NZ Local Government December 2016

NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE VOL 53 • DECEMBER 2016 • $8.95

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fresh faces of local government

Meet the mayors p14 NORTHLAND TRANSPORTATION ALLIANCE Four councils’ groundbreaking collaboration p20

SNARLERS AT THE BARBIE How to handle anti-council aggro p24

OUT ON A LIM Managing natural hazards p28

RISING SEAS The future of foreshore management p30

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IN THIS ISSUE NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

CONTENTS P20 IN THIS ISSUE REGULARS

REPORTS

4 Editor’s Letter 6 In Brief 41 LGNZ

14 M EET THE MAYORS Five fresh faces of local government 20 N ORTHLAND TRANSPORTATION ALLIANCE Four councils’ groundbreaking collaboration 24 S NARLERS AT THE BARBIE How to handle anti-council aggro 26 H AVELOCK NORTH Substantive changes ahead to regulations on water supply, treatment, oversight and operations 28 O UT ON A LIM Managing natural hazards 29 T OURISM TAKES OFF Why councils must dig deeper into destination management 34 TECHNICAL BRIEFINGS Borck Creek – Strategic stormwater planning: Tasman District Council and MWH Global 35 T ECHNICAL BRIEFINGS Waste as an indicator of a sustainable community: Kaikoura District Council and Innovative Waste Kaikoura

COLUMNISTS

P32

P30

36 Bill Conroy: On Local Body Elections 37 Vijesh Chandra: On the Future of Waterways 38 Linda O’Reilly: On Legal Issues 39 Peter Silcock: From Civil Contractors New Zealand 40 Lawrence Yule: From LGNZ

SPECIAL FEATURES

P24

30 The future of foreshore management 32 The future of playground design

ON THE COVER. Meet the mayors: Five fresh faces of local government. See page p14.

DECEMBER 2016 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

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EDITOR’S LETTER NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

The best laid plans Ten-year council plans, 30-year infrastructure plans, capital intentions goals. They all come to nought when nature comes calling. On Monday November 14, Kaikoura mayor Winston Gray had to face up to what must be every mayor’s nightmare: a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated the town and cut it off from surrounding areas.

As the aftershocks continued to roll, he said his town had experienced a “millennial change” that could hit at the very core of its economic lifeline.

Much has happened since then. Visitors and some residents have been evacuated. Roads are being re-opened. Some semblance of normality is starting to return.

Quakes throw the best laid plans up in the air. And seriously test the mettle of both council and community. So how can councils cope best?

Big-picture theoretical reports are one thing. People are another. In an emergency, do you know how to reach people in all the different parts of your community fast? In the Kaikoura area, such was the devastation that it took days to make contact with some farmers in isolated areas. Do you know how to access local contractors – the people with the bulldozers, diggers and other machinery needed in a hurry? How connected are individuals in your council with the real world beyond the reports and statistics? How resilient is your organisation, in every sense of that word?

We’ve had some considerable discussion in-house about the wisdom and appropriateness of publishing a technical article on Kaikoura in this issue of the magazine at such a difficult time for the community there. The article looks at how waste disposal can be used as an indicator of a sustainable community.

We’ve decided to go ahead with it. (See page 35.) Why? Because, despite the fact that the project may clearly have been superceded by subsequent events, it’s a 19-year-old testament to the resilience of a community that had a vision to pull together around social and sustainability goals.

As the post-earthquake clean-up shows, such attitudes are standing them in good stead.

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

PUBLISHER Contrafed Publishing Co. Ltd, Suite 2.1, 93 Dominion Rd, Mount Eden, Auckland 1024 PO Box 112 357, Penrose, Auckland 1642 Phone: 09 636 5715, Fax: 09 636 5716 www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz GENERAL MANAGER Kevin Lawrence DDI: 09 636 5710 Mobile: 021 512 800 kevin@contrafed.co.nz EDITOR Ruth Le Pla Mobile: 021 266 3978 ruth@localgovernmentmag.co.nz SALES CONSULTANT Charles Fairbairn DDI: 09 636 5724 Mobile: 021 411 890 charles@contrafed.co.nz CONTRIBUTORS Chris Blythe, Vijesh Chandra, Bill Conroy, Neil Cook, David Hammond, Elizabeth Hughes, Patricia Moore, Linda O’Reilly, John Pfahlert, Rob Roche, Wendy Saunders, Peter Silcock, James Tomkinson, Rachel Vaughan, Lawrence Yule ADMINISTRATION/SUBSCRIPTIONS admin@contrafed.co.nz DDI: 09 636 5715 PRODUCTION Design: Jonathan Whittaker studio@contrafed.co.nz Printing: PMP MAXUM CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME Please contact the editor before sending them in. Articles in Local Government Magazine are copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher.

DISCLAIMER Local Government Magazine is an independent publication owned and produced by Contrafed Publishing.

The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of any of its shareholding organisations.

www.linkedin.com/nzlocalgovernmentmag

@nzlgmagazine ISSN 0028-8403

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IN BRIEF

Kaikoura and other smaller communities were cut off from surrounding areas by hundreds of slips such as this one on State Highway 1 after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in the early hours of November 14. Subsequent shakes and major flooding in the lower North Island pushed council staff, emergency services, communities and contractors to their limits as Wellington also assessed its damage.

Quakes may shake up best-laid plans Earthquake damage in Kaikoura and Wellington is causing a massive rethink to infrastructure priorities. So it’s just as well the Treasury National Infrastructure Unit’s recent Ten-year Capital Intentions Plan 2016 came with a large caveat.

Released prior to the first major earthquake, the report portends to be the “best available picture” of infrastructure plans by central and local government, plus the private sector, at the time.

“Uncertainty inherent in longer-term plans,” as the report puts it, has since kicked in big time.

The report aims to help the construction

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and infrastructure sectors get their heads round possible future investment opportunities.

It notes that central and local government together own over $200 billion of infrastructure assets and, including the private sector, estimates $100 billion will be spent on infrastructure by 2025.

Drawing information from councils’ 10-year long-term plans, it includes 4147 local government projects (both actual and intended) between 2012 and 2025 which could collectively be worth over $54.6 billion.

Looking just at intended local government projects for 2016 to 2025, there’s a possible

price tag of $51.1 billion with, not surprisingly, an estimated 1270 upcoming transport projects carving out the largest single chunk of these funds at $20.3 billion.

An estimated 1199 water projects could soak up $19.5 billion. Social projects – which include sports and recreational facilities plus community infrastructure such as libraries, civic buildings and cemeteries – form the third largest bunch of spending. The report puts a possible price tag of $8.2 billion across 885 such projects.

Download the full report: bit.ly/Capital_Intentions_Plan

Restoring the lifelines of New Zealand after last month’s monster quake Last month’s magnitude 7.8 monster earthquake wreaked havoc – isolating Kaikoura, cutting off access to some smaller rural communities in the upper South Island and bringing our capital city to a standstill.

Combined with the major flooding around the lower North Island that same week, NZ Transport Agency staff, our contractors and those working in our Transport Operations Centres were pushed to the limit.

I’m proud of how our teams responded.

Many people were out at first light every day over the days immediately following the earthquake, working hard to assess damage and clear slips to get roads re-opened.

Others worked long hours to establish a plan to take us forward from the havoc that had been wreaked on our South Island highways.

Everyone recognised it was crucial to re-connect communities that had been cut off and prioritised restoring access to the people in those communities.

Within the first three days of the earthquake, we established an alternative inland state highway route between Picton and Christchurch, via Murchison and the Lewis Pass.

Other initial recovery work included working with Kaikoura District Council to restore SH70, Culverden to Kaikoura and working on those closed sections of SH1, where it was safe to do so, to restore

RAIL $3,140M

access for contractors and emergency services.

In the days immediately after the earthquake, much of our activity was guided by ensuring the safety of our crews, including risks from on-going large aftershocks. This limited what we could do to establish what would be required to get SH1 repaired and open again.

We were unable to get geotechnical engineers onto the large slips to carry out inspections as early as we would have liked, as the area was still too unstable to guarantee safety. Until these geotechnical inspections were carried out, we were unable to establish the scale and complexity of the repair work required, and to understand the full extent of the damage to the road, bridges and tunnels underneath these slips.

What we do know is that the scale and complexity of these slips is unprecedented in New Zealand. The task ahead of us is huge and we expect it will take months to complete.

A number of the large slips which have come down on SH1 are likely to be as large, or larger, than the October 2011 slip which closed SH3 through the Manawatu Gorge for several months. We are working with our contractors to deliver the recovery effort to best effect going forward.

We anticipate the alternative inland route

SEA $450M

Tommy Parker, group manager Highways and Network Operations, NZ Transport Agency

between Picton and Christchurch will be the main state highway route from Picton to Christchurch for at least several months.

We will be investing additional time and resources to maintain this highway to the level required to safely cope with a significant increase in traffic.

These recent events have provided us with a reminder that life in New Zealand is often unpredictable, with earthquakes and flood events being part and parcel of life in Aotearoa. It’s important that we continue to plan long term to improve the resilience of these parts of our highway.

We have also been reminded that our people and their providers are hugely committed to keeping New Zealand’s vital lifelines open. This all the while managing their own homes and lives amidst the events of nature, and we owe them a huge vote of thanks.

Local Government Capital Intentions: 2016 – 2025

AIR $10M ROADING $16,700M

COMMUNITY $5,000M

TRANSPORT $20,300M

HOUSING $200M

STORM WATER $2,200M

SOCIAL $8,200M

WATER $19,500M

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

SPORTS & RECREATION $3,000M

WASTEWATER $9,100M

ENVIRONMENT $1,550M

FLOOD PROTECTION $800M

ENERGY $4M

LAND $1,500M

SOLID WASTE $200M COASTAL PROTECTION $50M

ENVIRONMENT $500M

GAS $4M

WATER SUPPLY $8,200M

Inclusion of a project does not mean that it has been funded or approved, will proceed, or that if it does proceed, it will be on the scale and to the timeframe indicated in this report.

It is, however, the best available picture at this particular point in time.

Source: Treasury National Infrastructure Unit’s Ten-year Capital Intentions Plan 2016.

DECEMBER 2016 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

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IN BRIEF ON THE MOVE Martin Matthews will be the next Controller and Auditor-General, taking over from Lyn Provost on February 1 next year for a seven year term. Martin was an Assistant AuditorGeneral from 1990 to 1998. Since then, he’s been the CE of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, then the CE of the Ministry of Transport from 2008 to June this year.

The new board of Water New Zealand is as follows: Dukessa Blackburn-Huettner (president); Helen Atkins; Shayne Cunis; Vijesh Chandra (see his think piece on page 37 of this issue); Kelvin Hill; David Simpson; and Colin Crampton (co-opted to the board).

Helmut Modlik resigns as chief executive of infrastructure Industry Training Organisation (ITO) Connexis. The board will start looking for a new chief executive in February next year.

James Bews-Hair

Debbie Birch

Albert Brantley

Meanwhile, David Worsnop becomes interim chief executive until a permanent replacement for Helmut is found towards the middle of 2017.

Fulton Hogan chair Mike Holloway decides to step down after four years in the role.

Dave Faulkner is re-elected to the board and appointed as incumbent chair.

James Bews-Hair, the former chief policy and political advisor to ex Auckland mayor Len Brown, joins McGredy Winder & Co as general manager strategy and advocacy.

Jason Dale is the new CFO at transport technology and services company EROAD. Among other roles he has held CFO positions at Sealord Group, PGG Wrightson, and Auckland International Airport.

Debbie Birch and Albert Brantley join chairman Toby Stevenson on the Independent Assessment Board to oversee LGNZ’s Local Government Excellence Programme.

Parsons Brinckerhoff appoints Jenny MacMahon as its new director of environment Australia New Zealand.

Brookfields Emerging Leader Award – call for entries Nominations are now open for the Brookfields Emerging Leader of the Year Award. SOLGM says it is looking for people aged 35 or under, with a proven track record of “designing or delivering innovative and successful programmes, projects, processes or practices”

with an identifiable community impact.

