – was forwarded to chief executive Neil Taylor. It seems only he can deal with such sensitive matters. That produced the following list of expenses:

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

28

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*

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Subscribe now at: www.baybuzz.co.nz!

Rugby World Cup Days and Nights brochure Napier Life Promotion (mostly funded by advertisers) Airport Signage Aussie Break (accrual from previous year) Inner City Marketing Awards Ride of Your Life (includes other funding sources)

$10,100 $10,000 $147,300 $8,600 $3,400 $1,000 $73,700

That’s $254,100, with the caveats mentioned.

Mr Taylor indicated that he was unclear about what was a “promotional activity” and wrote: “I should note that the Council has a policy of charging for information requests but to short cut the process I am making the following information available to you in accordance with the first hour of staff time being provided at no cost …

It would be possible for me to break these costs down and to scan the general ledger for other costs that may come within the wider definition of the term promotional activity but that will incur significant staff time and therefore costs to you.”

Since then, a bureaucratic dance has ensued, endorsed by Mayor Arnott and continuing to this writing, which we call “The Neil Taylor Shuffle”, documented on pages 30-31. No additional expense information has been provided.

Effectively, Mr Taylor is saying: “Screw BayBuzz … go complain to the Ombudsman … see you in a year.”

True NCC marketing expenses Meantime, when it suits Mr Taylor, information flows. At a meeting last November of NCC’s Tourism & Economic Development Committee, both David George, spokesman for the Napier Tourism Association, and Neville Smith, one of Napier’s and Art Deco’s leading champions, were sharply critical of Napier’s marketing efforts.

Clearly stung by the criticism, these figures were released to the Napier Mail and reported on 19 December: • Napier ratepayers paid $340,000 to the Regional Council for ‘regional tourism’ and $191,000 for HBRC’s economic development programme.

[Not clear what this is.

HBRC might be surprised!]

• On top of that, said the Mail, $8.4 million was spent on “City Business Promotion”, although with charges back to the sector, only $2.2 million was paid by Napier ratepayers.

Now we’re getting somewhere.

As noted above, Napier City Council effectively mirrors the Hastings Council in the types of marketing expenditures it makes – websites, advertising, communications to residents, subsidies to various facilities and attractions. And by all appearances, Napier spends even more on tourism promotion – $1 million on faulty buses alone.

It’s not unreasonable to posit that, if Hastings is spending at the $3 million plus level on marketing, then Napier is spending at least as much.

SELLING THE BAY

“I should note that the Council has a policy of charging for information requests but to short cut the process I am making the following information available to you in accordance with the first hour of staff time being provided at no cost …” neil taylor tim.co.nz

If you then add in $1-2 million in marketing expenses for the Regional Council, you finally begin to get a true picture of the ridiculous state of affairs.

Are ratepayers getting maximum value for dollar? No way. Is there redundancy and duplication? You bet.

Are there conflicting strategies and programmes? Absolutely.

The original BayBuzz OIA request also asked for “Any reports evaluating the results of such activities and expenditures.” HDC couldn’t think of any; NCC, as you’ve read, can’t even

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

The Designer Series

come up with the expense figures.

At its year-end meeting in 2012, NCC’s Tourism & Economic Development Committee reviewed an update on its 2009-2019 “Tourism Activity Strategic Plan”. It was pointed out – in the 15 minute or so discussion – that the key performance indicators (visitor goals, etc) were totally unrealistic.

The staff response: better to be aspirational! So much for evaluation.

And we still can’t implement a regional events strategy.

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29

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SELLING THE BAY

The Neil Taylor Shuffle ...

An email account of widely-experienced NCC stonewalling tactics

4 October 2012

1. Rugby World Cup ~ $10,100

Hi Neil, (Neil Fergus, Tourism Services Manager)

2. Days and Nights brochure ~ $10,000

Please consider this an Official Information Act request for the following information/documents: (same as described in article to HDC) Tom

3. Napier Life Promotion ~ $147,300 (most of this cost is funded by advertisers)

4 December

5. Aussie Break ~ $3,400 (accrual from the previous year)

Hi Neil,

Cheers, Tom

All Official Information Act requests are handled by the Chief Executive.

I have forwarded your enquiry for his attention.

Yours faithfully, Neil Taylor

22 January 2013

Neil Fergus

Hi Neil,

5 November Greeting all,

Thanks for this information. However, there are numerous other ratepayerfunded ‘promotional’ expenditures I can readily think of. For example:

By my calendar, the 20 working days allowed for response to my OIA request have passed. What is the status please?

• Any NCC contributions to attractions/facilities like Kennedy Park, the Aquarium, I-sites

Regards, Tom

• The new buses

If not, I will be referring the matter to the Ombudsman, as the NCC response to date is woefully inadequate, as indicated in my email of 13 November.

Your initial response does not even cover significant marketing/ promotional expenditures reported already in the media.

• Art Deco

Cheers, Tom

7 November Dear Sir,

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

Can you tell me how my OIA request is proceeding?

7. Ride of your Life ~ $73,700 (includes other funding sources)

Tom,

30

Regards, Tom

4. Airport Signage ~ $8,600

6. Inner City Marketing Awards ~ $1,000 5 October

I would be happy to discuss on phone or in person if that would help define the request.

Further to your request for information regarding Council expenditure in the area of promotional activities, I have undertaken research of the Council accounts in accordance with the details of your request. It is clear that we have information and can make that available to you although I have concerns about the interpretation of what is or is not a promotional activity.

I should note that the Council has a policy of charging for information requests but to short cut the process I am making the following information available to you in accordance with the first hour of staff time being provided at no cost. I have totalled account numbers from the general ledger to ensure that I can give you the best and a meaningful answer to your questions within the no cost option. It would be possible for me to break these costs down and to scan the general ledger for other costs that may come within the wider definition of the term promotional activity but that will incur significant staff time and therefore costs to you.

13 November

• Salaries & travel & participation in trade/job fairs, tourism expos etc related to promoting business development in or relocation to Napier, or tourism (e.g., Ron Massey, Neil Fergus) • Your ratepayer newsletter/ publication • NCC website • Contribution to Business Hawke’s Bay • ‘China focus’ at HB Show • Sister Cities • Anything funded from the Event Support budget Further, I’ve seen references to “Tourism Services Financial Reports” which would certainly be encompassed by my request. Likewise, I have seen reference to the “Economic Development budget” which I assume would fall within my request.

All of the above is a part of the ‘selling’ (if you will) of Napier.

To narrow the request a bit, please confine to your recent completed fiscal year – 2011-12.

Greetings Neil, Are you planning any additional response to my OIA request?

25 January Dear Tom, Thanks for your further email regarding your request for information. In my response to you of the 7th of November, I acknowledged that more indepth information could be retrievable from the Council’s general ledger but that there would be costs involved in doing so. I have provided you the best information I can at no cost in accordance with the Council’s policy. However further information will incur a cost which must be agreed and paid before the work is undertaken. I also noted in that email that I had some difficulty interpreting ‘promotional activity’. I refer you to our website www.napier.govt.nz where you can view our annual report by searching directly under advanced search/ key word for ‘Annual Report’ which should be useful for you.

Yours faithfully, Neil Taylor

SELLING THE BAY

9 February Hi Neil, Let’s stop the messing around.

In my email of November 13 -- I repeat, November 13 -- I listed quite specifically the kinds of information I am seeking. Similar to what I have done with the Hastings Council, who responded to my request -- fully and at no cost -- before Christmas.

Further, I offered in that same email, almost three months ago, to meet at your convenience to clarify my request, if needed.

So, let’s get on with it. This is not brain surgery, unless your ‘general ledger’ is a shambles. You can assume I’m familiar with your Annual Plan -- referring me to that is no response.

I’d like a date certain by which my request will be met ... or denied.

Regards, Tom Belford (with phone number) 9 February Hi Barbara, I trust you are aware of and

comfortable with this evasion by Neil Taylor of my OIA request dating back to 4 October, as I copied you on my January 22nd email seeking progress on the matter.

I will be taking the issue to the Ombudsman, who I expect will be supportive, given that the Hastings Council has complied with my same request to them in a timely and complete manner.

Mr Taylor has not indicated anything I have requested is protected from release by the OIA ... he simply doesn’t give a damn about responding. A pattern of behaviour many in Napier and beyond can attest to.

Regards, Tom 12 February Dear Tom, I refer you the latest email from Mr Taylor dated 25 January 2013.

You are at liberty to ask for further information and incur costs. There is no problem there for the Council.

Please contact the Council for your precise request and they will allocate

costs. The correspondence sent to you on 7th November 2012 clarified this.

Yours faithfully, Barbara Arnott 12 February Greetings, (sent to Arnott & Taylor) I wasn’t asking for permission to request information. Here again is the detail I provided back in November … (Repeating the information of 13 November 2012) Is this request plain enough?

Cheers, Tom And that’s it ... ... no reply as of 28 February to my last email. Soon it’s off to the Ombudsman, ensuring the stonewalling will continue for months. Of course the Ombudsman will be looking at the HDC precedent, where the same request was met in full within 10 weeks, at no charge.

Note that this is not a unique tale.

BayBuzz has encountered many among media colleagues and the public who would consider this account ‘business as usual’ for the Taylor/Arnott regime.

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

31

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Beware of Witches by ~ PAUL PAYNTER

ethically procured

Tooth of Wolf

A coven of witches has risen.

They practise their dark arts and expound their beliefs in broad daylight.

Check over the fence and you are sure to find a fervent believer in witchcraft, with her crystals jangling and her incense burning. Mankind has always been quickly seduced by shyster shamen and their supernatural mumbo jumbo.

The modern witchcraft I fear is nothing more than the kooky beliefs that have become prevalent in society.

These sorcerers are deeply offended if you suggest some evaluation of their techniques might be warranted. It’s a ‘holistic’ approach they say. That is, the treatment doesn’t specifically try to fix the problem, but is just generally good for you – like eating your carrots.

There is usually no search for the truth in such systems, because the truth isn’t important. Perception is reality; belief the new empiricism.

Part of the reason for this intellectual devolution is our education system.

Science is too demanding for Gen Y, so they opt for media studies or public relations – fields where you make up the facts as you go along. These days communication and media studies have about three times the number of student enrolments as does chemistry.

has largely brought the bitch into line.

In Victorian New Zealand you had about a 13% chance of dying before your first birthday. Today it’s 0.4%. The biggest single factor that caused this improvement was the development of vaccines to overcome German measles, whooping cough, polio and the like.

There is now a new breed of nutters who think vaccines are a bad idea for their pure children of Gaia. I recommend to them, a walk in the cemetery.

Nature looks harmonious from a distance, but don’t be deceived. Entropy, the second law of thermodynamics, is at work. Things trend to chaos. That picturesque forest that fills your heart with feelings of serenity is actually a war zone devoid of a Geneva Convention. Man’s inhumanity to man is nothing in comparison to what insects do to each other. Nature is a world of Darwinian brutality and its first law is survival of the fittest.

The laws of nature are not founded on balance and equilibrium. The natural world is full of asymmetry, disequilibrium and chaos. Plagues, floods, pestilence and climate change have always been with us, causing a great deal of havoc and the occasional extinction of some species or other. They happened long before man, and will remain long after we are gone.

Chaos is nature’s favourite state; the basis on which limits are tested and species evolve and adapt. It is not disorder, just a system that is too complicated for us to understand – one in which things have to ‘break’ in order to get better. The brilliant chaos of nature is a great argument for both evolution and God. The witches that preach harmony and balance can only be right temporarily.

Then things will get horribly out of whack – as they should.

Coven of the Über-Clean At the other end of witchcraft spectrum is the Coven of the Über-Clean.

