Latest news with #Cadogan
Newsroom
16-07-2025
- Business
- Newsroom
Govt winds up council reform storm
Analysis: It's a sentiment likely to set pulses racing among the current crop of Government ministers. In 2010, four-term councillor Bryan Cadogan aimed to unseat sitting Clutha mayor Juno Hayes by running on a platform of tying rates to inflation and focusing on core services. Cadogan won by 354 votes, turning around the previous election result in the district hemmed in by Dunedin, Central Otago, and Southland. Now, the Clutha mayor, who isn't running for re-election in October's elections, finds himself, and his sector, in the firing line of an interventionist Government considering rates caps, and introducing legislation to ensure councils focus on – that's right – core services. The Local Government NZ conference in Ōtautahi/Christchurch was formally launched on Wednesday with a video address, of less than two minutes, by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Councils need to get back to basics, he said, spending wisely and delivering value. What does that mean? 'Prioritising pipes over vanity projects,' explained the prime minister, flanked by national flags. 'It means roads over reports, and it means real outcomes.' When the address finished, conference MC Miriama Kamo started clapping loudly, joined somewhat unenthusiastically by a smattering of conference attendees. 'I'm the only one clapping, I see,' Kamo quipped. Cadogan says the Government's message landed 'pretty flatly' with him. 'It's getting a wee bit tedious getting asked time and time again to do the impossible.' Chris Bishop, the minister overseeing resource management reforms, took a more fire and brimstone approach than his leader, saying there was shrinking evidence councils were cutting their cloth and enabling growth. 'You cry out for more financing and funding tools. We're giving them to you. You ask for a better, simpler planning system. We're giving this to you, too. 'We are getting our house in order. It's time you sorted yours out.' (Some would have thought that line a bit rich, given analysis of May's Budget suggests Luxon's coalition will increase gross debt by more in five years than the Covid-affected previous government did in six.) Bishop announced a 'plan stop', warning councils not to waste money and time reviewing city and district plans, and regional policy statements – with narrow exceptions – ahead of an overhaul of resource management laws due to land in 2027. 'The time for excuses is over,' Chris Bishop told the Local Government NZ conference in Christchurch. Photo: David Williams Sam Broughton, mayor of Selwyn, just south of Christchurch, and president of Local Government NZ, says: 'It was really good to have that certainty.' Is that just common sense? Broughton says the progress on reforms is pleasing, but adds: 'It feels like councils have been in this reform storm for six or seven years, and has just been ongoing change without actually landing something.' Local Government Minister Simon Watts introduced the bill to focus councils on core services, which is expected to have its first reading on Thursday. ('It feels like the Government has a caricature of local government that isn't true,' Broughton says. He notes 80 percent of Selwyn council's capital spending is on pipes and roads.) Watts' explanation of why it was necessary to force councils to concentrate on core services, like roads, water and rubbish, sent offended ripples through the conference crowd. The minister used the analogy of setting boundaries for his children. Letting them do whatever they liked might lead to bad choices, he suggested. Instead, he might tell them, 'Hey, you've got these five things to do'. Among the crowd's murmurs, one conference-goer shouted: 'Just a bit patronising, mate!' From the conference stage, Watts appeared to pour cold water on the idea regional councils were about to be scrapped. 'We're thinking about it,' Watts said, adding ministers were cognisant 'there's already a huge amount of reform underway in your sector'. Bishop tried to mollify concerns about potential environmental consequences from the audience, saying a new Natural Environment Act would focus on biodiversity, ecology and human health. Later, the minister tells Newsroom: 'There will be environmental limits that will be set through the new regime.' (After a remit passed at Local Government NZ's annual general meeting on Wednesday, councils called for a review of local government's structure.) Christopher Luxon beamed in to the Local Government NZ conference in Christchurch. Photo: David Williams Government reforms for local government include the network-merging replacement for three waters, Local Water Done Well, waving city and regional deals under the noses of councils, and offering different funding and financing options for infrastructure to speed up house-building. Back to Cadogan, the Clutha mayor, who talks to Newsroom while walking to a negotiation with other councils on water services. He says despite Government rhetoric, councils can't be expected to achieve the triumvirate of lower rates, infrastructure upgrades and under-control debt. 