Support from Brookfields Lawyers means the award winner gets to attend the 2017 International City / County Managers Association (ICMA) annual conference in the USA.

Nominations close on February 1 next year.

The winner will be announced at SOLGM’s annual Gala Dinner in Auckland on April 12.

More information on the SOLGM website. bit.ly/2017_Brookfields_Emerging_Leader

LED lights for Inglewood andquarter Urenuipage horizontal 64x180mm New Plymouth District Council is kicking off its plan to replace every streetlight on the district’s local roading network. It is installing 420 LED lamps in Inglewood and will move on to do the same in Urenui.

The project is part of an invest-to-save initiative which aims to

have 75 percent less power being used by streetlights once the entire district has been switched over.

The lights will last about 20 years and are expected to pay for themselves in seven years.

Partners: Sarah Macky, Frana Divich, Paul Robertson, Shyrelle Mitchell, Kelly Parker. Consultant: Susan Thodey.

Phone: (09) 3030100. Fax: (09) 3677009. Level 13, PwC Tower, 188 Quay Street, Auckland, 1010. www.heaneypartners.com

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IN BRIEF DATES FOR YOUR DIARY DECEMBER 1 Introduction to Financial Governance. LGNZ LGNZ, Lambton Quay, Wellington www.lgnz.co.nz 1 Introduction to Asset Management.

Jet Park Hotel & Conference Centre, Mangere, Auckland bit.ly/IPWEA_AssetMgmt 2 Writing Asset Management Plans.

Jet Park Hotel & Conference Centre, Mangere, Auckland bit.ly/IPWEA_AssetMgmtPlans 2 SOLGM’s 2016 Elections Debrief.

Amora Hotel, Wellington bit.ly/SOLGM_ElectionsDebrief_2016 12 Introduction to Financial Governance. LGNZ Rotorua Lakes Council, Rotorua www.lgnz.co.nz 15 Introduction to Financial Governance. LGNZ Selwyn District Council, Rolleston www.lgnz.co.nz 2017 FEBRUARY 1 –2 SOLGM: Project Management.

Amora Hotel, Wellington bit.ly/SOLGM_ProjectManagement 13 – 14 2017 Business Intelligence Summit.

Grand Millennium Auckland, Auckland bit.ly/CONFERENZ_BusIntel 14 Political Decision Making. LGNZ LGNZ Offices, Lambton Quay, Wellington www.lgnz.co.nz 15 Resource Management Act – How It Really Works. LGNZ LGNZ Offices, Lambton Quay, Wellington www.lgnz.co.nz 16 Local Government Infrastructure Management Forum.

Rydges Wellington, Wellington bit.ly/IPWEA_LG-InfrastructureMgmt 16 – 17 SOLGM’s Risk Management Forum 2017.

Macs Function Centre, Wellington bit.ly/SOLGM_RiskManagement 21 –22 Freshwater Management & Infrastructure.

Te Papa, Wellington bit.ly/CONFERENZ_FreshwaterMgmt 24 SOLGM’s Managing Performance Masterclass.

AREA, Wellington bit.ly/SOLGM_ManagingPerformance 28 Media Training for Modern Leaders. LGNZ LGNZ Offices, Lambton Quay, Wellington www.lgnz.co.nz

28 2017 Government and Technology Conference.

Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington bit.ly/CONFERENZ_GovtTechConf MARCH 8 The LG Executive Leaders Programme.

TBA, Wellington bit.ly/SOLGM_LG-ExecLeaders 8 Political Decision Making. LGNZ Christchurch City Council, Christchurch www.lgnz.co.nz 14 Political Decision Making. LGNZ Dunedin City Council, Dunedin www.lgnz.co.nz 15 2017 New Zealand CFO Summit & Awards.

SKYCITY Convention Centre, Auckland bit.ly/CONFERENZ_CFOSummit 15 – 16 3rd International Street Lighting and Smart Controls Conference.

Brisbane Convention and Entertainment Centre, Brisbane bit.ly/IPWEA_StreetLightingConference 16 A Practical Guide to Public Consultation. LGNZ LGNZ Offices, Lambton Quay, Wellington www.lgnz.co.nz 16 – 17 Land Development Engineering Forum.

Mercure Hotel, Wellington bit.ly/IPWEA_LandDevEngForum 21 – 22 2017 Safety 360.

Ellerslie Events Centre, Auckland www.conferenz.co.nz/events/2017-safety-360 22 Media Training for Modern Leaders. LGNZ Christchurch City Council, Christchurch www.lgnz.co.nz 22 – 23 RIMS Forum.

Waipuna Hotel & Conference Centre, Auckland bit.ly/IPWEA_RIMSforum 27 – 28 Civic Assurance Strategic Finance Forum 2017.

Grand Millennium Auckland, Auckland bit.ly/SOLGM_CivicAssurance APRIL 12 Aspiring Chief Executives Forum.

Langham Hotel, Auckland bit.ly/SOLGM_AspiringCEs 12 Chief Executives Forum.

Langham Hotel, Auckland bit.ly/SOLGM_CEsForum 12 2017 SOLGM Annual Gala Dinner.

Langham Hotel, Auckland bit.ly/SOLGM_AnnualDinner

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

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New playground standards A new standard for playground equipment and surfacing is now available. The latest standard is an update of the 2004 version and is for anyone involved in the design, build and manufacture of playground equipment.

It applies to all playgrounds and playground equipment, apart from equipment for domestic purposes, and also covers nature play or natural playgrounds that have been artificially created or enhanced.

NZS 5828:2015 Playground equipment and surfacing promotes and encourages the provision and use of playgrounds that are well designed, constructed and maintained, as well as innovative and challenging, while still offering children a degree of risk in a controlled environment.

For more information or to buy a copy of the new standards go to: bit.ly/Standards_Playgrounds

North Shore District Court hands out fine to Auckland Council Auckland Council has been fined over the death of a rubbish contractor. Jane Devonshire died when she was working as a runner on a rubbish truck operated by Onyx Group. An investigation found that the brakes on the truck failed, causing it to roll off the road.

The council pleaded guilty to a charge under

the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 for failing to take all practicable steps to ensure that no employee of a contractor was harmed while carrying out their work.

The council was issued with a $33,000 fine and ordered to pay a share of reparation to Jane’s family.

Onyx Group (now Veolia) and its maintenance company, N P Dobbe, were also charged in relation to the crash. They were fined $65,000 and $22,000 and ordered to pay 35 percent and 25 percent of the reparation respectively.

New shared service available to all councils Waikato Local Authority Shared Services (WLASS) and Bay of Plenty LASS (BOPLASS) have developed an online prequalification scheme that uses simple software to capture contractors’ health and safety management systems and insurance details.

WLASS CEO Sally Davis says it can be used nationally as part of a drive to better manage councils’ contractors in the new health and safety environment.

“It also saves councils considerable time and money, as the scheme is fully managed by the software provider.”

The prequalification scheme has been developed over the past 12 months by local government staff specifically for use by local government. It is now in use by most of the councils across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

Other councils from throughout New Zealand have indicated that they are also keen to participate and will join as soon as the scheme is made available nationally, in March 2017.

The scheme enables participating councils to be certain that all contractors working for, or on, their council’s assets, and / or supplying services, have effective health and safety systems in place, to prevent harm to people

and the environment or damage to property.

For contractors, the benefit of this new scheme is that it will make them compliant to work for all participating councils and remove the need to supply separate details to each council or for each contract sought.

Contractors need to complete an online questionnaire and provide their health and safety documentation to show that they understand and comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and any associated regulations. The portal can be accessed at www.payments.sheassure.net/ and a link is made available on every participating council’s website.

There is a small cost to contractors to become prequalified, with a sliding scale ranging from $180 – $900 (depending on the number of staff employed by the contractor), which is payable every two years. Monitoring insurance policies attracts another $25 per policy per annum.

Applications are evaluated by a health and safety professional against a set of compliance criteria. Once the evaluator is satisfied with the contractor’s health and safety management systems, the contractor

receives a confirmation email advising of their ‘approved’ status.

Once a contractor is ‘prequalified,’ their status is valid for two years and they will be eligible to work at all participating councils.

Insurance checks are conducted annually and new certificates are requested as existing insurances expire. Participating councils will not allow contractors to carry out work for them if a contractor cannot prove that they are adequately and appropriately insured.

Site-specific safety plans will still be required when physical work is to be carried out and council representatives are still required to monitor the performance of each contractor.

Each council sets its own deadline as to when all relevant contractors are required to be prequalified. That information is made available from each council’s health and safety staff or on the council’s website.

As contractors become prequalified, company / industry details become accessible on a shared database. This provides visibility to contractors and council staff to identify who is approved, assisting with tendering processes and council procurement.

DECEMBER 2016 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

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IN BRIEF

NZRA Awards Opus International Consultants nabbed NZRA’s Outstanding Project Award for its design of the Takaro a Poi Margaret Mahy Family Playground in Christchurch.

Judges called it a “particularly innovative playspace that has great engagement with children and has led to a positive economic

impact on the post-earthquake CBD”.

Richmond Aquatic Centre won the Outstanding Pool Award. The judges were impressed with the clever use of digital marketing and saw this as a good example of how an aquatic centre, managed well, can turn a community initially opposed to its cost

and construction to one regarding it as an essential community asset.

The awards were presented at a dinner during NZRA’s National Conference in Queenstown.

For a full list of award winners go to the NZRA website.

Draft air plans too lax on agrichemical application Rural Contactors New Zealand chief executive Roger Parton says local authorities should be calling on his organisation for advice and expertise on agrichemical application. His call comes as many local authorities are in the middle of drafting their regional air plans.

According to Roger, many regional and local authorities are very unclear on some of the details on agrichemical application.

He says some draft plans currently state ‘the contractor undertaking the land-based application of agrichemicals shall hold a Registered Chemical Applicator certificate or similar’.

However, he says there is no ‘similar qualification’ to a Registered Chemical Applicator certificate and adds there is also confusion in some of the draft plans as to what the qualification is and who needs to hold it.

Meanwhile, Roger says some other councils’ draft air plans have taken on the lesser qualification of ‘Approved Handler’ for agrichemical application. “That’s like saying that everyone driving council vehicles only needs to have a learner's licence,” he says.

“However, with the new regulations around work safety and managing hazards in the workplace, I would have expected regional air plans to require a contractor / PCBU applying agrichemicals to have the top qualification – a Registered Chemical Applicator Certificate.”

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Roger says Rural Contractors New Zealand members who are part of its Registered Chemical Applicator scheme are trained and regularly updated in the safe and expert handling of applying chemicals to crops and pastures.

He also adds that in the current submission put out by Environmental Protection Authority, there will be more controls on the management and the use of hazardous substances – which include agrichemicals.

“The roles of councils and their contractor /

PCBU applying agrichemicals must change to meet these new standards.”

Roger believes all air plans should have the following requirements in regards to agrichemical application: Any person applying agrichemicals in a public place or on private property for hire or reward, must be a Registered Chemical Applicator; or a holder of an Approved Handler certificate and be under the immediate and direct supervision of a holder of Registered Chemical Applicator accreditation.

Hey, big spenders Council spending on Facebook and LinkedIn advertising has drawn criticism from the Taypayers’ Union. The union says it has obtained data showing council spend of almost half a million dollars in the 2015 / 2016 financial year. Facebook accounts for over 80 percent of that amount.

According to the union, the top five spenders are: • Auckland Council: $187,870 • Dunedin City Council: $65,292 • Rotorua District Council: $28,855 • Christchurch City Council: $26,511 • Wanganui District Council: $24,513 At the other end of the extreme, the councils who spent the least are: • South Taranaki District Council: $11.39 (this is not a typo) • Marlborough District Council: $22.13 • Waitaki District Council: $27.00 Taxpayers’ Union executive director Jordan Williams concedes that local authorities need to use social media to get information to residents but questions what he says are the “hundreds of thousands of dollars on propaganda branding exercises”.

>>

A recent Simpson Grierson report on what local government employees think of the Reserves Act 1977 highlights areas for improvement. The Act governs the preservation and management of New Zealand areas for the benefit and enjoyment of the public.