Here they take exactly the opposite stance. These witches accept the evil intent of nature and rout it out in every crevice of their homes. They scrub and sanitise and fall prey to the fearmongering advertisements we’re constantly confronted with.

Continued on Page 34

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Earth Mother Paganism The most common form of witchcraft today is ‘Earth Mother Paganism’.

At its root is an unquestioning belief in the benevolence of Mother Nature. If only we’d leave nature alone, all things would be in harmony and the world would be a veritable garden of eden. Nonsense.

Mother Nature is, at best, ambivalent to our existence, and at worst, quite keen to kill us off.

To test my theory I walk in the Havelock North Cemetery. My kin are well buried here, in the old part, where graves are in disrepair. The heaving earth has left these graves cracked and broken. Headstones lean and crosses have fallen. The inscriptions and epitaphs on the old stones are fading now. After a generation or two the lichen eats them away, so as to turn even our last vanity to dust.

I strain and read: “Be called a little child unto Him”, Grace Elizabeth, died aged 12 days. Then Beatrice Anne, died at Hastings, aged 2 ½. The graves of children abound. And there’s Ethyl Rose, aged 22; her hips too narrow for the rigours of colonial childbirth.

The Earth Mother ruled in those times and was the merciless killer of the young. Thankfully modern medicine

“The Earth Mother ruled in those times and was the merciless killer of the young. Thankfully modern medicine has largely brought the bitch into line.”

I look forward to seeing you.

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to three luxurious hours in the hands of my expert, friendly and professionally trained therapists.

You will also save over $70.

Makes a great gift for a

8 Porter Drive. Havelock North Telephone 877 7476 www.andreas.co.nz

BEWARE OF WITCHES ‘Witch’ evidence recently found on a local beach.

“Science is not a ‘know it all’ uncle. Good science should be steeped in humility. It should say “I don’t know, but I can find out.”

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

34

At the gym a witch scowls at me, the unclean. I have just failed to sanitise the apparatus I’ve been using. She squirts and rubs the cleansing potion on the hand holds of her elliptical trainer. “You should wipe down these machines every time you use them,” she tut-tuts. I stare, like a man, blank, confused and wordless.

The product she is so keen to splash about is Triclosan. Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston recommends Triclosan as a product for “hospitals or for persons with weakened immune systems”.

Many medical experts are very concerned about its use in day-to-day settings. They have demonstrated in a lab, that in a few microbial generations they can quickly breed a resistant strain of E. coli. Triclosan leaves a residue which fades slowly over time. As it does, it loses its efficacy – that is, some of the nasties start to survive contact.

Having untrained people using Triclosan 100 times a day is a breeding programme for a superbug. That seems to have been no barrier to some salesman convincing the gym to have it on hand, or for the

Coven of the Über-Clean to start their militant campaign to sanitise the world.

The safe sanitisers to use are ammonia or alcohol-based as they kill the bugs, then evaporate in seconds. Over hundreds of years, bacterial resistance hasn’t occurred.

But here’s a tip. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US recommends: “Vigorous hand washing in warm water with plain soap for at least 10 seconds is sufficient to fight germs in most cases, even for healthcare workers.” So what your great grandmother was doing a hundred years ago, still works.

Burn the witches and ban their potions.

The history of mankind is littered with the folly of their beliefs - the world is flat, smoking will purify your lungs, leeches will cure. So often what we think is perfectly logical, is eventually proved to be mindless nonsense. Pasteur, Galileo, Nightingale; they looked and saw the evidence. Their principles endure, because they proved them correct.

Florence Nightingale didn’t know poor hygiene was what was killing soldiers in the Crimean War. While she toiled there, her assumptions about the causes of death were completely wrong. She only realised hygiene was the issue later, when she was back in London studying the data. Nightingale is known as a great nurse, but much more importantly, she was a great statistician.

Belief is dangerous. It is only through science that new knowledge is born.

Science is not a ‘know it all’ uncle. Good science should be steeped in humility.

It should say “I don’t know, but I can find out.” We should not be opposed to homeopathy, natural Mãori medicine or herbal supplements. All we need to do is to demand that they are subjected to proper scientific evaluation.

So next time you take colloidal silver, arnica or echinacea, do some research and see what science has discovered.

Some of these things work and some are plain quackery.

HOG HEAVEN THIS SPRING

The iconic route 66 is calling you right now

Join other kiwis and Harley riders world-wide on the Hog Adventure of a lifetime this year and wind your way from Chicago to LA experiencing America as it really is on the Harley-Davidson of your choice.

At a Glance

Personally escorted by Hog legends and with full support services and back-up all you need do is wind back and enjoy the vista as you pass through three time zones, 8 incredible states having the time of your life meeting new friends and experiencing things you’d only dreamed of with not a care in the world and loading up on priceless memories.

And best of all the entire trip is heaven made for couples as well as individual riders.

Live the dream for three weeks and 2400 miles of tar seal of all shapes, sizes, widths and speeds whilst off the bike your evenings are free to explore each stopover at your pace and time and the hospitality the states is renowned for – the food, the music, the people, the history, the diversity This year’s Route 66 tour is timed for late spring, early fall in the states so you ride and sight see in the most comfortable of climates so let’s make a start on ticking off the Hog tour of a lifetime from your bucket list.

Your Hog Route 66 experience includes: All airfares & transfers NZ/USA, USA Visa, 3 nights Chicago, daily bed and breakfast, 2-day Santé Fe stop over, exclusive custom made designer jacket, Harley fuel, insurance, escort and support (including luggage carry, Harley of your choice including trike option hire, farewell dinner. Priced from as little as $9,763 per person.

They got their motors running

“

Jenny had arranged things perfectly and carefully checked with me that I understood the paperwork and all other details were correct. The Eagle Rider team were equally professional and took great care of us all, right down to cleaning the windshields on our bikes each morning – Brian Greenlees

“ “

The gate to the heaven made Harley-Davidson Route 66 touring road is open and waiting for you right now, you now want to do it so red line your revs and call Jenny, 06 878 8858

– Garrie Coughlan

”

The Harleys were wonderful, the tour leaders were wonderful, the great variety of nationalities was wonderful, the accommodation was wonderful, the Texas Roadhouse was wonderful, I say the whole trip was wonderful and the organisation by ‘HOT’ Jenny at House of Travel in Hastings was the same – Iain Storrie

How? Simply by getting your motor running and calling the Hog Heaven Route 66 expert Jenny Nilsson right now. Over the last three years Jenny has personally overseen this trip of a lifetime for many Route 66 revellers using her experience and absolute friendly professionalism planning everything to the last detail to ensure priceless memories were their end result.

”

Certainly a big tick on the proverbial Bucket List

”

Jenny Suggests n n

n

n

Budget $150 per day plus tips Load up with some iconic kiwi souvenirs to trade along the way Take your own full face helmet, boots and a few clothes for when you’re off the bike Be prepared to have your every expectation exceeded

ASB Building | 117 Market Street North | Hastings | ph: 06 878 8858 www.houseoftravel.co.nz | jennyn@hot.co.nz

Damming Conclusions on Irrigation by ~ ROD ORAM

tim.co.nz

With Hawke’s Bay teetering on the brink of yet another drought, an equally hot and damaging storm is brewing over water storage and irrigation in the region.

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

36

To its proponents the Ruataniwha Plains project west of Waipukurau would deliver big water storage and thus a sizable increase in agriculture and better management of waterways, particularly the Tukituki River.

It would be the biggest scheme in the country, irrigating 25,000 hectares of land and influencing farming on a further 17,000 hectares. It would cost some $250 million to build with the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and central government stumping up much of the equity; and farmers would need to invest in the dam plus an additional $300 million or so on their properties to make use of the water.

To its opponents Ruataniwha is a debacle in the making. They challenge the economic benefits identified by council-commissioned studies. They believe regional ratepayers risk being saddled with a heavy financial burden and adverse environmental impacts.

They argue a range of much smaller investments on farm and in the catchment would deliver many of the economic and environmental benefits in less risky and more resilient ways.

The battle is coming to a head this year.

In May the regional council will ask the Government to declare the project one of national significance. If it does, the Environment Court or an independent inquiry, not the council, will evaluate the project and decide on resource consents.

This is essential because the regional council has disqualified itself as the regulator. In its enthusiasm as the project’s promoter it has given environmentalists and other opponents short shrift.

But the Government is hardly a neutral arbitrator either. Its big goals for irrigation are one of its planks for infrastructure, which in turn is one of the six drivers of its Business Growth Agenda.

Some 600,000 hectares are irrigated now around the country, mostly in Canterbury. It believes a further 340,000 hectares can be added in big regional projects plus 80,000 hectares in small community ones.

The Government is seeding studies for many of them, with Ruataniwha receiving $3.3 million so far. It then plans to invest $400 million from SOE sales in equity in big projects that get resource consent.

It expects significant progress on these projects over the next two years, it said last November in its infrastructure report under the Business Growth Agenda.

Two huge challenges arise, however.

First, the Government is massively overhauling the three areas of policy critical to irrigation: water, local government and resource management.

Too many uncertainties?

Conflicts abound already in its positions, even before it reveals the substance of its reforms. For example, the plan by the regional council to invest heavily in Ruataniwha runs contrary to the narrow focus, low debt councils the Government says it wants.

With all these policy areas in play, it will be impossible for the EPA to make a well-informed and timely decision on resource consents for Ruataniwha and other irrigation projects. Other delays are possible too. If for example, the courts stall SOE sales the Government would have to find irrigation funding elsewhere.

Thankfully, progress is being made elsewhere on economically and environmentally sound irrigation projects.

But these are small extensions to existing ones, conversions from open canals to pipes to eliminate water losses, and upgrades to precision irrigation by farmers.

There is also some excellent innovation.

For example, Aquaduct New Zealand has developed world-leading plastics technology to extrude pipes up to 1.6 metre in diameter on-site. This enables it to make pipes up to 200 metres long, rather than transporting short sections from factories. This way, it has supplied 80 kilometres of pipes for the upgrade of the Valetta scheme in Canterbury.

rod oram

    

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        

would exit once the scheme reached maturity after 10-15 years.

BNZ says the regional council would regain total ownership once the concession expired. But if the scheme were such a good idea for farmerinvestors, why would they accept such a short-lived ownership stake?

The environmental issues are no less challenging. The Tukituki River is a mess thanks to over-allocation of existing water and poor effluent control by council and farmers. Both will need to dramatically improve their practices if they are to heavily intensify dairying yet still deliver their promised improvement in water quality. Loss of rare flora and fauna to build the dam is another major factor.

With all these economic and environmental issues at stake, Ruataniwha could become just as crucial and defining a conflict as Lake Manapouri was from 1959-72.

Editor’s Note: Rod Oram’s analysis is especially timely as the HB Regional Council rushes forward to secure a ‘call-in’ by the Environment Minister for this project before public scrutiny becomes too intense. Environmentalists are preparing a full-scale challenge to the entire environmental framework of the project (details for which have still not been tabled), while others are preparing a legal challenge to the HBRC’s project development process.



       





     

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

Do the economics work?

The economics of irrigation is the second big challenge. The Government makes its case on the basis of NZIER’s 2010 analysis of 14 projects with the potential to be built by 2025. The estimated cost would be $2.7 billion offfarm and $8.7 billion on-farm. NZIER reckoned 41% of the newly irrigated land would go into dairying, 11% dairy support, 27% arable, 16% mixed livestock and 4% horticulture.

These 14 projects would deliver $4 billion of agricultural exports in 2026, a modest 17% increase in the national total based on 2010 prices. But the internal rate of return on all 14 projects was only 6.4%, which would be less than the cost of capital. But even that was inflated by average returns of 11.5% for Canterbury projects, thereby undermining the viability of projects elsewhere in the country.