'The Government know it, we know it, but we just keep on getting this.' Clutha council's experience puts those financial management challenges in stark relief. In 2019, its external borrowings were $5 million. Five years later, it had ballooned to $123m. To add salt to the financial wound, this year's average rates rise was an 'ungodly' 16.59 percent. How did this happen? 'Three waters, wholly and solely,' Cadogan says. (Last year, the mayor predicts the financial consequences of the 'three waters debacle' will hit. In the latest annual plan, he says 89.4 percent of this year's rates rise is attributable to roads, rubbish and three waters.) Clutha's unfortunate figures are: the third-longest water reticulation network in the country, with 27 sewage or water plants on 30-year consents, and, crucially, only 18,500 people to pay for it. Of the country's 565 drinking water quality breaches last year, 338 or 60 percent were in Clutha. 'We all want lower rates increases,' says Sam Broughton, the Selwyn district mayor and Local Government NZ president. Photo: David Williams Cadogan gives the example of a water upgrade for the tiny town of Waihola: running an 18.5km pipeline from Milton's water treatment plant oto the reservoir cost $6.3m. After years of problems with water quality and quantity, boil water notices were removed for all but 20 of the town's 247 houses. 'Then we go to Heriot, and then we go to Tapanui, then Owaka, then Clinton,' Cadogan says. 'It's a financial delusion that you can have rates cap, you can have debt ceilings, and you have to do this infrastructure update.' It would have been better for the National-led coalition to lift the hood on Labour's three waters policy and chuck out what they didn't like, Broughton says, instead of scrapping it and starting again. He thinks resolving water across the country might take seven or eight more steps. Policy lurches and delays cost millions of dollars and can, of course, increase council rates. Many councils might feel aggrieved by the ministerial attack given the National Party's pre-election commitment to devolution and localism. Luxon promised to reshape the relationship between central and local government. 'It does feel like every party in opposition is a localist,' Broughton says, 'and then as soon as they're in power, they become a creature that draws all the more power to themselves.' Broughton was applauded by conference attendees for his opening comments – made before Bishop's address. 'We all want lower rates increases. I want lower rates increases, I know you want lower rates increases, I hear from my community they want lower rates increases. But it can't be at the expense of our children picking up the tab because of our negligence today.' The Selwyn mayor tells Newsroom a key problem is councils have few alternatives to raise money. The best tool the Government could give councils, in his opinion, is to return GST spending on new houses locally. 'That would be a game-changer for us,' he says, noting between 1000 and 3000 houses have been built each year in Selwyn over the past five or six years. Broughton's also a fan of bed taxes, something Queenstown's council has, for years, been pushing for. Luxon said this week the Government's not actively considering a bed tax. 'It has just been an avalanche of unstoppable figures. Unstoppable.' Bryan Cadogan, Clutha mayor This is the second year ministers have used the Local Government NZ conference to berate councils for spending on 'nice-to-haves'. Last year, the venue, Wellington's $180m Tākina centre, was in the crosshairs. But Christchurch's half-billion-dollar monolithic convention centre, Te Pae, is of a different ilk – paid for by taxpayers as a post-quake anchor project. Luxon, Watts and Bishop did miss a trick in Christchurch, though. A 15-minute walk away from Te Pae is the new stadium, Te Kaha – a loss-making facility that will cost ratepayers $453m to build. The city's ratepayers face a three-year, cumulative rates rise of 24.66 percent that without the stadium, that would have been 19.43 percent. Using Luxon's words, the stadium isn't roads, rubbish or water, and tends, perhaps, more towards a vanity project. The last word goes to Cadogan, the outgoing Clutha mayor. He hopes a water services 'umbrella' with other councils will help his district save on infrastructure spending. 'We've been basically a stand-alone council for the last five years. Have a look what that did to our debt,' he says. 'I'm gutted as a mayor. I pride myself on really understanding figures. I understand them all right. It has just been an avalanche of unstoppable figures. Unstoppable.'