Simpson Grierson launched the report at a recent Local Authority Property Association (LAPA) conference in Tauranga.

Partner Michael Wood says the overall response is that the Act is not totally effective in enabling local authorities to administer land held for public and community purposes.

“Respondents consider that leasing powers, management plan provisions, classification provisions, and reserve revocation provisions should be simplified and clarified, and that local authorities should be enabled to exercise their normal delegation powers.”

Summary of key findings

www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz For related articles go to our website. Search: Social media

1 The Reserves Act is not totally effective in enabling local

authorities to administer land held for public and community purposes.

Clear as Auckland mud It’s been a huge job but the Auckland Unitary Plan is now operative – well, sort of. It’s operative apart from those bits that aren’t because they’re still subject to appeal.

So… the mainly operative plan will carry the catchy title of Auckland Unitary Plan Operative in part, until, we guess, it’s operative in full.

Still, that’s a big step forward from the hotchpotch of old district and regional plans from Auckland’s former councils.

Most of the appeals relate to specific sites or provisions in the plan.

We’re told large parts of the Regional Policy Statement, regional plan and some parts of the district plan are now operative. Is that clear?

>>

Condemned with faint praise

2 Leasing powers are in most need of reform.

3 Provisions regarding management plans should be altered.

4 Classification provisions should be altered.

5 Reserve revocation provisions should be altered.

6 Local authorities should be expressly enabled to exercise normal delegation powers under the LGA.

7 There is no majority view as to whether provisions regarding easements should be altered.

The report is based on 37 responses from local government staff on the LAPA database.

www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz For related articles go to our website. Search: Unitary plan

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DECEMBER 2016 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

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GOVERNANCE

5

fresh faces of local government

Meet the mayors 14 l www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz

W

elcome to our pick of five new mayors who variously represent the fresh faces of local government. They bring a wide variety of different backgrounds and perspectives to the sector. And while several have little or no track record in local government, they come laden with solid credentials in media, law, business or local knowledge.

We asked them about their plans, past experience, (where appropriate) how they are getting to grips with council processes and protocols, their pick of the sector’s big issues, and plenty more besides.

New Plymouth District Council new mayor Neil Holdom, for example, has sky-rocketed into his first ever governance role in local government bringing a background in, among other things, media (he’s the former editor of the North Taranaki Midweek) and more recently the corporate world (he’s been with Powerco for the past 13 years). His answers to our questions are refreshingly free of local governmentspeak. (Long may that last.)

Similarly, lawyer Tim Cadogan, the new mayor in Central

Otago, may have had no experience as a councillor prior to his recent appointment as mayor, but he’s shelving most of his previous work as a lawyer and applying a sharp legal mind to his new role. (He’s also had 12 years in radio, so probably won’t be shy about speaking out.)

Meanwhile, at just 35 years of age, Selwyn District’s new mayor Sam Broughton is one of local government’s youngest ever mayors. Sam, who took over from Kelvin Coe who had been in the role since 2007, is on record saying he’d like to be Selwyn’s mayor for the next nine or 12 years. (Watch this space.)

Over in the Manawatu, mayor Helen Worboys, who ran against incumbent Margaret Kouvelis, is local to the core, has lived in Feilding since she was 10 years old and has been farming at Mount Biggs for decades.

Finally, at Queenstown Lakes District Council, new mayor Jim Boult brings a heap of business nous from his former role as CEO of Christchurch Airport, the largest council-owned asset in the South Island.

MAYOR NEIL HOLDOM NEW PLYMOUTH DISTRICT COUNCIL What do you hope to achieve in your first hundred days?

• Prevent Donald Trump from destroying the world.

• Achieve world peace.

• Be managing my calendar. I gave three months’ notice to my colleagues at Powerco and this has proved somewhat challenging.

What was the first committee, of any kind, you ever sat on and what did you learn from that experience?

The Rotoz Dirt Jump Park committee is part of the New Plymouth Mountain Bike Club and is comprised of a project manager, a builder, two landscapers and me (the paper pusher).

It was my first committee and I am still on it. I learned to focus on what you are best at and to let others do the same so I don’t share my opinions on things I know nothing about.

What are you doing to learn as much as possible about local body processes and protocols, as fast as possible?

Reading (thanks for the material, LGNZ), working with [Simpson Grierson partner] Jonathan Salter, working with our executive management team, listening, asking a lot of questions, more listening. Did I mention listening? Oh, and taking notes and sometimes reading them.

What are the three biggest issues for the local government sector as a whole (not just your own council) over the next five years?

• An aging population on largely fixed incomes.

• Quality and consistency of communications.

• Better Local Services Bill – this bill in its current form has the potential to wrest control of community-owned and -managed infrastructure from the communities it serves.

How would you describe the current working relationship between local and central government?

I’m new to the sector having been in this role for just a month but from the outside looking in it is very much a parent / child relationship with central government firmly in control and local government the junior family member. Like any family, the relationship is at times tense but there are some strong bonds and mutual goals, and we all just want to get along. (Can’t wait until we are old enough to borrow the car.)

How would you like it to be in the future?

Ideally, a more collaborative relationship would be beneficial to our mutual constituents but that would require local government to undertake a lot of work identifying issues where we are in agreement and then talking to government with a single voice.

We all know what it’s like trying to herd cats and I can see why central government finds us a challenge to negotiate with.

What steps would you personally take to help progress the relationship to that point?

My focus, as a person coming from completely outside council, is initially working on prioritisation of goals, improved communication and transparency. When I get back from a summer holiday I expect to undertake some relationship

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GOVERNANCE mapping to understand where I need to build connections which will add value to my community.

I’m not going to be focusing too much on the national level at this stage as I have a lot of work to do and my three children aged five, eight and 10 have a rightful expectation that they are my number one job and my lovely wife Melissa would like me to be home to cook dinner a few nights a week as a reasonably useful husband.

populations need to take a hard look at their neighbours and ask the honest question about the benefits of consolidation.

Could other places in New Zealand benefit from adopting the Auckland super-city model?

Possibly. I think there is an optimal population size for a council and it is likely closer to 100,000 than 1.3 million.

Any other comments?

We live in an age where people feel less connected to their communities than ever before, despite all the tech. This trend manifests in ways we are all too well aware of and local government is in a pivotal role to reverse the trend by driving initiatives which bring people together, delivering on our egalitarian aspirations.

In driving towards a more inclusive and connected society we will be swimming against the economic current but I get a very strong sense that the economic and political theorists are starting to gain an understanding that inequality and isolation create an avoidable drag on our economic performance.

The world is changing and, as leaders in local government, we are strategically located at the coalface where we can grind away making small but meaningful changes that incrementally enhance the prospects of current and future generations of New Zealanders.

If so, which ones and how?

I’m not falling into that trap. As I said above, I think there are probably some opportunities for mergers to deliver value for ratepayers and I understand the Wairarapa councils are looking at options but have road funding issues to work through. I come from the second largest electricity and largest gas utility in the country and have seen the benefits of scale in a commercial organisation but local government has the added complexity of being a creature of statute and having social responsibilities which blur the traditional commercial decision-making process so I am not sure the super-city model is necessarily proven as more effective or efficient but, equally, little councils with small

What are your views on shared services?

No brainer. Council should be looking to leverage buying power, seeking efficiencies and demonstrating value to central government and ratepayers or expect more restrictive requirements to be imposed by the grey men and women of Wellington.

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MAYOR TIM CADOGAN CENTRAL OTAGO DISTRICT COUNCIL What do you hope to achieve in your first hundred days?

My campaign focused strongly on a disconnect between council and the public; so a main priority is to work on fixing that. I have made a start by instituting a public forum at the beginning of council meetings (“Councillor Connection”) and have already released the schedule for my personal “Coffee and a Chat” meetings throughout the region. At the end of 100 days I am hoping that people will see that not only is there an open door policy, but that there is a greater connection with the mayor outside of the council office.

What was the first committee, of any kind, you ever sat on? What did you learn from that experience?

I was deputy head boy and chair of Interact at school a long time ago. At the end of the first Interact meeting a teacher saw me stacking the chairs.

He told me, as I was the chair, I didn’t have to do that anymore as I could tell others to do it. I learnt that would

never be my style of leadership and I have been stacking the chairs, making the tea or doing other hands-on work in any leadership role I have held since.

What are you doing to learn as much as possible about local body processes and protocols, as fast as possible?

I have enrolled in the LGNZ training programme and attended what is euphemistically called “Mayors’ School” in Wellington.

What are the three biggest issues for the local government sector as a whole (not just your own council) over the next five years?

Although it has been stalled, I still have concerns regarding the intent behind the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No. 2) and believe we all need to keep some of the proposals found in that Bill on our collective radar. Global warming and sustainability issues will provide challenges for the future as will the effect of an aging population.

How would you describe the current working relationship between local and central government?

I am too fresh into the game to offer a perspective on this, sorry.

How would you like it to be in the future?

Collaborative and respectful.

What steps would you personally take to help progress the relationship to that point?

Building relationships at every opportunity.

MAYOR SAM BROUGHTON SELWYN DISTRICT COUNCIL What do you hope to achieve in your first hundred days?

During the first 100 days I hope to grow in knowledge of the role, both in responsibilities and, more importantly, relationships with councillors, staff and key community contacts.

We will have all shared our hopes for the next three years with our CEO and staff, and they will have reported back to us on costs, timings and implications for rates.

What was the first committee, of any kind, you ever sat on? And what did you learn from that experience?

The first committee that I can recall being a part of was probably the school Formal Committee organising our senior formal when I was in Form 7 / Year 13. I learned that a committee needs to have people with a range of skills on it. There need to be people who are good with ideas and kicking things off, as well as people who love detail, following things up and making sure they are complete.

What are you doing to learn as much as possible about local body processes and protocols, as fast as possible?

I have been on the council for the past six years and over that time I have learned a lot about our council’s process and protocols. Most of that I will keep. Some things we [just] have to do and I’ll also bring my own flavour to things. I have attended training for new mayors over the last week which was invaluable for learning about the role from people who have sat as mayor across the country over many years. There is still plenty I do not know about the role and will learn as I go. I will also attend specific training as appropriate and I’ll set up a mentoring arrangement with a trusted individual for support.

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GOVERNANCE What are the three biggest issues for the local government sector as a whole (not just your own council) over the next five years?

1. Funding. Land or capital valuation is not going to be an affordable or fair way for many in our communities to pay for the facilities and infrastructure that is required.

There needs to be new ways connected with income or some other standard.

2. Decision-making. It has been great that the government has devolved decision-making on a number of issues to a local level. This has been good for things like our Local Alcohol Plans. But they have asked us to make local decisions on things that I believe we need a national answer to like Easter trading. When the government has passed on decision-making they have also passed on the costs for administering the process.

With no funding given to support the process this has put pressure on rates increases. The government has thus contributed to rates increases while at the same time telling councils to keep rates down.

3. Changing demographics. This puts a big pressure on councils. Planning for our future, understanding current demands and our ability to fund our assets into the future is a complex scientific (guessing) game.

How would you describe the current working relationship between local and central government? How would you like it to be in the future? What steps would you personally take to help progress the relationship to that point?

This relationship could be stronger. It has started in a good place with the current Minister for Local Government presenting at the recent new mayors training.

LGNZ has a good structure for a collective voice into central government discussions. I think a few more coffees and face-to-face gatherings for mayors with ministers would be helpful. I don’t know what other councils do but I’m looking to meet with appropriate ministers as required – if they will see me. :) Could other places in New Zealand benefit from adopting the Auckland super-city model? If so, which ones and how?

These decisions need to be owned by each district or city that is considering it. The big population should not be able to override a smaller population council’s wishes.

Councils need to work together and look for new ways of collaborating. I have invited our neighbouring councils to morning tea so we can get to know one another and look for ways to be better together but I do not support Selwyn becoming part of an Auckland City-type model.

What are your views on shared services?

Sharing things is important. We can learn from one another to grow our local expertise and we can also outsource some council jobs to others who are proficient and specialise in an area such as building consents.