For evidence of Ruataniwha’s economic value Hawke’s Bay Regional Council offers a series of studies it commissioned.

But they contain some significant contradictions and risks.

The “Prosperity Study”, for example, correctly identifies low wage, low value and volatile commodity agriculture as one of the region’s economic weaknesses. The main remedy it recommended was more of the same from the Ruataniwha scheme plus the vague hope the region’s farmers can somehow move themselves up the value chain.

A study of on-farm economics is more robust, concluding farms in the scheme would lift their return on on-farm assets from 4.2% to 6.6%. But it notes that the project is “extremely sensitive to farm commodity prices and costs” and to a lesser extent to water prices.

Moreover, this modelling is based on the farmers being in the top 20% of the nation in terms of productivity. “Average productivity drops the return on marginal capital from 12.5% to 5.4%.”

A funding study by BNZ says the regional council could procure the $250 million dam and water distribution infrastructure by offering private sector investors a 35-year concession. Local and central government would still need to invest in it to make it viable but they

“... the plan by the regional council to invest heavily in Ruataniwha runs contrary to the narrow focus, low debt councils the government says it wants.”

37

     

Sponsoring insight into smart farming in Hawke’s Bay tim.co.nz

Dan Bloomer and Hugh Ritchie talk irrigation

Resilience Key to Smart Farming Soil and water guru Dan Bloomer tells Keith Newman he’s confident Hawke’s Bay farmers can rise to the challenge of smarter farming despite the obstacles ahead.

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

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If Hawke’s Bay farmers, croppers and horticulturalists are to survive ongoing legislative changes and qualify for irrigation opportunities implicit in the proposed high country dam, they’ll need to take smart farming more seriously.

Alongside diversification and more intensive land use, science and technology, including satellite mapping, computer modelling and precision guidance systems on farm machinery, will be essential if our baseline agricultural economy is to grow.

Soil and water expert Dan Bloomer says even five years ago most farming inputs – including labour, diesel, agrichemicals and fertiliser – were wasteful, but better understanding has resulted in more efficient and productive farming methods.

He says farmers are aware that smart use of technology is all that stands between profit and loss as the cycle of increased production costs and lower produce prices has been going on since

the invention of the plough.

Recent additions to that volatile mix are the cost of compliance, quality control and regulations, which continue to raise the bar for export success.

Bloomer, a townie who got a taste for the land hand-harvesting beans and tomatoes, took horticultural science at Massey University and gained skills integrating engineering, irrigation and orcharding.

These days, he heads charitable society Landwise, which produces free reports to help farmers “chop out waste” and produce economically and environmentally sustainable crops.

His consultancy, Page Bloomer, is focused on efficient land and soil use and he’s also on the board of Irrigation New Zealand.

Bloomer’s a translator, helping farmers, scientists and regulators understand what each other is trying to say. “I like bouncing around in that triangle.”

Technological hurdles Farming needs computing and fast and reliable internet as much as any business, but in many cases, he says, landline broadband and cellphone coverage is “horrible”.

In some cases it takes half an hour to complete an essential banking transaction with a supplier and while satellite’s an option, it’s costly. Many have migrated to smartphones where there’s a proven productivity gain, “but you don’t want to be standing on one leg at the kitchen table to get coverage.”

One coverage compromise is to collect data then synchronise with the office network when in wireless range.

You can track sheep movements, and with electronic scales and ear tags identify the paddock where they’re not gaining weight, which might be better planted in trees.

Bloomer, who runs resilient cropping workshops, says farmers also need to be psychologically resilient to cope with the market, exchange rate and environment.

“While they get up every day with a plan, there might be thunderstorms, a frost or find someone has driven through the fence and the cows are down the road.”

Although yield has increased significantly over the past 15 years through better farming practices, it’s a constant battle to keep ahead.

If you’re paying $30,000 - $70,000 a hectare for soil you need the right tools to understand how to make the best use of it.

z

water and it’ll tell you when you next need to irrigate. Sensors in the paddock, weekly moisture probing, contract services to confirm your diagnosis, and a little common-sense spade work ensure the water content is on track.

Changing the odds After all the reports, Bloomer’s now convinced the proposed Ruataniwha dam scheme is essential infrastructure but concedes, “we will most likely end up with some of the most expensive water in the country”.

He says farmers will have to find ways to afford it through land use change, higher value cropping and farming, intensification of existing dairying or total enterprise change. “If I go from dry land to irrigated, I’m going to have to learn a whole new set of skills and invest a lot of money in tractors for cropping.”

Bloomer believes the combined loss to the region after the last prolonged drought may be around $700 million.

“It’s a fact of life that we have dry summers and wet winters and if the crops get dry there’s no product for McCains and Watties, ships won’t come and jobs are lost.”

What everyone’s looking for is guaranteed supply. “We can’t afford to have droughts if we plan to stay in business as a region; irrigation is the only way to achieve water, fuel and labour efficiencies.”

Despite claims to the contrary, he insists “no one is allowed to sell water in New Zealand because no one owns it.” Charges relate to infrastructure, compliance and management; collecting and storing data, investigations into water quality and testing of catchments.

L and wanted

Legislative storm ahead Meanwhile, a swathe of regulatory change is coming at the farming community and Bloomer’s getting an earful of their concerns. “If farmers can’t see the reason or the benefits they get frustrated.”

Some are worried at how the proposed regulations, including nitrogen application and leakage levels, are being interpreted, and even environmental award-winners fear they may not be able to stay in business.

New RMA compliance, rules around the use of rivers, and other ‘externalities’ have created an atmosphere of uncertainty, even raising questions about whether the science is right, says Bloomer.

By November 2012 those using 20 litres a second or more; including 3,000 Hawke’s Bay farmers, had to install real-time water meters with a cellular or radio-link to HBRC at around $5,000 each, as well as manually recording daily use. Now the focus is on metering the next tier of water users.

Bloomer says there’ll be even stricter conditions for farmers using the Ruataniwha irrigation scheme. “You will have to irrigate really well and re-evaluate your whole way of farming to ensure the nutrients don’t get washed into the rivers.”

Smart farming, he says, is all about efficiency of supply, lean manufacturing, streamlined processes and reducing waste. “We have to diversify and be more creative; do the same thing better or try something else.”

We’ve had food safety programmes so people don’t die of salmonella; then agrichemical safety. Now Bloomer says we’re moving into environmental integrity to ensure we can get the best price at Sainsbury’s as part of the Pure New Zealand brand. “It’s about quality all the time”.

s– land – both large and small section We want to lease your cropping ons, squashes and feed crops. for our wonderful Hawke’s Bay oni how we could work together, To find out about our packages, and 3 or email chrisz@bostocks.co.nz contact Chris on 021 843 97

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JM Bostock Ltd NEW ZEALAND

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Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

Mapping the future HBRC’s satellite maps of the Heretaunga and Ruataniwha plains on Bloomer’s meeting room wall detail land and soil types, biomass and degrees of permeability or ability to hold water.

Not so long ago this military-grade imagery, which shows up the complexity of our landscape, was under tight wraps; now it’s opening the way for more informed decision making.

“Half a metre by half a metre pixel size is stunningly good compared with the 30 metre range we used to have. The question now is how much detail can a farmer handle?”

A decade ago it cost $150,000 to put a GPS system in a self-drive tractor; now at around $35,000 it’s used by most large farms. All the driver does is turn the tractor at the end of the row.

It aligns perfectly for each pass with optimum spacing for spray booms, ploughing or seed planting. “No overlaps, no misses and if you are spraying it’ll turn off nozzles so you’re not double dosing,” says Bloomer.

One client used it for drain laying; even two years ago that would have required a surveyor and physically digging and filling trenches.

The computer was instructed to lay plastic piping at 30 metre spacing, the tractor surveyed the fall and optimum depth and gradient, then the trailer unit laid a tile drain at a kilometre an hour and backfilled with shingle.

Computerised cropping models that mimic what’s happening in the field also have potential to deliver huge efficiencies and can be programmed to respond to exact ground conditions.

Key in the nutrients, soil, weather and

39

A House to Match My Prius Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

40

Simply put, an ‘eco-house’ is an environmentally low-impact home designed and built using materials and technology that reduces its carbon footprint and lowers its energy needs, creating a legacy of environmental responsibility rather than disregard.

Sounds easy enough. Just head off to the Eco house yard and buy one.

Delivered in a week saving you money on your power bill in three. Everyone should have one. Just sign on the dotted line of the recycled A4 contract.

Unfortunately the building industry is neither as clever or as sexy as the automobile industry. Henry Ford, grandfather of mass production, sent the Model T down the assembly line, creating unforeseen manufacturing efficiencies, and inspiring architects of the time to imagine what if we could do the same

with housing. Factory-produced housing had been around for a while; the colonies were built from mail order, your Victorian villa included, but Ford’s thinking put the idea on steroids. The 20th century is littered with well-intentioned factoryproduced housing schemes.

The car companies have continued to innovate. They realize to stay in business they have to push the green envelope.

Safer, faster and more economical, taking advantage of all the latest in gadgetry, sensors and logic boards, shrinking carbon footprints and growing efficiency.

Meanwhile, in the housing market, technology remains very last century, treated 4 x 2 and a 24-ounce hammer … she’ll be right mate.

As a consumer I can easily procure a petrol-sipping miser, green lean and mean fresh off an optimized low-energy

by ~ ANTHONY VILE

robotic production line from any of the big auto manufacturers. Meanwhile my house remains barely insulated, let alone with individually controlled and zoned environmental comfort like on offer in the car yards.

Our housing stock generally leaks energy like a sieve, creates masses of landfill through an antiquated construction process, causes more hospital admissions of children than monkey bars, and costs us an unaffordable portion of our incomes, as well as generally being aesthetically deficient.

What gives? Is there a ‘green’ housing option available for the average consumer looking to house their average-sized family on an average-sized income? What kind of driveway will my Prius look its most awesome in?

tim.co.nz

Eco-building in Hawke’s Bay With the building sector contributing 25% of our landfill waste and using 4050% of our energy, what opportunities are there for innovation and lowering the energy and carbon footprint of homes in the Bay? The Best Home project – a Hastings District Council (HDC) initiative in partnership with Beacon Pathways and Hovarth Homes, a local volume-housing supplier – has recently brought a new product to market.

HDC tasked Horvath Homes to participate in the building of a show home in Havelock North that would “exceed current building regulations to achieve a minimum six stars on the Homestar™ energy efficiency rating tool for no more than 5% additional cost of a standard build”.

The Council seeks to leverage this partnership as ground breaking and innovative, creating new intellectual property and value for the local community. However, it is unclear whether the approximately $220,000 invested thus far has actually created any new knowledge. For example, Homestar already provides a rating tool.

The show home incorporates the basics of sustainable building practice such as passive solar design, water recycling and onsite power generation.

The key elements of passive design are:

The house is standard fare to look at – 187 sqm, two bathrooms, two-car garaging, four bedrooms. Its $500,000 price tag is unaffordable to the majority of the district’s population, relative to incomes.

Is a house of this size and type sustainable in the first place?

The trend in NZ, Australia and US over the last 25 years has been towards obesity of home size. A super-sizing not dissimilar to the fast food industry. Do we need to be building large or do we need to put our homes on a diet to achieve the first principle in sustainability – economy. We need to be thinking smart, not necessarily big.

The innovation the Best Home project provides is not in product but in process.

When it comes to gaining a building consent, the ‘green tape’ route proposed, rather than red tape, is welcome relief for anyone requiring a building consent.

The Hovarth model is been further tested in partnership with the council on the site of the former HDC Nursery on Fitzroy Street in Hastings, which is being touted as a model medium density development. It will be interesting to see what a higher density model will mean for the Best Home.

It seems the new green is really the old green with some marketing speak around it. Perhaps the development of green building should be left to the experts Continued on Page 42

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Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

• Building orientation to sun • Insulation over and above the building code minimum • Double-glazing as minimum • Allowance of natural heating and cooling via controlled seasonal access to direct solar radiation

• Provision of thermal mass (ample material to store heat energy) • Have glazing correctly placed and sized to aid with passive heating and cooling and natural ventilation • Include appropriate shading provided by overhangs and screens

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A House to Match My Prius

and the market to sort out. Best practice examples and data are a mouse click away.

A ‘best practice’ eco house in Hawke’s Bay will: • Be site dependent • Be design-lead so key sustainable principles are incorporated at the front end • Be aligned with principles of passive solar design outlined above • Provide rainwater harvesting and storage capacity • Use a grey water recycling system • Generate power via photovoltaic or wind, with ability to feed back to grid • Heat water via solar roof top installation • Be built to an efficient module that doesn’t create excessive waste • Be flexible in use to accommodate variable patterns of occupation over time • Use local sustainably-forested timber • Have the capacity to collect and monitor environmental and energy-use data • Use 21st century technology where it can, including off-site fabrication technology • Be of a size and form related to comfort, efficiency and economics

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

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Eco-building affordability The simplest and most cost-effective eco-measures are those that align with a ‘passive solar’ strategy as outlined above.

There is no additional cost to orientating a building to the sun and very little cost in additional insulation. It is eco through design and careful consideration at the front end.

It is the hard engineering technology where additional cost lies. If the project is designed correctly in the first place, however, then eco technology can be aligned to a customized upgrade programme as capital becomes available.

Obviously the paybacks in energy savings and carbon reduction get greater as energy costs increase and the initial capital costs required decline.

The good news is that a global push towards future-proofing against energy cost spikes in a post peak-oil world is driving research and consumer demand for greener buildings as well as cars. The trickle down has already started.

Photovoltaics have experienced massive increase in efficient generation capacity as well as cost cutting as a result of manufacturing efficiencies and technology.

Payback times are decreasing rapidly. The future holds the capacity of every house to be a micro-generator feeding the grid. For the Bay, a golden opportunity.

Subsidies via tax rebates and low interest loans have been useful ways to stimulate the market elsewhere and could be replicated here. Kiwibank has moved

Eco House Advice

How can consumers get a grip on the options open to them if they want the same eco features as the auto industry can so easily provide?

A lot of research has been done over the years, with various attempts to bring ideas and products to market.

Unfortunately without a central clearing house of information there is no clarity for the market. So pick your advisor wisely and hope the research promoted is substantiated.

Here is a quick overview of the key players in NZ.

Beacon Pathways

Beacon Pathways’ objective is to “transform New Zealand’s homes and neighbourhoods to be high performing, adaptable, resilient and affordable”.

It grew out of a research consortium formed in 2004 to fulfill a six-year research contract with the Foundation for Research Science and Technology (FRST). Original shareholders were: New Zealand Steel, Waitakere City Council, Fletcher Building, BRANZ and Scion.

NZGBC

The New Zealand Green Building Council, established in July 2005, is a not-for-profit organisation “dedicated to accelerating the development and adoption of market-based green building practices”.

The NZGBC in 2006 became a member of the World Green Building Council (WGBC). The WGBC is an international not-for-profit organisation that aims to move the global property industry and built environment towards sustainability.

NZGBC promotes the idea of ratings tools to inform the consumer via a standardised measure of energy efficiency for all building types, including residential houses, via their Homestar product. Licensed ‘green’ professionals assess and assign ratings;

the organisation generates its income via licensing fees.

BRANZ BRANZ is a significant investor in industry research and knowledge dissemination to the wider building and construction industry. It receives almost all its income from the Building Research Levy, and invests this to achieve benefits for the New Zealand community by improving the knowledge base of the New Zealand building and construction sector.

Government

The Department of Building and Housing’s influence is generated through the Building Act and the national building code. The latter stipulates that “each building shall achieve the performance criteria specified in the building code for the classified use of that building”. There are minimums required for insulation and weather tightness.

And the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) encourages, supports, and promotes energy efficiency, energy conservation, and the use of renewable sources of energy in New Zealand.

Universities

The universities chip in via architecture schools with research initiatives on sustainable building, and sustainability and ‘green’ building practice are well-placed in the curriculum and an integrated part of a young architect’s education. It has been so at least since the 1970s. Victoria University’s success at the Solar Decathalon in Washington DC last year was a clear indication of a new generation’s potential.

The NZ Institute of Architects has a policy statement on sustainability and generally its members are aware of best practice via their university degree programme or continuing education efforts.

A House to Match My Prius

in this direction by offering Sustainable Energy Loans as a top up to Home Loans where they will contribute $4,000 over four years towards cost of a system. Home insulation funding up to $1,300 has been available through EECA for some time and has been widely used.

Straw bales and mud bricks?

Eco-building has been talked about at least since the 60s when the hippies brought ideas into popular cultures with long beards and DIY muddy fingers.

Current developments are an outgrowth

of that culture of growing environmental awareness. The market perception is still somewhat that ‘eco’ equals ‘hippy dippy’, but it’s not actually like that.

There are great examples of the more traditional methods of eco-building like strawbales and mudbricks for individual projects, but the opportunity we need to consider is the wider housing market and the large-scale greening of our housing stock and building industry.

Technology has moved on, but we have yet to download the full value of knowledge and technology into our

home building culture. As the traditional suburban stand-alone house becomes less a sustainable dream, building our housing on smaller more affordable lots, closer to community infrastructure, transportation and place of business, is the trend we need to advance … a design-led trend that can create inherently more sustainable housing infrastructure in our cities.

Eco-building brings economic benefits to individual homeowners. However, the broader social benefit is stimulating the ‘green economy’. This is widely considered to be the next tech-induced economic boom, and is where NZ Inc and Hawke’s Bay needs to be investing, one rooftop at a time.

There is a massive market out there needing and looking for innovation … no reason why Hawke’s Bay couldn’t have a piece of that pie.

Anthony Vile, a regular contributor to Architecture NZ, is a designer and urbanist. His work ranges from residential architecture, public art and urban design to urban planning and cultural analysis.

Completed formal architecture and urban design education in New York. Has taught design at Univ of Auckland School of Architecture and Planning and Unitec.

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

43

Our Health and the Environment by ~ JESSICA SOUTAR BARRON

tim.co.nz

Our relationship with the environment is dictated in many ways by the decisions and actions of our governing bodies. As citizens we have a say through council processes, and as individuals we make choices about how we live in our natural and built surroundings.

But there are countless factors in our environment that directly affect the health and wellbeing of our community, and many of those we have no control over.

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

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So who in officialdom is looking out for us and health impacts of our environment?

Dr Nicholas Jones is one of our three Medical Officers of Health at Hawke’s Bay District Health Board, each with a slightly different remit. Working alongside Dr Lester Calder and Dr Caroline McElnay, Jones’ focus is environmental health.

For Jones, four key issues influencing the health of Hawke’s Bay communities are housing, water, climate change and emergency preparedness. The big four.

When it’s suggested that perhaps The Big Four are too hard to tackle, even when you are the Medical Officer of Health, Jones is pragmatic.

“I don’t see it as me being the only person who’s responsible for this. I’m responsible for contributing to a bigger debate, and making sure it’s as informed as it can be from a health perspective. You need a lot of patience in this job because it could take years to see results of what you do.”

Environmental health advocate Nicholas Jones has a career spanning 25 years; some in central government organisations; ten years working for the public health service in Auckland. In the mid-1990s Jones worked on a study of the risk factors of meningococcal meningitis.

This led him to a heightened interest in environmental health, when the chief risk factor turned out to be overcrowding.

“That was an interesting piece of work and I suppose it inspired me to do more and become more interested in the effects of the environment on health,” says Jones.

In 2005 Jones was awarded a fellowship to study at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia in the US. Much of his time there was spent looking at the measures of environmental health, and how elements such as urban design, air quality and transport can affect health outcomes, like obesity, heart disease, reproductive health and

respiratory illnesses.

Jones was in the US for four years before coming to Hawke’s Bay in 2009 to take up his current role.

His work is primarily about assessing health risk, particularly in relation to various aspects of the environment. It’s also about advocating for measures that will reduce those risks or protect individuals that might be affected by them.

“I think of the environment at its most basic – air, water, soil – and as the physical environment that we come into contact with. But then there are also more complex aspects like the design of our towns and cities, buildings, our homes, our schools, transport, even the way in which food is sold. The retail spaces, and the types of food that are available can be seen as aspects of the environment that will affect our health,” Jones explains.

Within public health circles there has long been an understanding that councils

are major players in public health. The decisions they make and the services they carry out have a tremendous impact on the local environment. Working closely with councils is therefore a key focus for Jones.

But the buck doesn’t stop with council; community and individuals need to engage in the debate and the direction being taken by elected representatives.

“There’s a broader dialogue that goes on within community about the decisions we make collectively about how we want to develop, what policies should be in place, ensuring human health considerations are taken into account when we’re thinking about those things,” says Jones.

Water The multifaceted challenges of water came up as a chief focus for public health in the Supporting Healthy Communities Plan 2012-2015, pulled together by the Hawke’s Bay DHB. Included were impacts water has on health throughout its cycle, including drinking water, water supply and recreational water use.

In public health terms, drinking water is thought about in two dimensions: security of supply and quality, both microbiological and chemical.

With rural communities in particular there are risks to the water supply, especially in communities dependent on rainfall, who in some cases are already struggling to get sufficient water particularly in summer months. Security of supply is interlinked with climate change because Hawke’s Bay is expected to become drier in the future, and as it does it’s anticipated those problems will become greater.

“We work with communities to try and assist them. Part of that involves helping them access funds from the Ministry of Health for assistance in improving the quality of their water supplies.”

It is estimated that about 1,000 people in Hawke’s Bay are in communities at high risk in terms of secure, quality drinking water.

Says Jones: “One of the simple things people can do is have more storage, larger tanks. In a lot of communities we also look at putting in place a small system, either using water out of a stream, or out of a bore

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“Children who live in cold damp houses, particularly when there is tobacco use indoors, are much more likely to get admitted to hospital with respiratory illnesses.” dr nicholas jones

to supply that community and how can that be set up in a way that’s going to be sustainable, so that community will be able to operate the system themselves over time.”

Water also concerns rivers and lakes.

Although testing and monitoring for problems like bacteria and cyanobacteria is done by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Jones and his team work with them on interpreting the findings, assessing what the risks are and advising the public.

“My impression is we are making progress, but some of the issues, with lakes in particular, will take a long time to resolve. They are a legacy of some of the land use practices we’ve had in this region and the fact that we cut down a lot of trees [historically],” explains Jones.

There are also food aspects associated with water, as it’s used for growing shell fish and fin fish. Proximity to urban areas and waste water are both concerns, and Continued on Page 48

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Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

Climate change For Nicholas Jones, climate change rises to the top of the list of concerns because of its potential to have huge impacts on most aspects of our lives, including the economy in Hawke’s Bay, as much of it is dependent on the climate.

On a more global level there’s emerging concern about how climate change may affect health outcomes, for example – the spread of infectious diseases beyond their traditional ‘borders’ (such as the mosquito adapting to carry malaria in places where it is not traditionally found), air quality effects from large scale fires and intensified urban air pollution, effects of more frequent, longer heatwaves or other extreme weather events, sustainable water supply and the prospects of climate refugees. “[Climate change] is an important issue,” says Jones. “Is it something I can do a lot about in my day-to-day work? Not a great deal. It’s important for people working in environmental health to remind all of us that there are health issues associated with climate change, but what needs to be done to try and prevent it is a multi-country effort.”