Together we are stronger.

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MAYOR HELEN WORBOYS MANAWATU DISTRICT COUNCIL What do you hope to achieve in your first hundred days?

I hope to have built a strong new governance team, who have together agreed on our values, prioritised our goals and aspirations, built an action plan and have started implementing steps to achieve these.

I will also introduce improved communication mechanisms for our community to better engage with council.

What was the first committee, of any kind, you ever sat on?

And what did you learn from that experience?

Playcentre. I learnt about the importance of working as a team to achieve what is best for the organisation. I also learnt new skills and made new friends.

What are you doing to learn as much as possible about local body processes and protocols, as fast as possible?

• Attended the LGNZ Mayors’ Induction workshop.

• Attending our own council induction workshops.

• Listening, reading and asking questions at every opportunity.

What are the three biggest issues for the local government sector as a whole (not just your own council) over the next five years?

The earthquake-prone building issue; infrastructural renewal and investment; and demographic changes.

How would you describe the current working relationship between local and central government?

It could be stronger with local councils being consulted / involved more in central government’s master plan. Demands placed on local councils by central government are currently not always resourced adequately for us to be able to achieve them.

How would you like it to be in the future?

I’d like to see more understanding and consideration by central government about the impact and implications of their decisions on local councils.

What steps would you personally take to help progress the relationship to that point?

I would retain good working relationships with our local MPs and work closely with neighbouring local councils to bring a strong collective voice to central government.

What are your views on shared services?

I support shared services where they firstly add benefit to our own ratepayers.

MAYOR JIM BOULT QUEENSTOWN LAKES DISTRICT COUNCIL What do you hope to achieve in your first hundred days?

A united and focused council concentrating on the big issues before us, which in my view are: • A visitor levy to help fund the essential infrastructure to support the ongoing growth in tourist numbers; • Developing a public transport system that is so good, so frequent and so affordable that locals and visitors alike will choose to use it; • Housing affordability; • Ensuring that the council is addressing the needs and expectations of our whole district, not just Queenstown; and • Water quality. We will be working closely with the Otago Regional Council to ensure the quality of our lakes and rivers is not compromised; and ensuring that the council’s reticulated supplies are safeguarded against the kind of contamination that impacted Havelock North.

While we won’t have solved any of these issues, I expect that after 100 days we will have identified pathways to make significant progress on them all.

• Ensuring the newly-established committee system is bedded in and working well.

• Locking in the confidence of residents in their newly-elected members.

What was the first committee, of any kind, you ever sat on? And what did you learn from that experience?

It’s so long ago that I can’t remember – back in the 1970s. Over the years I’ve lost count of the number of governance bodies I have served on, either as chair or as a member. Through all of these experiences I have learned the importance of being well briefed, doing your homework and being in possession of all the facts before making a decision.

What are the three biggest issues for the local government sector as a whole (not just your own council) over the next five years?

• Delivering efficient services that meet community expectations, affordably.

• Building partnerships.

• Reflecting our diverse communities.

How would you describe the current working relationship between local and central government?

Our council has an enormously strong working relationship with central government. This is both historical and current and aided by my excellent relationships with ministers and others in parliament.

Could other places in New Zealand benefit from adopting the Auckland super-city model?

The super-city model is not appropriate for a large and diverse district like Queenstown Lakes. I can’t comment on whether it might work elsewhere. LG

>>

www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz For related articles go to our website. Search: Governance

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DECEMBER 2016 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

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COLLABORATION

THE NORTHLAND TRANSPORTATION ALLIANCE

Four Northland councils have teamed up with the NZTA in a groundbreaking collaboration. Neil Cook explains.

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T

he Northland Transportation Alliance is a collaborative arrangement between the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and the councils of Northland – Far North District Council, Kaipara District Council, Northland Regional Council and Whangarei District Council. It is a leading example in terms of the scale and scope of collaboration.

CARROT & STICK Northland, mid-2015: the Local Government Commission has announced it will not progress proposals for re-organisation “at this stage” but that it would work with the local councils on a range of collaboration workstreams.

Importantly, re-organisation was not taken completely off the table. Rather, the commission signalled that it felt “… the trends affecting local government in Northland may not be best managed by the current arrangements and the commission would like to explore other options before making a final decision...”

A stay of execution, then? It came with clear signals as to what might turn the reprieve into a ‘full pardon’.

Step back in time several months: the mayors and chairs of Northland have succeeded in their mission to get the board of the NZTA to endorse in principle the designation of an inland state highway – the Mangakahia Road; an increasingly costly freight route critical to the economic success of this region that sits near the bottom of so many socio-economic indicator tables.

The quid pro quo? NZTA gains the commitment of the councils to review their delivery of transportation activities to find ways to work more collaboratively and unlock efficiencies to achieve greater value for money – for the region and for NZ Inc.

Whilst not the entire story, these two key strategic drivers set the scene for a 12-month journey that would see Northland take a national lead in collaborative infrastructure service delivery.

BUSINESS CASE NZTA and the councils engaged specialist infrastructure advisor Rationale to facilitate the development of a business case to explore options for improving transportation outcomes in Northland.

In the first of several workshops the participants identified the outcomes they would need to achieve to move Northland forward: • A more engaged and capable workforce delivering superior asset management; • Improved transport / customer outcomes, enabling investment and social opportunities; • Improved regional strategy, planning and procurement; and • More affordable transport infrastructure.

Regular feedback loops were initiated with interim reports to the CEs’ forum, the mayors’ forum and full councils to ensure a no-surprises environment and to gauge support for the various options as they were developing. Early feedback indicated the desire from each council to maintain control over their respective transportation programmes.

To that end, a range of prerequisites was adopted including that councils should retain asset ownership, set their own budgets, priorities and levels of service; and that there would be no cross-subsidisation.

Within this context of desired outcomes and ‘boundary constraints’, the full range of options was explored – from existing arrangements through to a full asset-owning CCO. (See the graph A full spectrum of integration is considered.)

A full spectrum of integration is considered

Degree of Integration

No collaboration

Status Quo

Enhanced Status Quo

Business Unit

Business Unit

Staff employed by parent organisations

Staff employed by sole employer

Prefered opinion

CCO Asset Management

CCO Asset Ownership Fully integrated 'Watercare' style

Transport Alliance

• Shared services Business Unit • Co-location plus regional presence

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COLLABORATION The options were assessed against a range of critical success factors and desirable outcomes and the preferred options were taken back to councils for endorsement.

The non-monetary benefits were sufficiently compelling for the preferred option to be given approval in principle by each of the councils to proceed to development of a detailed business case with full economic analysis.

By necessity, the economic analysis relied on numerous assumptions derived from knowledge of the local and regional market, as well as from experience elsewhere in New Zealand.

A very conservative approach was employed and even this indicated potential efficiency gains in the order of $20 million over the 10-year analysis period.

Sensitivity analysis tested key assumptions and determined that a less than two percent efficiency gain over the 10-year period was all that was required to justify the initial investment.

As the key investment partner, NZTA’s independent review of the economic modelling provided assurance that the assumptions were reasonable and the conclusions justified.

The preferred option was for a shared services business unit, the Northland Transportation Alliance. Some key aspects of the alliance are as follows: • Oversight is provided by the Alliance Leadership Group, consisting of the CEs of the councils and the regional director for NZTA. • A new position of alliance manager was created to lead day-to-day operations.

• Staff remain employed by their parent organisation but would be ‘seconded’ or otherwise transferred to the alliance.

The staff of the alliance would be substantially co-located in Whangarei but with a presence in the regions.

Celebrating the alliance. From right to left: Far North District Council mayor John Carter; NZTA senior network manager Ed Varley; Whangarei District Council mayor Sheryl Mai; Northland Regional Council chairman Bill Shepherd; and former Kaipara Commissioner John Robertson.

• NZTA would also co-locate but would not be part of the formalised business unit.

IMPLEMENTATION Perhaps the most challenging part of the Northland Transportation Alliance journey was the establishment phase.

The business case gained final (unanimous) approval from the councils during the first week of May 2016. The councils’ desire was to have the alliance operational by the start of the new financial year on July 1, 2016.

A dedicated transition manager was engaged to facilitate workstreams across the range of activities required to make

Cumulative Efficiencies Model $40,000

Optimistic scenario: Experience elsewhere in New Zealand suggests gains of 10 - 15% can potentially be achieved.

$35,000

$30,000

$000s

$25,000

Conservative approach to financial modelling shows efficiency improvements of just 3% will free up $18m of additional investment for Northland roads over the next 10 years.

$20,000

$15,000

$10,000

Conservative approach:- 2 year lead-in period before efficiency gains kick in $5,000

Less than 2% efficiency improvements over 10 years will 'breakeven' on investment to unlock other nonmonetary benefits.

$0

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the ‘go live’ date a reality. Workstreams brought together staff from each of the partner organisations to take care of required actions in their areas of expertise for example HR, IT and property.

EVIDENCE & ASSUMPTIONS The most critical part of a journey of this nature is helping decision-makers navigate the uncertainty inherent in a proposal for which no precedent exists. The natural tendency to look to other examples to support a change cannot be indulged where there is no example to follow.

Councils are in a dynamic environment, making decisions they hope will create lasting value over the long term. But the evidence base for collaborative planning and service delivery is in its infancy. Where such examples do exist, they are never exactly the same; and even where they are similar they have not been in place long enough to substantiate true long-term value.

This, of course, will not change anytime soon and any councils that take an overly-cautious approach waiting for others to create the evidence will be waiting a long time.

The councils of Northland understood that their role as leaders for their communities meant they had to ensure they had sufficiently tested the assumptions being presented and carefully explored the risk profile of the options in front of them. But, above all, they had to make decisions.

The business case went to great lengths to ensure it was very clear on the underlying assumptions and that the risks were

well documented.

To give an added level of surety the business case was subjected to independent peer review that concluded, inter alia, “… In summary, we consider that the business case is appropriate in terms of its analysis and provides a basis on which decisions can be made.”

This is a simple statement, but is the very essence of the assurance elected representatives are seeking. Their key question has always been: “Do I have sufficient information available for me to make this decision?”

CLOSING THOUGHTS The Northland Transportation Alliance came about through the combined efforts of the councils of Northland and the NZTA. Clear, consistent and engaged leadership at the highest levels was critical to providing direction to the officers tasked with delivery.

It was equally critical that information provided to elected representatives was presented in a way that let them understand and deal with inherent uncertainty and the associated risk profile of the proposals. The business case approach when applied by skilled practitioners enables this to happen in a consistent, structured way. Appropriate reviews both independent and internal provide further assurance for decision-makers. LG • Neil Cook is a director of specialist infrastructure advisory group Rationale. ncook@rationale.co.nz

TAKING THE HEAT OUT OF SUMMER

While NZ’s holiday hotspots are bracing themselves for another summer holiday onslaught – and the usual sensational media coverage of freedom camping – the NZMCA is aiming to take the heat out of summer.

This year again we’re encouraging our members to head off the beaten track to enjoy the ‘real’ New Zealand in our 45 Motorhome Friendly locations and other destinations.

It’s all part of our plan to ensure that the benefits of our country’s unprecedented tourist boom are shared with provincial and rural communities nationwide.

And it is why we have invested close to a million dollars over the past three years to encourage our 69,000 members – and other Motorhome Tourists – to get off the beaten track.

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www.mhftowns.com New Zealand Motor Caravan Association | P 09 298 5466 | www.mhftowns.com | www.nzmca.org.nz DECEMBER 2016 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT 101

SNARLERS at the barbie Do you feel brow-beaten or ignored at summer barbeques when you say you work for the local council? Our regular columnist Elizabeth Hughes has answers for six commonly-held misconceptions about local government.

H

ow many times in the coming weeks will you be at a barbeque and someone will ask you where you work? When you tell them they either discreetly turn to the salad section or they ask a question. And while the environment you’re in might not lend itself to the heady and properly-constructed response you think you should provide, sometimes the question itself offers an opportunity to correct some common misconceptions.

Warning: the following are six things you might find overly simplistic. But – and this may surprise you – outside of local government circles these things are not clearly understood.