Jones believes that what will emerge is a greater focus on how communities can adapt. It’s a two-pronged attack: How do we prevent those health effects from occurring?

And, how do we make change so we can withstand the issues when they arise?

“It’s some way out in the future so it’s not something I’m going to be working on a lot on a daily basis but it’s definitely an important issue,” says Jones.

Not far out in the future say some experts. Global warming already contributes to more than 150,000 deaths and 5 million illnesses annually, according to World Health Organization studies.

45

our health and the environment

Check recreational water quality at B4Uswim at: www.hbrc.govt.nz

“… the design of our towns and cities, buildings, our homes, our schools, transport, even the way in which food is sold … the retail spaces, and the types of food that are available can be seen as aspects of the environment that will affect our health.” dr nicholas jones Jones has been involved with reviewing the health effects of discharging sewage into Hawke Bay. “There’s always the potential to take things further if you have to. At the end of the day the decisions around how we manage our waste water and how we deal with it as a population, that’s something we all have to decide, we all have to contribute to that discussion,” Jones says.

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

46

Housing In all areas of social debate, housing raises its head. Dampness and mould are issues, as is crowding, which is associated with a lot of effects, particularly infectious diseases, rheumatic fever, TB, meningococcal disease and mental health.

“Children who live in cold damp houses, particularly when there is tobacco use indoors, are much more likely to get admitted to hospital with respiratory illnesses. That’s a concern for those families and those children but it’s also a concern for the DHB because it’s a lot of resource going into what is essentially preventable illness,” explains Jones.

The Hawke’s Bay DHB has been working with the primary health organisation and the regional council on trying to help families, particularly those in poorer

neighbourhoods, to get assistance with insulation and aspects of the home that are causing moisture to be retained. There are questions around how much ‘The State’ should intervene, but the cost of housing and availability of good quality rentals are real issues, and all over the world governments, including our own historically, have invested in social housing.

Jones also believes there are issues in terms of the way our communities are designed and built. He advocates for urban designs that promote people getting out and walking, accessing public transport or using a bike rather than a car.

Emergency preparedness In many ways emergency preparedness ties the other three key areas together.

Certainly housing and water problems are critical issues in emergencies, but also, as we have seen in Canterbury, those who are struggling with the necessities of life anyway, when caught up in crisis are many furlongs further down the hill when it comes to recovery and rebuilding.

Climate change is also a major factor in natural disasters, as the type and magnitude, and arguably frequency, is interlinked with changes to weather patterns.

With a history marked by a natural disaster over 8o years ago, Hawke’s Bay is tuned in to civil defence. An element of Jones’ role is preparing Hawke’s Bay for earthquakes, tsunami, flooding, pandemic, or man-made disasters. Some emergencies are primarily a health concern; in other emergencies the role of public health is much more in support.

“I spend quite a lot of time working with councils, civil defence authorities and emergency services like police, fire and St Johns preparing for what we need to be doing in an emergency, and setting up policies and protocols so we can work together in a coordinated way,” Jones says.

Jones and his team are also involved in outbreaks of illness in daycares, schools and rest homes. Two or three times a year these are large scale events.

Editor’s Note: Missing from Dr Jones’ environmental health priorities is the issue of fluoride in the region’s drinking water, which will be the focus of a sharply-contested referendum in the Hastings district later this year. A subject to which BayBuzz will return.

Facts and figures to get you thinking, prepare you for party conversations, or simply provoke shock and awe!

Gambling • Bets in NZ in 2012 totaled more than $16 billion – or more than $3,600 for every man, woman and child.

• Punters lost $2.07 billion at the TAB, on pokies, casino games and Lotto.

• Lotto players lost $419 million on $948 million worth of tickets.

Napier Port • Recent revaluation of its ‘sea defences’ increased the Port’s value by $72 million, to a total book value of $235 million.

• Capital spend for Port improvements projected at $146 million over next 10 years.

• Top three imports through Port are cement, fuel and fertiliser.

Global Warming & Health Global warming already contributes to more than 150,000 deaths and 5 million illnesses annually, according to World Health Organization studies.

Value of Higher Education Median earnings of young domestic bachelors graduates two and five years after study Total students Society and culture Natural and physical sciences Management and commerce Information technology Health Engineering and related technologies Education Creative arts Architecture and building Agriculture, environmental and related studies $0 Year 2

$10

$20

Year 5

$30

$40

$50

$60

$70

Median earnings of young domestic completers two and five years after study, by qualification Doctorates Masters Level 8 honours/postgrad certs/dips Level 7 graduate certs/dips Bachelors Diplomas Level 4 certificates Level 1-3 certificates $0 Year 2

Year 5

$10

$20

$30

$40

$50

$60

$70

Really Random Numbers

Projecting from national NEET figures (i.e., not in education, employment or training), there are approximately 3,000 16-24 year olds out of work, education or training in Hawke’s Bay. About 1,700 of those are Mãori.

• $70,000 … cost of Yamaha grand piano played by Carole King at Mission Concert

The region’s 1,098 registered charities spend $657 million a year and clock up 64,000 volunteer hours assisting with social, health, housing, animal welfare, culture and heritage and sports programmes.

$80

Earnings ($1,000s)

Hawke’s Bay NEETers

Hawke’s Bay Charities

$80

Earnings ($1,000s)

• 15,000 … number of A4 pages of emails sent by Napier Council employee over the NCC computer system while directing his private ginkgo biloba business.

• $2,200,000 … estimated cost of fixing leaky Hawke’s Bay Regional Council building.

• $2,000,000 … recent funding loss suffered by EIT. • 64% … percentage of Hawke’s Bay voters who support some form of local government reorganisation.

Smart Green Agriculture by ~ RUSSEL NORMAN, Co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand In a recent National Business Review article, Greens preparing for government, Matthew Hooten, noting the Green Party’s strong standing in current polls, wrote:

“The business community and the Greens will always be wary of one another but it is increasingly likely the two will have to work together through much of the rest of this decade, if not into the 2020s. For the sake of sane-ish economic policy through those years, it is to be hoped the Greens genuinely are prepared to listen to the people who create the nation’s wealth and that, for its part, the business community is also prepared to engage meaningfully.”

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

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In February, Russel Norman gave a speech on NZ agriculture to a Green Party conference in Napier. Here are excerpts from his speech …

Smart Green Agriculture Most of the food and fibre that our farmers produce goes off shore …

There are two kinds of food traded in the world.

There are those anonymous shipping containers of anonymous products that enter the giant commodity pool, cheap products that get moved around the world with no focus on where they are from or their other qualities. The producers of these ingredients get low prices and capture very little of the value chain – most of the value is added in the processing and retailing, and in this model that value is captured by others.

And then there are the high quality foods, products with good reputations that customers will pay more for.

These are products that proudly state where they come from, how they were grown and processed. Real food grown by real people in a real country that stands behind its food exports. Real food is defined by its provenance. The producers of real food know their customers and capture much of the value from field to factory to shop.

We in New Zealand need to decide whether we want to produce industrial ingredients or real food with proud provenance.

As customers around the world increase their demand for clean, green and safe food, New Zealand has the opportunity to step in and provide real food to them. We have the opportunity to look after our environment, produce high quality food, and get paid handsomely for it.

But the track that this Government, and previous governments, have us on is a track for producing cheap industrial food ingredients. It is a track that will undermine our reputation for producing clean green and safe food.

This National Government says they plan to triple agri-food exports from $20 billion to $58 billion by 2025; they plan to do it by producing even more cheap industrial food commodities.

But is this sustainable?

Fifty two percent of our monitored waters have been classified as unsafe for swimming. Lake Tutira, just north of here, is not meant to be closed for swimming because it is a health hazard.

Dairy intensification is the number one driver of increasing water pollution in New Zealand. Our six million dairy cows produce as much effluent as 84 million people.

We are also facing the challenge of climate change. Climate change is already being felt profoundly by our farmers. The twin plagues of droughts and floods are affecting the way in which we can grow food and fibre in New Zealand, and they are certainly affecting the global markets.

We need to redesign the farming system We need to ask: what is New Zealand’s agricultural value proposition? What do we offer to our markets around the world that is special and different?

First off I can tell you what it’s not.

It’s not pouring anonymous commodity ingredients into the global pot. It’s not producing the cheapest products at whatever cost. Other agricultural production around the world can fill these markets. We have aspirations for environmental and labour standards that mean we can’t compete with those countries with lower standards.

What New Zealand can offer is clean, green, and safe food - the food that customers around the world want to feed to their kids. Food with provenance.

We can offer food customers want – food with a story of environmental protection, animal welfare, safety, and traceability. We can use our expertise to develop modern agricultural methods and technology that can also be exported, helping other countries to reduce their environmental impact and ensure clean food.

New Zealand needs to do production smarter and do it loudly so that people know what we have to sell and want to buy it. We should be selling a diverse range of high quality, value added products with our name plastered all over them so that customers can ask for them by name.

Green Party agriculture spokesperson Steffan Browning has been looking into stock feed imports. He found that last year we imported 1.2 million tonnes of feed for stock. The vast majority of that, more than 90% was palm kernel meal, which is inextricably linked to deforestation of our most precious rainforests. The other imports were from countries that use genetically engineered crops, such at the 12,000 tonnes of cotton seed meal from Australia.

Last month two of our fertiliser companies had to withdraw their products from the shelf after traces of the chemical DCD were found in milk. It is difficult to overestimate the danger that these traces represent to our dairy exports.

This Government is holding our clean green brand up as a nice to have. Our Prime Minister said of our 100% pure brand that it needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. But if our international markets conclude that the brand is a sham, it will all come falling down and we will lose our marketing advantage.

This is an accident waiting to happen.

Green agriculture vision The Green Party has a vision of New Zealand with a smart, green economy that protects our environment. We don’t have an agricultural industry despite our environment, we have it because of our environment.

®

For Knowledge And Results In Havelock North

Rachel Dailey Tel: 877 0903 Mob: 027 487 1231 rachel.dailey@tremains.co.nz

www.tremains.co.nz Havelock North Sales Office 28 Te Mata Road > 06 877 8035 Tremain Real Estate Ltd Licensed Real Estate Agent REAA 2008

2. Innovation … what does innovation look like for the agricultural sector?

It’s technology that will allow us to farm within the ecological limits.

Technology that will generate energy on farms, or from waste. It’s information communication technology that will allow us to practise the most precise farming through accurate application of inputs and monitoring of soil conditions. The manufacture and intellectual property of these technologies can also make up a part of our exports.

We should also be investing into researching better techniques of farming this island of ours, such as developing crop varieties and carbon sequestration techniques.

Instead this Government is investing millions into huge levels of irrigation. $400 million in subsidies to irrigation. In contrast, we have a sustainable farming fund, which last year gave out $9 million in funds.

3. Environmental bottom lines We will make sure that rural land is valued for its agricultural potential rather than its potential for tax-free capital gains. We will bring in a capital gains tax and limit the sale of our land to overseas owners so that farmers can afford to farm it, stay off the treadmill of debt and stay within the ecological limits of the land.

We will set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and chemical use, and increasing organics. And we will focus on securing support to reach those targets.

We will set and enforce strong national standards for freshwater, to clean up our rivers.

4. Building skills We will support the skills development of our agricultural workforce to meet the new challenges. Our schools and universities have a huge part to play.

Massey University’s brand new Institute of Agriculture and Environment is a perfect example. Those people working to produce high quality food and fibres while protecting our environment need to be highly skilled across the spectrum.

Whether they are handling animals and monitoring their health and welfare, through to those scientists establishing

“Smart green agriculture means proudly getting our customers to know us, because we have nothing to hide.” the new technologies to monitor nutrient use on our farms.

5. A genuine brand We will keep a strong eye on a 100% commitment to the 100% pure brand. It’s our ticket to getting higher global prices that reflect our higher quality products.

Here in the Hawke’s Bay, a group of local growers and producers - Pure Hawke’s Bay - has identified that their markets do not want genetically engineered foods and are committed to building this region’s reputation as a food producing region of world renown, famous for premium, high quality food, produced sustainably. Pure Hawke’s Bay recognizes the importance of the brand.

Smart green agriculture is about looking after the land, the people and the animals because it is the right thing to do and because it is the economically sensible thing to do.

It’s about growing our knowledge so that we can lead the world in how to feed people sustainably.

It’s about getting to know our customers so that we take our food of provenance from the field to the table.

Smart green agriculture means proudly getting our customers to know us, because we have nothing to hide.

It’s about providing our farmers and food producers a good life and a fair income.

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

1. Value adding Last year New Zealand sent 1.6 million tonnes of milk power to overseas markets.

But its sale is sending jobs overseas for other workers to manufacture food products. We should be identifying those markets ourselves, manufacturing those products in New Zealand, and selling them proudly branded as Made in NZ. The New Zealand Forest and Wood Products Industry have a vision to double their annual export earnings to $12 billion. They have a vision of being recognised as a world-leader in woodbased building materials. They want to be selling products of a higher value than logs of wood.

That’s what the Green Party means by ‘value added’, passing added value on

to our manufacturers, our researchers, our exporters, our workers. Making and selling good, ethical products and ideas that are more than anonymous milk powder and logs. Really importantly, adding value in New Zealand means jobs stay in New Zealand. And that’s what New Zealanders want and need.

49

GROW LOCAL by ~ DAVID TRUBRIDGE

Has anyone noticed that in the cacophony of messages assailing us from the media there are two wildly contradictory forces straining to pull us in opposite directions?

global warming, showing no signs of its ability to prevent it; and it has failed in its promise of wealth for all.

The neoliberal economic agenda championed by the US (and embraced by our current government) has created uncontrollable multi-national businesses whose power allows them to avoid paying their share of local taxes. The very few at the top have become immeasurably richer even while their tax rates are lowered.

Scandalously, they are even allowed to stash trillions of dollars of untaxed incomes in tax havens -- enough in fact to solve all the world’s problems. Meanwhile the vast majority has become relatively poorer: an unbelievable 15% of the American population is below the poverty line (20% of those under age18) and these are conservative official estimates – other estimates are higher.

There is no trickle down, only a sucking up. Of course fair distribution was never intended -- that was just a con to get enough dupes to vote for the system.

Unbelievably they still do! As George Monbiot wrote, “ this is all about power not economics.”

This is the model our government still champions. Well of course they do, because John Key and his mates are in the top 1%.

Capitalism isn’t the problem But I want to look at another way.

Before you dismiss me as a rabid socialist I must point out that I too am a capitalist, running my own business and providing a livelihood for 20-30 people here and overseas. Capitalism itself is not the problem; it is today’s rampant, unmitigated version that needs curtailing.

The current system requires us to be competitive so that growth can go on ramping upward. But what if we said no, we have a good lifestyle, this is enough?

Stop listening to leaders who say we are not competitive enough, who go on about our lagging behind Australia. Instead of

“Stop listening to leaders who say we are not competitive enough, who go on about our lagging behind Australia.” david trubridge looking over your shoulder, look around you here: isn’t what we have got pretty good? We have a relatively clean country with abundant food and fresh water, with space for generations of children.

Our leaders tell us that the economy requires us to export more; we must dam our rivers, intensify dairying, frack our fragile land for gas and drill our oceans for oil. This is all to pay our debts and make us rich. But actually it has turned out to be only they who get rich, while we pay the taxes.

And what are those debts for? What are we importing? It would be nice to have a newer car or a bigger TV, but do we really need it and is it worth the price our land has to pay? If we import something, we have to export something. Government and Big Business will do all it can to encourage us to buy because of course they clip the ticket both ways.

I don’t care if we are bottom of the OECD league if we have a happy and healthy lifestyle. Local leaders complain that Hawke’s Bay is one of the lowest achieving provinces, but I would say it is one of the richest in its natural resources and lifestyle.

Join the dots . . . see the consequences.

When we were sailing across the Pacific we very rarely saw any shops. When we did I was suddenly reminded of all the consumer goods we were missing. But then I asked myself, do I really want to work a week to have that thing, or would I rather have the time with my children snorkelling over the reefs? I rarely bought

Founded in 2007 MOGUL IS

HOMEGROWN and proudly independent

Continued on Page 52

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Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

On the one hand, there are lead stories about global warming, about how we underestimated it (Lord Stern), about how serious it is getting (melting ice-caps) and about how we are still increasing carbon emissions despite these warnings.

On the other hand, articles about the economy bewail ongoing stagnation in many countries, desperately seeking ways to encourage more growth. The crazy thing is that these two messages will be mixed up in the same publication, such as our Listener and even the venerable Guardian.

Well hullo! You can’t have it both ways! Surely these publications should decide which side they believe in and stop printing the other?

Economic growth is exponential and totally impossible when based on finite resources (with the exception of the sun’s energy). The reason we have made no headway in reducing carbon emissions is that global economies are still desperately climbing over each other in competition to increase their GDP. John Key complains that to bring farmers into the carbon emissions trading scheme would be to make them “uncompetitive”.

In the Listener, Linda Sanders, writing about money, bemoans our failing competitiveness as we drop from the top of the OECD per capita table to 24th, and talks about ways to make NZ rich.

All this talk of growth and competition is so 20th century. We have now seen the limits of our planet, its resources and its ability to absorb our waste. If we continue to compete for those resources the only end in that direction is an overheated planet and serious conflict, already starting, over water and fisheries.

In the 21st century there is a new paradigm, not of economic growth but of balance. We have to find a way to support the global population in a decent lifestyle, indefinitely, and that is not possible through competition any more.

There are two reasons why the current competitive model isn’t working: it causes

51

GROW LOCAL

anything and we were richer.

Now we have to ask ourselves the same question, and we have to be prepared to accept the consequences of our choice.

Are the polluting effects of oil spills, excess dairying and fracking worth paying for more and more ephemeral consumer stuff, which in its own way eventually adds to our pollution in landfills?

I don’t believe in ‘nimbyism’. If I drive a car I have to be prepared to accept the consequences of oil extraction here, not conveniently let it happen unseen as someone else’s problem. Ideally I stop driving altogether, which is not so easy in our society. So we have to accept a certain amount of exploitation of our resources, even as we do all we can to reduce it.

But I do not accept exploitation happening purely to offset our debts, especially when it has the additional effect of increasing global warming. Is it really all right to sell others more carbon to pump into the atmosphere, just to make us richer? No, instead it is our responsibility to reduce those debts.

My model for Hawke’s Bay The biggest import into Napier port is fertiliser. Balanced organic farming needs much less fertiliser, using instead locally made compost. If we cut that import bill we don’t have to sell so much. When we do have to export, let’s look at how we can do this without damaging our environment. For instance, the fastest increasing local export item is corn from the Gisborne area -- why? Because it is a rare enclave where the corn is unpolluted

by GM modified varieties – globally people don’t want GM food. Organically grown, non-GM corn would be even better and fetch higher prices, without

tim.co.nz

the need to import the fertiliser.

Instead of the discredited and disastrous economic model of globalisation, let’s look at localisation; and at collaboration instead of competition.

Here’s my model for Hawke’s Bay: we do what profits us not them.

With every dollar you spend think hard about who profits most from it. You can either buy bad food that makes you unhealthy from an American franchise and unsustainable factory farming, and see the profits go off shore and our roads full of trucks pumping carbon. Or you can buy good, sustainable organic local food that keeps your money circulating

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

52

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here, our land clean, and our hospital costs down.

You can either buy the latest and biggest new car every few years, contribute more to global warming and leave your kids at home while you work like crazy to pay it off. Or you can keep a local mechanic going fixing up the old smaller one for a few more years. In many little ways like these you give jobs to locals, reduce your pollution, keep our overseas debt down, and keep the profits here to support our community and have a better lifestyle, all without being so competitive.

And when a leader starts talking about competition or growth, quietly turn your back.

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TechFocus

Administrivia hobbles charities Keith Newman talks to Megan Rose, who’s championing a new web portal to directly connect philanthropists and community volunteers with each other and Hawke’s Bay’s needy. tim.co.nz

Megan Rose

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

54

Mountains of paperwork, duplication of resources, over-stretched volunteers and a lack of coordination are undermining the efforts of more than a thousand charities to make Hawke’s Bay a better place to live.

The region’s 1,098 registered charities spend more than half a billion dollars a year and clock up 64,000 volunteer hours assisting with welfare, health, housing, animal welfare, culture and heritage and sports programmes.

However, Megan Rose, project manager of the recently launched CommUnity Solutions web portal, reckons we’re not getting full value for the $657 million charity funding, because community groups don’t collaborate, and spend half their time on administrivia.

To justify public sector funding they have to submit complex applications and detailed accountability reporting. “On average voluntary organisations spend 50% of their time seeking funding just to exist.”

Short-term funding doesn’t promote long-term thinking, says Rose, and the highly competitive battle for funding also discourages collaboration. Central government’s description of volunteers as the ‘third sector’ doesn’t help, she says.

“It just legitimises the volunteer sector as a dumping ground for social problems as if it was part of an active mechanism, when it’s not.”

In the end, volunteers wanting to make a difference often end up burning out because they’re doing everything from the paperwork to running sausage sizzles.

Rose believes communities hold the key to their own social problems and the web site can be the catalyst to improve relationships between volunteer groups, the people they serve and financial supporters.

She describes the CommUnity Solutions hub as a “home for philanthropy” and a place where community services from Porangahau to Mahia can have a voice.

Inspired networker The former Napier Daily Telegraph journo, Egg Marketing Board member, breakfast show host and now management facilitator, was won over to community development while coordinating the Healthy Homes Coalition for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council in 2009.

She built links between industry,

community groups and the public sector and by the time the plug was pulled in 2010 had established a strong network and a growing awareness of unmet needs.

Over the past three years, her unpaid passion has been to better understand what is and isn’t working for communities. She’s impressed with the resilience and creativity of some of the most disadvantaged groups, but frustrated at the difficulties faced by those who simply want to get on with making a difference.

Rose recalls a community meeting discussing a family in desperate need where some immediately offered food items, while the two local government representatives discussed “why one of them hadn’t been invited to a follow-up meeting and who was going to be the lead agency.”

On presenting to a group of inner-city Napier churches she found duplication and leaders with different agendas. The problem, she suggests, is that we’re focused on the wrong things and in some cases desensitised to poverty.

Rather than being turned away people approaching an agency for help or seeking funding should be given other options. She

began advocating for a more altruistic and transparent approach to community-based services, with professional systems to keep everything on track.

Rose found the ideal partner in the Napier City Pilot Trust, which had run community-led crime prevention models, including neighbourhood watch and prisoner re-integration since the 1980s.

She found chairman Martin Williams and founder Pat McGill there shared her aspirations, including the desire to establish a community web portal. In September they merged and created Whakakotahitanga CommUnity Solutions Trust with Williams as chairman and Rose as a trustee.

Breaking dependency mode In an earlier life Rose was reliant on the DPB and social welfare, where she saw first hand that central and local government solutions have too many ‘dog legs’.

“Instead of going from A to B the individual has to go with all their pride, to air their dirty laundry to one person who then facilitates their trip to another queue or to budgeting.” This approach is “very tiring”, humiliating and self-perpetuating.

It can be the same for a community group, for example when rival gangs in Maraenui agreed to send their children off to a camp and to have courses run for women. “There were many hoops to jump through so the community did it themselves and achieved something other groups could learn from.”