1 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ‘THE COUNCIL’ & ‘THE COUNCIL’ The public do not necessarily understand the difference between these two interchangeable words (and lives are too busy to try that hard).

When someone is asking a question about ‘the council’, you are doing everyone a great favour when you clarify whether it is the elected council or the organisation that is at issue. Most people see ‘the council’ as one amorphous blob. They do not make the distinction between the governance responsibilities of one and the service delivery responsibilities of the other.

So be clear: if it is a ‘decision’ they are questioning you about, it is the elected members who are responsible. If it is a ‘service’, it will be the organisation.

2 RATEPAYERS VERSUS RESIDENTS During the recent election campaign many candidates opined about their commitment to ratepayers – as if this were the only group of citizens they might be elected to represent. It is possible that some of these candidates were elected and they will continue to believe their responsibility is exclusively to a portion of their community.

It is important to help people realise that council (in this case both the elected members and the organisation) is there to serve the entire community – not just ratepayers.

3 RATES A large proportion of the community (almost all) sincerely believe that their rates are a charge for services received instead of being a tax on the value of their property. This is a very common misunderstanding and often reinforced in those “what you get for your rates” pie charts.

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Another question that will follow this is the “why are my rates higher than the rate of inflation?”

If you want to go there, just say that councils don’t shop at the supermarket which is how the CPI is measured. And although useful as an analogy, this will hopefully segue into a much more interesting discussion about the price of bread, sausages, tomato sauce and craft beer.

4 THE BOGEY OF DEBT Debt has become ‘a very bad thing’ when associated with local government expenditure. A lot of headlines are devoted to reinforcing this myth.

This one is often easiest explained to people by comparing council debt to their own mortgage – a loan spread out over time, enabling large assets to be purchased, that otherwise would be unaffordable if they had to pay cash.

If they show an interest (sorry) and you’re up for it, you might want to try and explain inter-generational equity to them before they’ve jumped in the pool.

obligations are made. Consultation is a formal statutory process that occurs in response to a decision that has been taken (even if that decision is a draft decision).

An easy way to remember this is: engagement is what happens before a marriage. And marriage requires a formal procedure and is a contractual obligation.

6 COUNCILS SHOULD BE MORE LIKE BUSINESS It’s perfectly okay to agree that the organisation should operate in a business-like manner. But councils are not businesses.

Local government is not driven by profit. Nor is it black and white.

Perhaps the best thing at this point is to start talking about ‘shades of grey’ and move to the pavlova. LG

• Elizabeth Hughes heads up her own consultancy Elizabeth Hughes Communication. www.elizabethhughes.co.nz

5 ENGAGEMENT VERSUS CONSULTATION This is one that many people in local government confuse so it is easy to see why most barbeque attendees also get it mixed up.

Engagement is the process of listening to all views before any

>>

www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz For more articles by this writer go to our website.

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WATER

HAVELOCK NORTH The implications for public supply networks.

H Substantive changes to regulations governing water supply, treatment, oversight and operational practices are likely to stem from the campylobacter illness in Havelock North, says John Pfahlert.

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avelock North now has the dubious distinction of joining a select group of towns in other affluent nations where a significant failure of the drinking water system has occurred. In this country, this led to 5000 people, or a third of the town, being affected by water-borne campylobacter illness. This now rates as the worst case of illness caused by pollution from a public water supply in our history.

The outbreak was caused by infection of the untreated town water supply at an, as yet, unknown location.

The subsequent government inquiry is going to report in two parts: what went wrong at Havelock North; and whether there are systemic issues in the way we regulate drinking water legislation.

Those who claim that such an outbreak is unacceptable in a first world country are correct. It was not only unacceptable but avoidable. The lessons from similar events overseas over the past 30 years have not been learnt.

Those lessons are simple.

Communities should install double

barrier protection in the form of physical and / or chemical treatment to ensure their water supply is safe.

That we don’t in many parts of New Zealand is due to complacency and local body politics.

Relying on untreated groundwater sources is permitted under existing drinking water regulations but evidence suggests there is a greater public health issue involved.

I understand there are those with a philosophical opposition to adding chemicals to water. And yes, there are odour and taste issues with adding chlorine.

But the discovery that adding chlorine to water effectively eliminates most water-borne disease was one of the most significant technical advances of the 20th century.

By failing to install effective disinfection, it was always going to be a case of when, not if, a community in New Zealand would be struck down with campylobacter or a similar bug.

Supplying a whole community with untreated water has always been a calculated risk. In many cases the probability of infection occurring

is not significant. But, as we have seen, the consequences can be severe when the trade-off between risk and consequence doesn’t pay off.

The decision by the Hastings District Council to leave Havelock North’s water untreated is not unusual in New Zealand.

For instance, Christchurch City Council (300,000-plus residents) decided five weeks after the Havelock North outbreak to not chlorinate bores in part of the city. It’s likely a quarter of our population is drinking untreated tap water.

Councils have many different reasons for adopting this approach.

We’ve come to expect our water in New Zealand to be pure. Coming from, as in the case of Havelock North, underground aquifers, there’s an extremely minor risk of contamination from source.

Back in 2005 when the government introduced the Drinking Water Standards it set up a subsidy scheme to help offset the financial burden on smaller councils.

But, capped at a lamentably low $10 million a year, many councils missed out.

Last year both Water New Zealand and LGNZ asked the government to reinstate this subsidy, but this time backed by a much more realistic financial backing.

We’ve suggested around $20 million a year is required on an ongoing basis.

It’s time to ask again.

Drinking water quality is an issue of national significance and one that the

Perhaps CFOs might like to get prepared for spending more on public water supply networks.

government cannot kick down the road for local authorities to pick up without adequate support and backing.

Access to clean safe drinking water is one of the expectations of living in a first world nation.

It should not be left as a burden to be carried by local authorities alone, and particularly, it should not be an unfair burden for smaller communities.

I look forward to the government inquiry’s examination of the existing drinking water standards, as well as their regulation through the Ministry of Health, district health boards and councils.

As the organisation that represents the water industry, Water New Zealand is looking forward to this inquiry as an opportunity to identify ways of improving sector performance.

Unfortunately the inquiry is also likely to bring everyone out of the woodwork with an axe to grind on every water-related issue imaginable.

The array of “experts” being paraded by the media is astonishing.

Already we’ve had people saying that dirty dairying is responsible – even though there is a very limited amount of dairy farming in Hawkes Bay. Make no mistake, however – the fallout from this inquiry will reverberate for years in the New Zealand water

industry. Changes will undoubtedly be recommended to the drinking water standards, their administration and related matters.

It’s up to the water industry and local government to seize this opportunity to improve sector performance – despite the seriousness of the circumstances being experienced by residents in Havelock North.

Whatever the outcome of the government inquiry, I expect to see substantive changes to regulations governing water supply, treatment, oversight and operational practices around water treatment in the years ahead.

Elected councillors should ensure they’re across the issues in their district. Water service managers should ensure they provide appropriate advice to senior management and elected officials. And perhaps CFOs might like to get prepared for spending more on public water supply networks. LG • J ohn Pfahlert is CEO of Water New Zealand. ceo@waternz.org.nz

www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz

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For other articles by this writer go to our website. Search: John Pfahlert

DECEMBER 2016 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

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NATURAL HAZARDS

OUT ON A LIM Wendy Saunders explains the role of the Land Information Memorandum in natural hazard management.

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and Information Memoranda (LIMs) were included into the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (1987) in 1992. Yet, more than two decades later, there remains a lot of confusion and many inconsistent approaches to managing information requirements within LIMs. A new research report by GNS Science aims to help untangle the confusion. Out on a LIM: The role of Land Information Memorandum in natural hazard management reviews how LIMs contribute to the management of natural hazards through the provision of information.

LIMs provide a static method for communicating hazard and risk to people seeking to purchase property. Along with other methods, they offer local councils the opportunity to further communicate and manage natural hazards. The information in the LIM is able to be updated more easily than the district plan, and can potentially hold the most upto-date information about a property.

There are two main implications for councils pertaining to information on LIMs: • Getting it right: If the LIM report is accurate it means that councils can avoid or reduce any liability in relation to identified natural hazards.

• Getting it wrong: There is liability for the council if the information is incorrect or inaccurate.

The Out on a LIM report documents how natural hazard information is represented in LIMs produced in the Wellington region. The following questions underpinned the research: 1. What is the role of the LIM in communicating natural hazard information?

2. When should information be included in a LIM? 3. What improvements could be made to the LIM system?

Recommendations have been made about the LIM process at national and regional levels, and for science and information providers.

NATIONAL •A full review of the current LIM system is needed to update the intended purpose of the LIM. Section 44A has only had minor changes since 1992 and, with a greater reliance being placed on the LIM by property purchasers, the LIM system needs to be updated to reflect the changing demands on the document.

• A central repository of legal opinions needs to be made available to councils to avoid the duplication of opinions being sought on natural hazard matters.

• Tasking official national agencies in New Zealand to provide official natural hazard information – along similar lines to the Californian Natural Hazard Disclosure system – where agencies like GNS Science, NIWA, Scion and / or LINZ are tasked and funded to provide fit-for-purpose LIM specific maps and information across the entire country.

• Develop a standard LIM template with consistent wording to ensure the information contained within a LIM is consistent across the country. This would also cut down the time it takes to read and understand the information contained within the LIM.

REGIONAL / DISTRICT LEVEL • S pecial LIM interest groups established within regions to create consistency for what natural hazard information is included in the LIMs. • Standardise at the regional level what hazard information goes in the LIMs, especially if there is evidence to show that the entire region has the potential to be affected by a natural hazard.

• Include real estate agents and property lawyers in any dissemination of information.

• List on the LIM any remedial works done to mitigate hazards (ie, construction of stop-banks, etc).

SCIENCE & INFORMATION PROVIDERS •R equirements in contracts between councils and their information providers to ensure that reports have information summaries that are fit-for-purpose for inclusion in LIMs. LG The report is available at www.gns.cri.nz/out-on-a-lim •W endy Saunders is a natural hazards planner at GNS Science, Lower Hutt. w.saunders@gns.cri.nz

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REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

TOURISM TAKES OFF David Hammond calls for councils to dig deeper into destination management as tourism numbers reach unprecedented levels.

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or many communities around New Zealand the summer of 2015/16 represented peak tourism. Many communities were overwhelmed with tourists in unprecedented numbers.

There was outrage at rubbish and other deposits left across the country for councils to clean up and for which service ratepayers had to foot the bill. Will it be any different this summer? And how well have councils prepared?

Tourism Industry Aotearoa CE Chris Roberts recently noted that as our country ranks 107th in the world for visitor density, peak tourism remains many decades away. “As long as we put the infrastructure in place, New Zealand could manage 20 million visitors a year,” he said. “Austria gets 25 million visitors a year and has less than a quarter of our land mass.”

In that case, what would a golden age of New Zealand tourism look like? To some businesses it may be about getting 20 million tourists to New Zealand. And to communities it may be about the quality of the experience for both residents and visitors alike. I believe it is more about quality, not quantity, and councils’ ability to provide strong destination management will prove critical.

Recently I visited Wairoa District Council to discuss sustainable ratepayer funding of tourism. CEO Fergus Power is excited about the potential of rocket tourism in Wairoa after the consenting of the new rocket launch site in Mahia in the northern Hawkes Bay. Combined with the potential of a ‘Space Coast Cycleway’ this is an injection that Wairoa needs.

Growth of international visitor numbers 2015

2018

2022

(Base Year)

(+16%)

(+33%)

Auckland Council

1,465,555

1,700,044

1,949,188

Far North District

235,756

273,477

313,555

Gisborne City

235,755

273,476

313,554

Hastings City

16,873

19,573

22,441

Mackenzie District

237,730

275,767

316,181

Napier City

188,662

218,848

250,920

Nelson City

216,915

251,621

288,497

Thames-Coromandel District

182,390

211,572

242,579

6,869

7,968

9,136

390,154

452,579

518,905

Wairoa District Westland District Source: Statistics New Zealand.