Rose says Flaxmere is really advanced in its community-led approaches and has inter-generational buy-in because people of vision drove things forward. “It’s about opportunity, the removal of barriers and encouraging leadership from within.”

She applauds the Hawke’s Bay Foundation, which will grow to assist many good causes, and Volunteers for Hawke’s Bay, which matches people and needs, but says there needs to be much more coordination to connect groups, facilitate the involvement of businesses and industry groups, and ensure the best use of the region’s vast resources.

For example the Hawke’s Bay branch of Rural Women New Zealand, an offshoot of Federated Farmers, wants to teach cooking skills; and a Red Cross community van, available to take people to hospital or other appointments, is being under-utilised.

CommUnity Solutions already supports a re-integration programme with Arohata Women’s Prison and a community garden and is looking at linking people with opportunities to cook breakfast for schools, donate to Dress For Success (where clothing is provided for people trying to get back into the workforce), or make automatic payments to a charity of choice.

Redistributing resources The site is also a centre for redistribution of resources so groups can find a bike, a bed or a fridge for a client or assistance with home, health, family or finances.

People may be referred to wood, food or curtain banks, Healthy Homes, Mobility Services or Disability Hawke’s Bay, which in the past have had little to do with each other.

If businesses upgrade their office systems, old photocopiers, whiteboards, computers, phones or storage units could be invaluable to a community group.

Rose says breaking down artificial walls and creating a collaborative environment where everyone is sharing information in the same metaphorical ‘room’ opens up endless possibilities.

What you find, she suggests is that complex problems are often easier and less expensive to resolve than many assume. As more groups take ownership of the new site, she believes there’ll be less duplication, better use of resources and funding, and a pronounced shift from survival mode, freeing volunteer groups to get on with what they’re there for.

A preview of: CommunitySolutions.org.nz is viewable now. However, the site officially launches on 6 April.

Contact: team@communitysolutions.org.nz for more details and to sign-up for a ‘Grand Opening’ reminder.

From a BayBuzz reader:

Why would you subscribe to BayBuzz?

“It’s the lightning rod that sets the unofficial agenda at the water-cooler, boardrooms and I’m sure the odd café council meet.”

From the Mar/Apr 2013 issue BayBuzz will only be available on annual subscription or for $5 per issue. Subscribe now at www.baybuzz.co.nz!

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

Just get on with it As the term ‘whakakotahitanga’ suggests, it’s about making unity happen by “rolling up your sleeves and doing the hard yards based on the vision and the sheer determination of those involved,” says Rose.

An initial quote of $80,000 to build the portal was quickly rejected, so Rose rolled up her sleeves, designed the site and began creating content, while community-minded iSystems agreed to build a scaleable platform within the $5,000 start-up fund.

Core functions include a social services directory, a noticeboard with up-to-date eligibility and application forms, a referral programme for community workers and service providers, professional support systems and a focus on community-based employment and learning.

Rather than having to go to a caseworker, the CommUnity Solutions hub provides direct access via computers or smartphones.

Ideally every community group would have their own page, whether it’s health and social services group Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, the Women’s Refuge or the Rainbow Umbrella Trust. She invites local authorities to step up with sponsorship and put their resources online. Everyone has something to gain and something to offer, she says.

The new model being championed

by CommUnity Solutions aims to be self-sustaining and ultimately employ a full-time coordinator. The website will be initially funded by a mix of $100-a-year member pages, rotating banner ads and whatever philanthropic goodwill Rose can drum up.

55

THE BEST YEARS OF

OUR LIVES by ~ K AY BAZZARD

Midlife Career Change Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

56

When Charlie Bazzard (solicitor) was 43, he was informed by his employer they were going to close down the law practice in England where he worked.

It triggered something of a midlife crisis for us, and as a family with three children we felt like rabbits in the headlights, stunned and indecisive as to what to do next.

A year later, we returned to New Zealand to make a new life. We bought a vineyard and followed this solicitor’s dream of making wine. We found it hard work and we were constantly short on cashflow, but it transformed our lives and we loved it. We stuck it out for 20 years and never regretted a moment.

The decision to change career can be sudden or may be brooded over for years. It’s major in the scale of life events. Research suggests that many dream, but it takes huge optimism and courage to act on it, and the decision to do so will frequently depend on financial backup and spousal support.

On her website, specialist career and work psychologist Dr Ellen Ostrow observes, “Career transitions at midlife are very different from those taken in our twenties and thirties. The importance of status, success, money and meeting the expectations of others is diminished by the recognition of one’s mortality.”

“At midlife,” she says, “we tend to reflect on the gap between the reality of our lives and the dreams we once had.

We want the second half of our lives to be meaningful because we won’t get another chance.”

Two of my friends have described their reasons and experiences of career change in midlife.

Susie Susie is now 59 years old and working as a registered nurse at the Hawke’s Bay Hospital.

She works seven days in a fortnight doing whatever shifts she is rostered for, meaning nights are quite common. She gets very tired and she understandably treasures her days off.

Susie had spent 27 years working as a school dental nurse, finally resigning at the age of 46 in 2001. For ten years she had wanted out, feeling isolated and unhappy. After a year of travel she began a nursing degree at Eastern Institute of Technology.

“Looking back, I realise that it took courage to leave, more than starting the nursing degree, because I’d been so comfortably locked into that life. But once it was done I never regretted it. I guess I was frightened of the unknown.”

Lynda Lynda is now 44. She graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

In contrast to Susie, Lynda’s decision

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to change direction was made suddenly.

She describes waking up one morning with a vision of herself as a student studying art. Four weeks later she had resigned her job, packed up her life in Auckland, having rented out her house, and was settling in as a mature student in Dunedin. She was following a dream of exploring her artistic talents. “It was such a buzz,” she says.

Lynda’s career was in orthotics and prosthetics at the Artificial Limb Centre in Auckland, working as a technician making and fitting limbs. She had always loved making art and especially working in ceramics. One year before making her change of career, her life was altered thanks to high-tech hearing aids. “I had been hearing deficient all my life; this has given me the confidence to ask questions, to be more interactive, I felt a totally different person.”

“I started off being a bit cautious with the Diploma in Visual Art which was only two years. I wanted to do ceramics, but within a couple of weeks of getting there I hurt my back quite badly and realised I had to do something more physically sustainable. I chose the Diploma in Printmaking and then, at the end of the two years, I was hungry for more information. My back had recovered well, so I jumped over to ceramics for the third year to complete my degree.”

“At midlife, we tend to reflect on the gap between the reality of our lives and the dreams we once had. We want the second half of our lives to be meaningful because we won’t get another chance.” psychologist dr ellen ostrow both of them were significant, but they were met and overcome. Lynda knows she is unlikely to make a good living solely from her art, but is encouraged by being selected into the 2012 Wallace Awards and into the travelling show, which is the highest category. She also got three pieces into the 2012 Portage Ceramic Awards held at the Cloud at Queen’s Wharf. Lynda has a four-day-per-week job which allows time to continue making her ceramic and print pieces, so with the awards and two galleries selling her work she feels very optimistic about her future.

Lynda and Susie are women with no family commitments and owned their own homes when they became students.

They survived on mature student allowances, student loans and a little of their own capital, and are deeply appreciative of the encouragement and support from close friends and family.

Both are proud of their achievements and feel the experiences involved in establishing their new careers widened their horizons, brought confidence and self respect, and have been incredibly fulfilling.

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Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

Overcoming challenges Susie also chose to ease herself into study by taking the foundation course in nursing, starting in July 2001. Importantly for her confidence, she passed everything including two of the first year nursing papers in that semester. “But even then I wasn’t 100% sure that I was on the right

track. But ... where else could I go? So I went ahead.” Sue admits that she needed time to find her new pathway.

Lynda found the cold of the Dunedin climate and living in a 100-year-old uninsulated house the hardest thing about her life as a student. “You lit the fire and almost had to sit on it to feel the heat which went straight up the chimney.”

She laughs as she recalls this, but says she suffered from health problems as a result.

Art degrees don’t have major end-ofyear exams and are assessed on frequent assignments, but it was the methodologies of coming up with the work that were quite tricky. Lynda expected to be one of the older students but what she found was a mix of ages from 17 year olds to 72.

She says “You’re never too old to benefit from study”.

Susie was fortunate in finding a nursing job at the Hawke’s Bay DHB; many of her student cohort struggled to find work and left for Australia. However, the realities of nursing were that it was both physically and mentally hard. “Even though I’d completed my degree, I didn’t feel prepared for what I had to do. I don’t bring my work home with me, but being older I don’t have youth and energy on my side. If something untoward happens I can get quite rattled by it, but fortunately, with other nurses on the ward, you have other people to draw on.

“I love the camaraderie and working in a team with the physios, occupational therapists and doctors. I especially love seeing someone with, say, a severe stroke – they can’t talk or feed themselves –and then after six months, to see them walk out, that is a wonderful thing.”

As mature students the challenges for

57

Brains f irst, then Hard Work.

When did hague, education get so complicated? by ~ claire EIT Deputy Chief Executive When did education get so complicated?

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

58

I don’t mean the complexities of solving a difficult algebraic equation, or developing a scientific hypothesis, or scratching our heads over the meaning of data and how we can use it to improve teaching and learning in our respective schools and tertiary institutions. I certainly don’t mean the complexities of defining what makes a brilliant teacher, or working out how to ensure every child achieves to their full potential, no matter their ethnicity or family income.

All of that is the exciting work that sees educators and the community constantly challenging the norms of student achievement and how to better them. In my view, that’s as it should be.

The complications that seem to have been to the fore over the past year or so in the education sectors with which I work have had more to do with the ‘politics’ of education. Parents and schools joined forces to reject larger class sizes. Christchurch schools reeled from apparently poorly communicated decisions about school reorganisation

in the city. The new Secretary for Education resigned after a brief year in the role. Many regional polytechnics lost funding for foundation level programmes in their regions, shedding staff and students as a result.

The strange thing about all this is that – behind such badly-received policy initiatives and conflicts amongst ministers, officials, parents and teachers – everyone could probably argue that they have the best interests of students at heart. It’s hard to deny that better outcomes for all children, enhanced teacher development and better value for money in tertiary education aren’t important. Everyone is probably working to those ends anyway.

The difficulty arises when consensus has not been reached on the best way of achieving these goals.

Consensus is hard Consensus takes longer and sometimes it never comes, but in general it saves money in the long run because if people buy into a system, they will make it work.

If they don’t, and if it is forced upon them, they will subvert it. ‘Productivity’ is not just an economic construct – it’s

a reality in all workplaces that we only really notice when it drops or disappears altogether. And this usually happens when people lose the point of what they are working to achieve.

I’ve been reflecting on this recently since reading a great article about how leaders can unwittingly kill meaning at work. They often do this in the process of striving to achieve some very laudable goals. The authors, Amabile and Kramer, used some choice phrases to describe certain leadership behaviour including “Strategic attention deficit disorder” , “Corporate Keystone Kops” renditions, and – my personal favourite – “misbegotten big, hairy, audacious goals”.

The result of such behaviour is of course that the staff (and parents and students) who are the very people whose creativity, commitment and productivity we desperately need are variously confused, frustrated and downright depressed about constantly shifting goalposts and chaotic implementation of a never-ending stream of new policies.

I can see how people feel like that, and it may explain some of the pretty strident reaction in the education

“As we all navigate our way through the seemingly thousand acre wood of our current education system, it would be nice to know that just now and then we would bump into Eeyore, freshly triumphant from building a house.”

sector to various new policies that have been announced. Trying to keep up is exhausting at times, and somehow “do more with less” doesn’t quite cut it as a vision that will spur us all on to greater heights.

leave. They were a fairly troublesome group by all accounts, so she taught them – of all things – to knit. They all contributed to a knitted blanket for their teacher’s baby. Their mothers and grandmothers became involved. The girls lined up at the Principal’s office at lunchtime, not because they were in trouble, but because they wanted to show her their progress, or ask for help with dropped stitches. Their teachers talked to them about their knitting rather than their behaviour. Morale soared. Engagement with the school increased. Retention in education took one big step forward for womankind.