Rocket launch site to be built by Rocket Lab on the Mahia Peninsula in northern Hawkes Bay.

Wairoa demonstrates the value of a linked-up council where regulation is an enabling function of economic development.

Wairoa is on the beginning of its tourism journey, so the notion of destination management or peak tourism seems a long way off. Yet the model that Wairoa or any council puts in now to manage destination pressure – including pay-for tourism infrastructure – will determine the future sustainability for communities.

New Zealand ratepayers are rightly concerned about the cost of tourism, and the good news is that there is now the knowledge in the sector to do better than in the past.

By 2022, New Zealand is projected to have a 1.4 million increase in visitor numbers, which represents a 33 percent increase on the boom figures for that 2015 crazy summer. That is hardly peak tourism.

Yet, for communities already straining to manage the number of visitors they now have – and with infrastructure gaps in visitor toilets, car parks, refuse facilities and dump stations – many in these areas would argue that peak tourism has already arrived.

What is welcomed news for Wairoa may be of concern to Westland and Mackenzie when they look at their tourism infrastructure gaps and who is going to pay. Destination management is not just about controlling freedom camping. It is about sustainability.

Destination management involves making sure that projects such as cycle ways and walkways protect future ratepayers from the costs of capital and ongoing maintenance, return enough ROI, and at the same time reduce congestion at those locations. LG • David Hammond is the director of local and central government consultancy Hammond Robertson. david@hammondrobertson.co.nz

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SPECIAL FEATURE

F O E R U T U F E H T

Foreshore Management

Call Canute, writes Patricia Moore, who finds a huge number of issues for councils to battle as they face up to the implications of rising seas.

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he majority of Kiwis live less than 10 kilometres from a shoreline. Some are even closer with more than 9000 homes on land less than 50 centimetres above spring high tide levels. But, as the impact of climate change becomes more evident, questions are being raised about the wisdom of life on the edge.

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright has described an accelerating rise in sea levels as “incremental and inexorable”.

So clearly for councils, issues around foreshore management are growing. And, while coastal local authorities are feeling the most heat, as the popularity of lakeside lifestyles increases and tourism numbers grow, others are also focusing on foreshore management strategies.

Experts canvassed by Local Government Magazine raised a large number of issues. These range from increased flood hazards to the overtopping of existing infrastructure putting significant public assets at risk. Then there’s growing pressure from foreshore landowners for councils to protect their properties – thereby maintaining the value – or to permit them to armour their beachfronts.

There are also issues around the discharge of sediment and contaminants; managing both biodiversity and biosecurity; the increasing desire for access to the coastline; and the high cost of coastal protection options – can communities afford to protect public and private assets on our coastlines?

Greg Bennett, chair of the Coastal Restoration Trust of New Zealand, says these issues present a number of challenges for local authorities “along with tensions over the retreat or defend paradigm and managing the ‘squeaky wheel’ phenomenon”. This he describes as “those vocal community members and councillors who have strongly biased views on foreshore management”.

Consensus between stakeholders and technical advisors could also be challenging, he says.

Greg notes a number of ways the challenges facing local government in managing the foreshore could be overcome.

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Among them are increased guidance and support from central government, “so that local politics doesn’t override national coastal policy and scientific reality”.

Greg says effort needs to be put into public debate and discussion on what’s needed – even if it’s unpopular.

“Local government could also support initiatives such as conferences and seminars to promote coastal protection and restoration, and increase awareness of natural coastal processes.”

According to Maurice Hoban, GHD lead for planning and environment, the big question is not whether the sea level will rise by 30 centimetres, 50 centimetres or even one metre. “At some time it will rise to those levels,” he says.

He suggests that local authorities now need to be asking whether they should be doing anything different.

“Should business-as-usual development, infrastructure, planning and investment be undertaken on our coastal fringes the same way it’s been done for the past 50 to 150 years?”

He notes that traditional ways of dealing with coastal hazards have been engineered solutions, such as sea walls, rock revetment, pebble beach replenishment and pumping water. Maurice says these are all expensive to put in place and maintain.

“Rising sea levels mean protection may not be the most pragmatic or affordable solution. Relocation or retreat might become a more realistic discussion to start having with communities.”

Cushla Loomb, Beca technical director – planning, says given the three-yearly council cycle, long-term planning and investment in foreshore management is a major challenge for local bodies.

“Councils also need to address soft costs versus the hard; putting a price on the value of a beach to the wider community compared with the economic losses possible to private landowners from encroachment by the sea. Navigating through these challenges may result in lengthy and costly legal battles for councils.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF MAURICE HOBAN

Far left and left: Hawke's Bay coastal town Haumoana.

Bottom left: Orewa Boulevard.

Below: Port Waikato.

To overcome such issues Cushla says councils need long-term coastal strategies that achieve the buy-in of communities. “They will also need to implement long-term infrastructure planning that survives current re-election cycles.”

Tonkin & Taylor’s business leader – natural hazards Richard Reinen-Hamill notes that society is traditionally better at reacting to events rather than planning for eventualities.

“Planning for something different to the historical approach of protection, takes time and effort.”

He says local authorities will need to take the community with them in their decision-making processes. “There are risks of communities driving particular requirements, but without investing in community involvement in the early stages, there is an increased risk of opposition.”

Richard acknowledges councils are working to find ways of managing better in a complex and changing environment.

He doesn’t foresee significant changes to the role of local government in this area.

“But there will be more challenges – both public and climate – and hopefully better information and tools.” To understand what is happening, data from monitoring and understanding physical processes and change is important, he says.

“However, councils shouldn’t be waiting for something to happen, rather, taking into account something will, or may happen. A good example is in the Hawke’s Bay where

a group of councils is trying to develop a meaningful coastal hazard strategy.”

Finally, Maurice adds that councils have the opportunity to engage and work with communities and landowners on the issues and potential solutions.

“Without standards or investment from central government, local authorities should look to bring together a shared body of knowledge to standardise approaches, learn lessons and provide consistent messaging to all coastal communities,” he says.

“This body of knowledge will also be useful to at-risk communities across New Zealand who will be seeking consistency in decisions on investment, policies, rules or actions taken by local authorities.” LG • Patricia Moore is a freelance writer. mch@xtra.co.nz

This is the last in our series of articles looking at the future of specific aspects of local government activity.

COMING UP

>>

In the February issue • Innovations in freshwater management • Innovations in placemaking

www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz For related articles go to our website. Search: Coastal

DECEMBER 2016 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

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PHOTO COURTESY OF CATHERINE HAMILTON.

SPECIAL FEATURE

TH E F U TU R E O F

Playground design Should councils provide larger, more adventurous, destination play centres or return to old-school unsupervised playbourhoods?

Patricia Moore has fun canvassing the options.

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he swings and things that once put the ‘play’ into playgrounds have become old hat. Newer, more exciting equipment, daring kids to challenge themselves and test their limits, is finding its way into the best public fun spots. Slides are metres wide and jungle gyms have evolved into structures like the Tree Canopy Climbing Adventure at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, where 9144 metres of vinyl-coated steel encases 36 wooden platforms.

Recent trends have also seen a move away from spaces with a narrow focus on play, to more integrated areas which offer multiple benefits for the widest cross-section of the community.

Councils creating new spaces, or updating existing ones, face some serious issues including what Jude Rawcliffe, parks and open spaces project manager with the New Zealand Recreation Association, describes as ‘giant-ism’ – the perception that bigger is better.

“The cost of super-sized play spaces is resulting in the loss of simple, accessible neighbourhood playgrounds,” she says.

“There is a place for large destination play spaces but these

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should be in conjunction with, not in place of, neighbourhood spaces.

“There’s also the potential for less use of playgrounds, plus the pressure of multiple demands on open spaces, particularly in metropolitan areas.”

She adds that with people more aware of international trends in play and recreation, demand will grow for these in local neighbourhoods. “Councils will need to consider play opportunities for children with special needs, beyond providing for wheelchairs, particularly for those on the autism spectrum and their families.”

However, neighbourhood spaces create their own issues.

Haylea Muir, associate landscape architect with Isthmus Group, says unprescribed free-play is noisy and messy.

“But we need to encourage and accept that, rather than see moveable parts frozen silent, exciting equipment removed for causing children to squeal too loudly, and maintenance budgets forcing loose and tactile surface materials to be replaced with ones that are smooth and static.”

Playgrounds will provide challenges in various forms for local authorities, she says. “Time, space, location and budgets – for both construction and maintenance – are the obvious and enduring ones.

“Others may be specific to sites or demographics. There’s also the perception of safety or risk which has a huge impact on how much and where children are allowed to play or what a local authority is willing to provide.”

Catherine Hamilton, principal landscape architect with Opus International Consultants, talks about ‘playbourhoods’, a word coined for the move back to old-school neighbourhoods where children were encouraged to play freely without adult supervision (a prospect that may be frightening for many adults).

“Achieving playbourhoods,” she says, “requires a commitment to the vision, meaningful community engagement, and timely contribution from child-centric advocates and professionals, throughout the planning and design of new and regenerating settlements.”

Catherine says the densification of cities provides opportunities for playbourhoods to be integrated into our

It’s a jungle, Jim The new generation of play spaces harnesses whole sites to create opportunities for inventive and imaginative play through both introduced structures and the natural environment, with activities like water-play and risk-taking areas, climbing walls, flying foxes, rope courses and sports courts, all designed to attract kids away from those small screens.

Our playground professionals name a few notable examples: the Takaro-aPoi Margaret Mahy Family Playground in Christchurch (for which Catherine Hamilton was lead designer), Auckland’s Myer’s Park, Waterview Reserve, Te Rangi Hiroa Youth Park, Hobsonville Park and Playground (an example of a new development with a play network strategy) and Keith Hay Park.

Catherine Hamilton

inner-city networks. “Changing demographics also offer the opportunity to create new types of play experiences relevant to our culturally diversifying communities.”

Gym Guru MD Brett Forsyth sees the level and diversity of use and the changing demographics of those using playground equipment as looming issues for local government.

“People are going to the park specifically for recreation.

Because of that the space needs to cater for a wider range of people, age groups, and types of use. Kids are no longer happy to just go back and forward on a swing. Parks have to attract with new and innovative things.”

And there’s the rub. The new and innovative doesn’t come cheap, particularly where safety is a paramount concern. As Brett points out, there’s a huge amount of accountability on local government spending. “People want more but they don’t want to pay more. The challenge is smarter decision making, getting more for less.”

Engagement is key, he says. “Connecting with the people who are going to be using the equipment; if councils don’t get it right, the perception is they’re wasting ratepayers’ money.

“As suppliers of recreational equipment, we often talk about outdoor gyms with people who have never used a piece of gym equipment in their life. And they’re making decisions for their community on the type of equipment they’re going to have.”

Victoria Peet of Playrope NZ says with playgrounds competing with the technology giants of social media and gaming, engaging children directly in community consultation to ensure play spaces are designed to promote activities kids will enjoy will encourage important face-to-face socialising.

“Councils will need to educate teachers, parents and the community on the importance of free play and playgrounds.

This will have an impact socially, intellectually and physically.”

So can the playgrounds across the country regain their mojo or do local authorities need to implement different strategies? In order to keep ideas fresh and competitive, Victoria sees councils sending more work out to consultants. “Local government will manage the process and ensure the results match expectations.”

Brett also believes councils should facilitate rather than take the lead. “There are some good decisions – and quite budgetconscious ones – being made by community groups with councils facilitating.” LG • Patricia Moore is a freelance writer. mch@xtra.co.nz

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PHOTO COURTESY OF CERA.

Above and left: Takaro-a-Poi Margaret Mahy Family Playground in Christchurch.

TECHNICAL BRIEFINGS This paper was presented at the Water New Zealand Stormwater Conference in Nelson earlier this year.

BORCK CREEK – STRATEGIC STORMWATER PLANNING Chris Blythe (Tasman District Council) & James Tomkinson (MWH Global).

ABSTRACT This is a case study of the future-proofing of the stormwater infrastructure for Richmond, the largest township in the Tasman District. Borck Creek is one of the critical watercourses in the Richmond catchment serving a 1400 hectare catchment area. It has gone through a significant journey of planning to secure a corridor not only for the use of stormwater relief, but also providing public amenity and ecological value.

Our full paper on this covers: • A review of Richmond’s flooding issues – key project driver; • Programme planning process; • Description of project implementation for the current work; and • Lessons learned.

Although these types of projects appear straightforward in their engineering and construction requirements, they can be the most complex to undertake owing to the range of differing needs of a large number of stakeholders.

The Tasman District is one of the fastest growing regions in New Zealand and has historically experienced a shortage of available land for future residential and business growth. In 2006, the council started planning for Richmond’s future by re-zoning 300 hectares of land for future development.

As part of this process Borck Creek was identified as a critical stormwater drainage corridor by the council, and there was strong support for public amenity and ecological improvements in the corridor.

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Top: Borck Creek in high flows. Above: Tiakina te Taiao planting team supporting Kaitiaki o Ngahere and Tikoki Nursery with planting.

Subsequent stormwater modelling of the Richmond catchment demonstrated that Borck Creek was a critical drainage corridor for the easing of Richmond’s flooding problems.

The upgrade of Borck Creek has taken some years to reach construction, and the recent restructure of Tasman District Council’s engineering services created an opportunity to give the programme a renewed impetus. Residential subdivision in the land around the lower reaches of Borck Creek also created a need to improve the stormwater capacity.

In 2015-16, approximately two kilometres of watercourse was upgraded for stormwater discharge, with initial ecological improvements and space for future amenities. This project has seen a high level of cross-team collaboration to agree priorities and compromises in the collective ‘wish-list’.

The construction works has enabled the project team to develop a methodology template for planning and implementing the stream widening works. This was achieved by good collaboration with the contractor, fish ecologist and consent compliance team to ensure all concerns were thought through and managed as the project evolved. This can now be used to inform future stormwater upgrades within the region. LG

>>

www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz Go to our website for the full paper. Search bit.ly/BorckCreek

The following paper was presented at the WasteMINZ 28th Annual Conference just a few weeks before the earthquakes hit Kaikoura.

WASTE AS AN INDICATOR OF A SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY Rachel Vaughan (environmental planner, Kaikoura District Council) & Rob Roche (MD, Innovative Waste Kaikoura)

ABSTRACT Recycling has become a way of life in Kaikoura, with waste becoming an indicator which promotes sustainability and contributes to resilience within the community. Secondary to this is the positive social and environmental behaviour that a common vision embodies.

Throughout the community, positive environmental behaviour is becoming a social norm. Fifteen years of environmental data can show the increase in positive behaviour and the decrease in the community’s environmental footprint from waste.

So how does the community deliver recycling services on the smell of an oily rag when other centres are striving for efficiency? The answer is in a community-run organisation with a positive mandate, staff with a passion and a community drive to protect the natural environment.

Innovative Waste Kaikoura is a community-owned organisation delivering waste management within a number of contracts and with a strong ethos around environment, education and employment (the three Es).

Its activities include resource recovery, landfill operations.

Its innovative solutions include: event waste management; construction and demolition waste, Trees for Travellers; and the ‘Restoration Station’ and Kaikoura Community Shed.

Innovative Waste Kaikoura was born from a vision and a belief that Kaikoura is “too good to waste”. The vision was to achieve ‘zero waste’. The driving mandate was diversion from landfill in order to preserve and extend the life of landfill.

Nineteen years after adopting a zero waste vision, Kaikoura can illustrate reduced environmental impact.

The success of the reduction in the community’s carbon footprint and overall environmental impact has hinged on positive behaviour change that can be illustrated by the ongoing success of the zero waste vision.

Kaikoura is now producing only 180 kilograms per person while the average in the OECD is 520 kilograms of waste per year. Waste diversion is around 75 percent of total waste by weight.

BACKGROUND In 1998, it was predicted that with the current rate of waste disposal in Kaikoura, the urban landfill would be full by the year 2001. The Kaikoura community was faced with the options of spending millions on building a new landfill or shipping the landfill outside the district.

The first option, for new a landfill, was unattainable; this was just unaffordable for the community. With only 3600 ratepayers, the rates burden would be prohibitive to build a new landfill.

The second option to ship the waste outside the district to a regional landfill was an offensive proposition to the community. The community did not want their waste to be someone else’s problem.

During consultation, the community came up with a third option, this was to act more responsibly and reduce the amount of waste the community generated. This was much more acceptable to the community, thus the Kaikoura community embraced a vision of zero waste. LG

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www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz Go to our website for the full paper.

Search bit.ly/InnovativeWasteKaikoura

DECEMBER 2016 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

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BILL CONROY / ON LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS LOCAL G OVE R N M E NTITE – R ETI R E D willcon80@hotmail.com

When people don’t vote Give democracy back to the Greeks.

S WE MUST PREVENT ELDERLY PEOPLE FROM DISTORTING BALLOT-BOX RESULTS.

o the public has spoken. The elderly have once again ruined the outcome of many local authority election results across New Zealand by choosing to vote. Who are these fringe people, the so-called Elder People who lurk in the twilight world of our society, only emerging to vote and distort the results of every election? The young people’s voice has not been heard once again. The same phenomenon caused the wrong outcome in the recent Brexit result in the UK. We must prevent elderly people from distorting ballotbox results.

Experts across the land are searching for new ways to encourage a greater community involvement in the local authority election process. It’s an exercise in abject futility. We must search for some other answer than the current voting process.

So what happened at this election? According to the pundits, less than 41 percent of eligible voters decided to vote in the recent local body elections – that is around two people in five returned their voting papers. Put another way, three out of five were too tired to do anything, couldn’t deal with the trauma and didn’t respond. The outcome simply continued the trend of disinterest that has grown over the years.

So, what can we do to generate some degree of engagement, interest and responsibility in so many apathetic people? The short answer is nothing.

Clearly the democracy model devised by the ancient Greeks is no longer suited to selecting local community leaders; the one man / one woman vote system is no longer suited to our way of life, and we must look to an effective alternative.

The solution is simple: relieve the voters of the debilitating task of voting at all. In a word: disenfranchise all voters and fill local body vacancies by appointment. This will allow the younger part of our population to concentrate more fully on the important issues of the day and to explore cyberspace by way of such things as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, selfies, Pokemon GO and so on.

Someone else can worry about governance issues (yawn), climate change and any other

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boring issues that impact on the survival of planet earth.

Anyway what would happen if we disenfranchise the voters? Not much really, because a new system could be put into place quickly. This is how I visualise an alternative Community Leader Selection Process (CLSP) working.

Revoke the Remorse Management Act and all legislation containing the words “local government reform” or “reorganisation”.

All appellate courts, tribunals and review authorities where local body decisions can be overturned should be abolished.

Dismantle all existing units of local government. In their place create super-cities for all metropolitan areas over say 250,000 people; form regional councils based on current land districts throughout New Zealand, then hand over full governance responsibilities to the new bodies. In no case should the membership of such bodies be greater than six people.

The role, title and trappings of “mayor” and all the archaic claptrap associated with the post should be abolished. Instead, appoint a “governor” for each region.

The task of appointing people to the new units, for a five-year term, would be given to a revamped Local Government Commission headed up by “president for life” Winsome Peters MP. An important plank in the new structure would be a new Local Government Act clearly setting out the responsibilities and duties of the new units of local government and stating unequivocally that central government must not interfere in the exercise of the delegation.

More importantly there must be legislative provision to the effect that no government may introduce local government reform or reorganisation for a period of 100 years from the date of enactment.

The foregoing is of necessity only a brief outline of the disenfranchisement option but it will give an indication of how the new system would work. Certainly it will provide a much more efficient method of finding and selecting effective community leaders than the outmoded and derided democracy model of voting for unknown candidates. LG

VIJESH CHANDRA / ON THE FUTURE OF WATERWAYS TR USTE E, NATIONAL WETLAN D TR UST OF NZ & B OAR D M E M B E R, WATE R N EW Z EALAN D. vijesh.chandra@ghd.com

NZ’s water & environment Realising the economic value.

I THE WATER INDUSTRY IS FAILING TO MAKE THE CONTAMINANT TRANSPORT MECHANISM TRANSPARENT TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS.

encourage water industry leaders to realise the economic value of our country’s waterways and natural environment.

Regardless of the final outcome of the government inquiry, the Havelock North water crisis serves as a stark reminder of the continued degradation of our waterways and natural environment, and a threat to the value of our clean green 100% pure image.

New Zealand’s annual tourism export earnings have grown at a phenomenal rate since 2013. They are now on a par with dairy industry export revenue, demonstrating linkage of potential economic benefits to investment in enhancing and restoring our waterways and natural environment.

Any adverse effects of increased tourist numbers can be mitigated by win-win solutions.

The creation of more clean and pure tourist destinations in the regions can distribute the tourist loading whilst instigating much-needed regional economic growth.

Both the Sea Change – Tai Timu Tai Pari Plan and the Waikato Healthy Rivers Wai Ora project demonstrate a strong desire to prevent further deterioration of waterways and the natural environment but concede that collaboration and ownership of issues are major obstacles.

Still, we should not underestimate the power of communities and of the next generation to lead environmental initiatives. There are many good examples of individual landowners, volunteer groups, trusts, concerned organisations and communities taking ownership, collaborating and making a real difference.

The Whaingaroa Harbour Care story is an award-winning, inspiring example of win-win.

A rural community led by Fred Lichtwark took up the challenge of improving water quality in local streams. Together they installed over 600 kilometres of fencing and planted more than 1.2 million plants. This led to a reversal of catchment degradation after only 15 years; dramatic improvements in the harbour; and many benefits to farmers.

So, how can we replicate such community projects?

The water industry is failing to make the

contaminant transport mechanism transparent to all stakeholders.

Information such as LiDAR, soil type, property parcels, waterway flow paths, groundwater systems, stock intensities and land-use type is readily available. Web-based technology is relatively cheap to set up and user-friendly.

Access to this information would allow multiple stakeholders to do several things.

They will understand how contaminants are transported; see how they are contributing to the problem; identify other stakeholders; identify the many options available to mitigate the problems and collaborate on integrated win-win solutions.

A web-based interactive contaminant transport mechanism platform can provide many benefits: • A more detailed understanding of how contaminants from land use are transported from the source point to streams, river systems and harbours; • Establishes every industry / landowner’s role and contribution to contaminant generation and transportation, and identifies stakeholder groups; • Enables prioritisation of the issues based on integrated information; • Enables development of potential integrated solutions (such as new constructed wetlands or land exchange for town plan change allowances) to manage contaminants and mitigate effects on the environment; • Promotes ownership and enables effective collaboration on potential solutions within each stakeholder group; • Allows decision-making on solutions so that benefits can be gained in the short term; • Instigates the establishment of volunteer schemes, community groups, trusts or sponsorships to target specific projects; • Allows learnings to be shared and encourages ownership and participation; and • Provides a good starting point for the next generation of leaders who are digital-savvy and are generally much more concerned about the state of our country’s environment. LG

DECEMBER 2016 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

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LINDA O’REILLY / ON LEGAL ISSUES PARTN E R, B ROOKFI E LDS LAWYE R S. oreilly@brookfields.co.nz

Perils and penalties Message to the newly elected.

B IT CAN BE QUITE SOBERING TO UNDERSTAND THAT ONE’S NOT SO REMOTELY INCONCEIVABLE ACTIONS – THE SIZE OF A BRIBE IS IMMATERIAL – CAN LEAD TO CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS AND IMPRISONMENT.

eing a lawyer can sometimes be a pain in the proverbial. But being a local council member must be worse. One of the benefits of advising diverse local authorities is that it sometimes gets me out of the office. Recently I did a road trip that saw me presenting to a couple of out of town councils that were taking councillor induction seriously.

At the first stop I was privileged to witness councillors take the oath of office, and impressed with the advice their experienced mayor had for both new and returning members. It is seldom that one gets to hear how local politicians view their role. Some members had proud followers in the room. There were photos being taken and a few bouquets sitting on the table. This is what they were told: • You are elected to represent the whole district, not just your local area.