I met one of my ex-students recently who reminded me that I used to read from A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh at Monday morning assemblies when I was

Principal of Napier Girls’ High School.

We laughed at how weird that seemed to outsiders. It started when I was asked to share my favourite book from childhood with the girls. It continued when I had a steady stream of visitors to my office complaining when I hadn’t read from that book at least once a month. Some of the younger girls in the front row used to suck their thumbs, quite unselfconsciously, when they were listening. Some of the older students, fresh from weekends of mayhem and misbehaviour, savoured the brief return to the simplicity of childhood and the hundred acre wood.

As we all navigate our way through the seemingly thousand acre wood that is our current education system, it would be nice to know that just now and then we would bump into Eeyore, freshly triumphant from building a house.

“Do you see Pooh? Do you see Piglet?” he would exclaim. “Brains first, and then Hard Work. That’s the way to build a house!”

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Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

How about simplicity?

So all this has made me hark – only briefly mind you – for simplicity. It’s made me focus on the small things that make educational politics a sideshow rather than a barrier.

Simplicity was evident in the end-ofyear performance at Marewa School that I attended last December. The kids participated with evident pride in kapahaka, choir, and Samoan groups. They clapped their classmates enthusiastically when they were presented with academic achievement and character awards. A large number of parents and family members, predominantly Mãori and Samoan, were there to support their “mokos”.

As a member of an extended family supporting a much loved ten-year-old, I felt incredibly proud and welcome.

Similarly, I had the privilege of presenting NCEA excellence awards at Karamu High School in February. The assembly was well-organised and the students were superb. They shook my hand, looked me in the eye, told me about their future tertiary and career plans, and again were watched with evident pride by a large contingent of parents who had taken time off work to attend to support their teenagers.

At another local secondary school, the Principal helped transform a class of 14-year-old girls by filling in for their form teacher when she left on maternity

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Making it Personal BY ~ JESSICA SOUTAR BARRON

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1. Louise Purvis – Silo Construction ~ 2. Helen Perrett – Dog Box #1 ~ 3. Richard Parker – clay 4. John Parker – clay ~ 5. Warwick Freeman – Yellow Cuff

3

4

Roger King and Liffy Roberts live across the road from the sea at Te Awanga.

Their place is laid back, pared back, classic and contemporary, a scattering of humble boxes traipsing over a pin-neat lawn. More than anything it's homey … a crude label with its connotations of down-home comfy-ness but still apt, as both inside and out there's plenty of places to sit, moments to reflect, spaces to breathe into.

5

King. “It'd also be interesting to see if we could do things in other settings.”

“Outside the two public gallery spaces there isn't much opportunity to see the work of great applied artists [craft artists]. Painters get covered by Black Barn. Paper-Works shows the best of the prints available, but jewellers and potters ordinarily wouldn't be showing their work here in Hawke's Bay.” King spent ten years as a potter and then in 1988 co-founded the Taranaki Festival. King and Roberts then went on to establish the Taupo Festival in '96 and the Tauranga Festival in '99. In 2003 they were instrumental in moving WOMAD to Taranaki with King as festival director.

In May 2011, having bought their place at Te Awanga the previous year, they moved to Hawke's Bay. Now King is fully involved in the arts community here as Chair of Creative Hawke's Bay and arts advisor to a number of bodies.

King reticently marks himself with a label he used to cringe from: cultural entrepreneur. “I've been enormously privileged to be able to do what I've done because I love it. I like to think I'm someone who can make things happen, hopefully with integrity and a bit of flair.”

The Art Pop Up opens Friday, 22 March at 18 Wellwood Avenue, Te Awanga, Hawke's Bay. Open 10-4.

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

King and Roberts are extending their welcome mat in March, turning their home into a gallery space, as they invite the public to The Art Pop Up, a showing of work by New Zealand potters, jewellers, sculptors and painters.

In all ways Pop Up is a very personal show.

“All the work is coming from people we either know really well, or own work by, or they're friends of our kids. So we're very familiar with the work,” explains King.

Potters Helen Leggett, John Parker, Ross Mitchell-Anyon and Richard Parker.

Jewellers Warwick Freeman and Peter Deckers. Painters Wellesley Binding, Fane Flaws and Reuben Patterson. And sculptors Louise Purvis and Jo Blogg. All are contributing to the show, which runs from 22 to 24 March.

Lifting art out of the white cube of a traditional gallery, putting it instead into a domestic setting, throws up both risks and opportunities. Many makers feel their pieces show better under gallery lights, away from the detritus of domestic life. On the other side of the debate, much of the work in Pop Up is of an inherently domestic nature, and so there's a sincerity to showing it in a bona fide home.

“The rationale behind having it at our place is that it's in a domestic setting, people can see what the work is like in a home,” says King.

King and Roberts are no strangers to sharing their living environment with some very fine art. Their own collection is admirable, with a few pieces currently away travelling the world in various international shows.

“If this works well here, then it'd be silly to discount doing another,” says

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tim.co.nz

26 January - 28 April

Liffy Roberts and Roger King

S

N O I S R E V DI

Speed Dating for Seniors by ~ KAY BAZZARD

For some years I have lived alone, apart from the past six since Basil moved in.

He is very good looking, nicely set up, fit, wellsocialised, healthy and very hirsute. But he’s a dog.

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

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In all these years you would have thought that a glamorous, young-looking 60-something (that’s me) would have crossed paths with an available, nicely set up, fit, well socialised, healthy man (hirsute or otherwise) of a similar age.

But no!

My friends who are safely married confine themselves to coupledom, and it seems they do not have any suitable brothers or cousins they could introduce me to. So, where are the single older men? I know they are around because recently one of my friends disappeared from the single women circuit and set up home with one, looking sickeningly happy and ready to make the most of the opportunities of late-love.

Well, that’s what I want too. So, in the absence of well-intentioned matchmaking friends, I decided to explore internet dating and found it puzzling and a little bit scary.

Hundreds of men have registered with these senior online dating websites, but they either have no photograph or one taken with their laptop camera that has chopped off their head or is in silhouette because the window was behind them.

The profiles they have written about themselves are very off-putting too – if there is one at all (and one has to assume that’s because some of these senior guys haven’t become familiar with the technology). Typically these Kiwi men describe themselves as “cuddly and sexy”, and “I’d welcome babies and children”, or, “I want to look after you”; with hobbies listed as V8 motor cars and country music. Most alarming of all, the men of my age are very old looking and I am wondering, “Who is going to be looking after whom?” It is such a lottery.

As a result of this research, I believe Hawke’s Bay needs speed dating for seniors. I believe speed dating is very popular with the 20-40 year olds and I think it is a brilliant idea.

How marvellous to get a measure of someone in a minute or two. Do they smile with their eyes? Can they speak in sentences? Have they washed lately? Do they have a beer-gut? Do they demonstrate social confidence in a nerve-wracking, if hilarious situation?

The choice of venue will be very important. It needs to be slick and sophisticated, with wine to help loosen the tongues and boost self-confidence. There should be sufficient space to set up the tables, good light (poor eyesight can be a problem if it’s dark), comfortable and not too echo-y (for the hearing impaired).

I know just the place, the Hawke’s Bay Opera House plaza. Perhaps Creative Hawke’s Bay could include a ‘Speed Dating for Seniors’ night in their summer calendar?

Now, I just have to ensure I’m looking fit and gorgeous. Mind you, most people are very kind, so who would ever tell me any different?

BayBuzz readers … Are you bored?

Do you have a new ‘Diversion’ to propose for Hawke’s Bay? We’d be happy to publish it and trial balloon your idea with our other readers. Email to: editors@baybuzz.co.nz

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Into the Retirement Home

Bee in the know ~ mar/apr 2013

64

You see them everywhere. Baby boomers in mobile homes.

They mark their individuality with special names emblazoned on the front and back like Wanderlust or Takin’ It Easy. Dad is hunched over the wheel with an intense expression on his face. The wife sits grimly beside him. They haven’t spoken since he misheard her map-reading directions just out of Masterton and took a circuitous detour along the beach at Castlepoint and back over the Rimutakas.

Mobile homes and more elaborately equipped buses have an overwhelming fascination for baby boomers. Perhaps they are a last desperate attempt to re-live the Volkswagen Combi Hungarian camping tour they did on their OE in 1967. Being trapped in a Combi or caravan with fellow teens of both sexes can be exciting, but sharing a single room on wheels with your spouse of 40 years could be a recipe for divorce.

As it happens, we’ve spent the past 12 months living in a bus. My wife sensibly opted to stay in town three nights a week to limit her 30-minute commutes to work in Hastings from our block of land north of Napier, leaving me with the dog, three chooks, countless rabbits and a dozen morose steers who congregate over the fence from the bus at daybreak and bellow for windfall apples that my now-absent wife obligingly gave them the day before.

At nights, away from city lights, I have enjoyed breathtakingly star-sprinkled heavens, spectacular thunder and lightning

displays and watched a meteor explode silently overhead, scattering glowing fragments across the western sky. From the bedroom window I have watched the shimmering lights of container ships out in the bay waiting for a berth at the Port of Napier.

I drift off to sleep each night to the comforting sound of the sea, occasionally interrupted by the rasping, blood-curdling sounds of a possum trapped up a tree by McIntyre, my Jack Russell terrier. As I have no firearms, I can only try to dislodge the possums with large stones from the driveway until, after being struck a number of times by stones ricocheting off the branches, I usually apologise to McIntyre for my incompetence and return to bed.

The bus, a 40-foot leviathan rented from a neighbour, has withstood all that nature has arrayed against it. Ferocious westerlies on dark winter nights that bent our fledgling poplar trees horizontal, left the chook run and its terrified occupants in tatters and sent the long drop cascading down a bank, could only hurl themselves ineffectively against the bus’s unyielding steel body. Had I been in a light caravan, I would have flown secondclass to Chile.

One of the unexpected bonuses of our Year of the Bus has been the total absence of television, because hills block any reception.

I’ve yet to experience the wit and wisdom of TV1’s Seven Sharp, and at the rate its audience is fading, I might never do so.

Instead, I have feasted on books, haunting the libraries in both cities and ploughing

through a couple of books a week. And my wife and I are up to Game 46 in Scrabble.

A bare 300 metres away, our retirement home has literally risen from the ground.

For eight months, a succession of builders’ vans, concrete trucks, diggers and plumbers has rattled past the bus. And the long wait -as well as the long drop -- is finally over.

Ideas sketched on sheets of paper 18 months ago have been transformed into heavy macrocarpa trusses, polished concrete floors and a wonderful cast-iron woodburning oven designed and built in Whangarei. It is the heart of the house, providing heat that can be ducted to other rooms, cooking with its twin ovens and hotplates, and hot water from its wetback.

Among the eclectic mix of furnishings and fittings that give the house its character are doors salvaged during the demolition of the County Club in Hastings early last year.

We have stripped, sanded and oiled them back to their lovely original rimu and cedar finishes. Brass knobs blackened by a century of gentlemen’s hands gleam with new life, and a section of the club’s macrocarpa bar has been incorporated into the kitchen island. Reliable sources tell me that very same bar has had more than its usual share of spirits with several caskets being given pride of place on it during fond farewells to recently-departed club members.

It has been a long bus trip, but at least the end of our journey was always in sight. And it has cured us both of contemplating driving into retirement sunset in our very own Lay-ZDays mobile retirement home.

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