• You are not important – the role is important.

• Members employ the chief executive only, not the staff.

• Your purpose is to serve the community.

Of course the mayor used a few more words than this but once he was finished I wondered why I needed to give them an hour on the ABCs of local governance. Why are these things important?

The first is about parochialism. In both large rural districts and urban conglomerates the socio-economic and cultural divide between the communities within a district can be immense. In the days when I was a manager democratic services the first thing we had to do after an election was give all members a tour of the district.

Mangere can be a foreign country to someone from Howick, and there is precious little except country roads to connect Kaitaia to Paihia.

But an elected member has to put aside their preconceptions, open their eyes and mind, and connect with the whole of the district they represent.

The next point is about humility. This does

38 l www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz

not necessarily come easily to those who rise above the pack to get elected. But time and time again, in the arena of local politics, it is those who put ego aside who achieve their goals.

Successful politics is the art of compromise, and those who fail to engage cooperatively will quickly find local government intolerable. Such members may continue to attract attention, but wasted energy and lack of support from fellow members hobble their function as community leaders.

New members often misunderstand the third point because it is hard to grasp the distinction between the policy and strategy role of elected members, and the operational role of the chief executive. But in fact the respective roles of the governing body (the elected members of council), the mayor, and the chief executive are clearly set out in the Local Government Act 2002.

While the elected members may adopt a remuneration and employment policy for the organisation, it is up to the chief executive to employ and manage staff within the parameters of that policy.

Blurring the lines leads to confusion, cross purposes, and can expose a local authority to considerable risk and liability.

The last point is about service and really it says it all. Nowadays elected members are reasonably, if not handsomely, reimbursed for their service to the community. My experience is that the vast majority seek election out of a genuine desire to serve the community, not for an income.

But my role as legal advisor requires me to remind them of the perils and penalties for allowing self-interest to creep into their decision-making and activities as elected members.

It can be quite sobering to understand that one’s not so remotely inconceivable actions – the size of a bribe is immaterial – can lead to criminal convictions and imprisonment. LG

PETER SILCOCK / FROM CIVIL CONTRACTORS NZ CH I E F EXECUTIVE, CIVI L CONTRACTOR S N EW Z EALAN D. peter@civilcontractors.co.nz

New councils: Same challenges Bringing together winning expertise.

B WORKING TOGETHER AS A TEAM YOU CAN GET PROJECTS GOING WHICH WILL BE GOOD FOR THE COMMUNITY, GOOD FOR THE COUNCIL AND GOOD FOR CONTRACTORS.

uilding an effective team is the number one priority for all councils as they settle in to their work following the local body elections. Whether there are only a few new councillors, a whole new team, a new mayor, or a new committee chair the dynamics change. A new council has to find its own starting point to be able to operate successfully and get the best results for its community.

Construction and maintenance contractors face the same challenge. Each contract has a beginning and an end, and each job is different from the last. We bring together people with the expertise, skills and relationships required for the project then we get to work on developing a team that can work together to deliver a great result.

Successful teams are invariably measured by the results that they achieve and councils and contractors are no different. Construction or maintenance contracts that are timely, within budget and exceed customer expectations are what we all strive for.

A critical element to achieving that level of success is getting agreement between the client and the contractors about what success looks like. It goes way beyond just time and cost. It includes things like functionality, aesthetics, design components, resilience, future capacity… the list goes on.

A council operating as a successful team will be able to provide, with a high level of clarity, a view of what success looks like. Without that direction we all face an uphill battle and the results will be suboptimal.

For new councils that are coming together for the first time, building a team which can agree on a clear vision can be very challenging. Yet with many of the core services delivered by councils, such as civil maintenance and construction work, there is probably no (or very little) debate about what is best for the community. Developing these points of agreement is a great foundation on which to build a strong team. It’s about focusing on what you can agree on rather than the differences.

All councils have a mountain of infrastructure work to do and many have significant challenges

around funding the maintenance and replacement of aging infrastructure. Treasury’s Infrastructure Evidence Base, Ten-year Capital Intentions Plan 2016 identifies that local government is intending to do 3559 projects worth a total of $51 billion over the next 10 years.

For communities, councils and contractors the timely, consistent and well planned delivery of this work is critical. The council long-term plans, improved asset management and a more strategic approach to procurement are contributing to achieving better delivery but these things all need to be actively supported and encouraged by councillors.

Engagement with the contracting community through Civil Contractors New Zealand’s branches is also improving with better visibility of work programmes, improving collaboration, increased innovation and a best-for-customer approach becoming more evident.

A number of councils have gained an industry reputation for underspending their capital budget. We recognise that sometimes there are good reasons for this but more often than not it is caused by poor project planning (particularly the time required for consenting, design and procurement) and a lack of internal capacity to effectively manage projects.

This capital underspend is not a saving. It represents a deferment at best and if it involves deferring the replacement or upgrading of aging infrastructure then it is likely to be costing the council and the community.

The deferment of capital projects can represent a reduction in community service levels: for example, more service outages; a reduction in the level of infrastructure resilience such as the ability of stormwater systems to cope during flood events; and an increase in maintenance costs where repairs of aging infrastructure escalate or old systems are maintained when new, more efficient and innovative systems could be installed.

Working together as a team you can get these projects going which will be good for the community, good for the council and good for contractors. LG

DECEMBER 2016 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

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

New triennium kicks off The start of a new local government term is an exciting time.

B IN AN AGE OF INCREASING HOMOGENISATION WE NEED DISTINCT COMMUNITIES WITH THEIR OWN CUSTOMS, FOODS, LANDSCAPES AND PEOPLE THAT EXPRESS THEIR DIVERSITY.

y now councils will have been sworn in, deputy mayors selected and the various committees that debate and discuss policies formed. The immediate period postelection is an important time as councils organise themselves for the next three years. The structures put in place during these early weeks are designed to give councils the tools they need to best serve their communities over the term.

Getting up to speed with the quirks and complexities of local government is equally important and LGNZ’s Centre of Excellence EquiP has been running inductions for all elected members.

Induction is an opportunity for mayors, chairs and elected members to build networks, gain insight into key strategic issues facing the sector, develop strategic plans, and get assistance with planning for the successful achievement of a community’s goals.

Whether a councillor or mayor is newlyelected or returning, the learning process never stops.

One of the first inductions was for mayors and we had a good number gather in Wellington at the end of October for this event. As always we have a diverse group of people leading our councils. Some bring many years of experience to the role while others are starting their local government careers.

Equally, our councils are varied in their makeup. Some are heading into the next term in much the same formation as the last one, while others have seen significant change.

There were several key themes to emerge from discussions about the big challenges being

faced by communities. Economic development, climate change, managing population growth or dealing with the population decline, and augmenting regional partnerships were all cited as high on the agenda. LGNZ has several workstreams underway to address these issues.

During the mayors’ induction we also heard from businessman, conservationist and 2016 New Zealander of the Year finalist Sir Rob Fenwick, who reiterated just how important a role local government has to play in the big issues we face as a country.

Speaking through the lens of natural resources and nature’s capital, Sir Rob said much of the work preparing the country for the challenges posed by climate change will rest with local government, particularly in identifying the strategic assets and infrastructure that are at risk from climate change, and the changes we will need to make now to local plans if we are to lessen the burden on future generations.

Sir Rob commended LGNZ’s work so far in addressing issues like climate change and the other major shifts the country faces over the next 35 years through the 2050 Challenge document.

He also spoke more generally about why local government is so important. In an age of increasing homogenisation we need distinct communities with their own customs, foods, landscapes and people that express their diversity.

His advice to this latest set of mayors was to make sure the ideas we set about implementing are based around our values and are relevant to our communities. I couldn’t agree more. LG

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Funding review update LGNZ’s 2015 Funding Review has stimulated considerable debate and since its launch LGNZ has responded with several streams of continuing policy work. As a result many policy matters around infrastructure are now being addressed, with or by central government.

Of course more work is needed to continue to improve the outcomes for our communities, but good steps have been made.

Specific areas where progress has been made include:

Housing infrastructure > Sufficient and appropriate housing infrastructure is vital for communities to thrive. LGNZ has worked closely with partners to advocate for tools and resources to facilitate housing development where it is most needed. The Government has so far responded with the $1 billion fund available to assist high growth councils advance infrastructure projects, and this has already started.

Special Economic Zones > LGNZ has been working with central government to research the cost, benefits and impacts to implement special zones which would allow localised policy and regulatory tools such as an Urban Development Authority to be developed where appropriate.

Road pricing > Local government does not have the ability to use road user charges, targeted levies or fuel taxes. Following ongoing advocacy and communication the Government has now acknowledged a need for the use of road pricing to manage congestion and to cover the balance of costs for long-term roading infrastructure.

Tourism/visitor levy > Councils in tourism hotspots often have a small ratepayer base so funding tourism infrastructure can be a challenge. LGNZ has advocated for alternative funding options and last month Prime Minister John Key told a tourism industry summit the Government would introduce a tourist tax to fund infrastructure. He said possibilities ranged from departure or bed taxes to tourist levies, but “doing nothing” was not an option. Meanwhile LGNZ has partnered with Tourism Industry Aotearoa on research to build a picture of the current and future requirements for communities and the industry.

Regional Mid-sized Tourist Facilities Fund > LGNZ has repeatedly called for support for communities and the $12 million Regional Mid-sized Tourist Facilities Fund has been developed to help areas that struggle to build tourism infrastructure. The first tranche worth $3 million has now been allocated for projects around New Zealand, the bulk of which will be completed by local councils. The Fund is a start but much greater investment will be needed to address the demands of growing tourism.

To read LGNZ’s Local Government Funding Review visit: www.lgnz.co.nz/home/our-work/our-policy-priorities/3.-sustainablefunding/local-government-funding-review/

< Local government has worked closely with partners to advocate for tools and resources to address funding needs for our communities. >

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EDITOR

The Final Word Courageous leadership required in changing climate This year LGNZ has ramped up its efforts to make sure the climate change conversations Kiwi communities need to have are beginning.

Most New Zealanders understand the fundamental causes and impacts of climate change, often at a global level. But many remain uninformed about the impacts that climate change could have or are unaware of how the actions of their community can help mitigate emissions.

Speaking during the Mayors Induction run by LGNZ’s Centre of Excellence EquiP in October, businessman and conservationist Sir Rob Fenwick outlined the scale of the challenges that lie ahead and why councils are at the forefront of mitigating the effects of climate change.

Local government has a major role to play in helping us all adapt to climate change. The OECD notes that when faced with climate change impacts communities look to local government. Decisions made today about infrastructure, land use and urban development will determine the extent and impact of climate change, and a community’s vulnerability or resilience.

And, as Sir Rob said, the Paris Accord acknowledged that on climate change the horse has bolted. Councils now need to focus on adapting to climate change and preparing communities for significant environmental changes. Much of the work preparing the country for these changes will rest with local government, particularly in identifying the strategic assets and infrastructure that are at risk from climate change, and the changes we will need to make now to local plans if we are to lessen the burden on future generations.

Given its implications for a broad range of local government roles, including water quantity, infrastructure investment, civil defence and land use planning, climate change will be a key priority for the sector in the years ahead. LGNZ in July launched the 2050 Challenge discussion document, which highlights the major economic, social, cultural and environmental shifts New Zealand faces in the next 35 years, including as a result of climate change. LGNZ is now working on climate change position paper.

New and re-elected mayors have also been given a timely reminder of the important role local government has to play in addressing how New Zealand manages the implications of climate change.

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Over the next 50 years rising sea levels and more frequent storms will have an impact on New Zealand’s communities and businesses. For a country that has a “biological economy like no other in the world” and which is thoroughly dependent on its landscapes, oceans, freshwater and fragile ecosystems, strong leadership is needed.

“We’ve never needed courageous leadership in our communities and regions as much as we do today,” Sir Rob said. “We need to work together and we need help from the research community to better predict what is going to happen where.”

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Te Auaunga Awa, Oakley Creek Community Consultation Day. Photographer: Jay Farnworth