Irish Examiner
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Eoin Cadogan: 'They have a massive stumbling block in Dublin, but they have been forewarned'
A 'pressure-cooker game' and a 'massive stumbling block in Dublin' is what awaits Cork this Saturday evening, according to former Rebel Eoin Cadogan. The once-dual operator said Pat Ryan's charges can't have been any more forewarned ahead of the All-Ireland semi-final, a stage in the championship where the sole priority is progression not panache. 'Any talk of silverware and famine is irrelevant coming into another semi-final. Semi-finals are always the pressure-cooker game because when you get to a final, you can go and express yourself. You're there, you've got to exactly where most teams have set out to get to at the start of the year, and so you can leave the handbrake off a little bit more, whereas being beaten in the semi-final is like being beaten in the quarter-final. There's no difference,' said Cadogan, a Gaelic Games ambassador for BoyleSports. 'The perception of supporters would have been that Limerick were going to come through and by God did Dublin put a nail in that coffin. 'John Kiely referenced it afterwards, Dublin's ball retention off their own puck-out has been excellent. Seán Brennan's execution and finding of players is top class. 'They know exactly what they're about. There's a clarity in terms of how they want to play, where they're supposed to set themselves up and how they're trying to work the ball through the lines. They're very comfortable doing it because they have the athleticism inside to match Cork as well on Saturday.' The same as Seánie McGrath observed earlier this week, Cadogan stressed the quietness of the semi-final build-up on Leeside. But irrespective of the noise level, he added, his former teammates and those that have joined in the four seasons since no longer prick their ears. 'These guys are a lot more grounded than what we might think. They've learnt a lot over the last few years to be ready to go on Saturday. 'They've experienced an All-Ireland final in 2021, a lot of those guys experienced one last year and were devastated in losing that after extra time. They've learnt a lot over the last two years not to get caught up in the hype.' The All-Ireland football winner believes the 2025 edition are better than the 2024 class largely because of that aforementioned extra-time defeat to Clare. 'The squad has improved a lot, and I purely put that down to last year's defeat. They have to be hungry. This group has an opportunity to try and put a performance in on Saturday to get over the line and get another crack at an All-Ireland final. They have a massive stumbling block in Dublin, but they have been forewarned.' Although Cork have blitzed many an opposition this year, what has most stood out for Cadogan is the collective reply to the Limerick round-robin hammering that had the potential to finish them for the year. 'I was massively worried after it, but the character and how they responded in the Munster final, and going down the straight in extra-time, the most pleasing thing as a Cork supporter was that the lads showed fierce bottle to stick at it and get over the line. 'People will say, ah they deserved that, but unfortunately in sport it doesn't really work like that. I would like to think that they found a way when others would have wilted.'
Otago Daily Times
30-06-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
'Embarrassing': Clutha's water breaches more than rest of NZ
A small Otago council has recorded more drinking water quality breaches than the rest of New Zealand combined, a damning report has revealed. The Water Services Authority report, publicly released yesterday, said it received 565 notifications in 2024 that drinking water was, or might be, unsafe. Clutha District Council was responsible for 338, or 59.8%, of the country's drinking water quality breaches. Mayor Bryan Cadogan said yesterday he could not ignore the report's findings. "They're embarrassing." The supply with the most E. coli notifications was Waitahuna Rural (24), which is owned by Clutha District Council and is on a permanent boil-water notice. In March 2023, the authority issued a direction to Clutha in response to aluminium levels breaching standards across five of the council's supplies. In January 2025, the council met the remaining requirements of the compliance order. Mr Cadogan said the council accepted responsibility for the "damning indictment", but it had been the after-effects of issues that had been ignored for decades. "So, in the 1970s, Clutha developed the most extensive water scheme in New Zealand for our size. We're the third-longest in New Zealand. It is Auckland, Christchurch, then Clutha. "So, what we've done is we've set up a council-run extensive water system supplying to virtually all our rural and all our towns. No-one else does it. "But the problem with that for us is that when you have council-run schemes, you have consent and you have to abide." The water supply was built for 1.2 million stock units across all the towns. "Unfortunately, that's a real problem now that system is no longer compliant with the New Zealand Water Standards. "The scheme was not only working 100% the way it was meant to, it's producing better water now than it has in all its lifetimes. "But unfortunately, it's like trying to turn a car into an aeroplane." It was only relatively recently the council started addressing the problems, Mr Cadogan said. "That's why our debt [has increased], because our council had no debt only five years ago. "We've got 150-odd-million dollars of debt and all the water plants that we've upgraded are about to be commissioned." Back in the 1970s, the government funded 50% of Clutha's new drinking water system, and struck similar deals with other councils, he said. In contrast, Clutha had needed to pay for all of the upgrades this time, Mr Cadogan said. "And that's why I am horrified at the rate rises that are coming through." "We're stuck with this dichotomy of having the third-longest water recirculation network in New Zealand behind Auckland and Christchurch ... and a population of 19,000." Water Authority head of operations Steve Taylor said it had been working with Clutha District Council to make improvements. "From the outset, Clutha District Council was open to engaging with the authority, sharing information, being honest about their challenges and responding to the directives issued by the authority. "It should also be noted that this report is for the year to December 2024 and considerable work has been completed by the council in the past six months. "We will continue to work closely with Clutha District Council as it addresses issues across its supplies." Clutha District had 13 distinct communities, all with water and sewage, Mr Cadogan said. "Within those 13 communities, there's 27 either water or sewage plants. "If you've got 30-year consent, that means you're doing up at least 27 plants over 30 years. You're basically doing up one a year." Each of those upgrades were in the vicinity of $5m to $20m, he said. Although the authority's report was tough reading, it noted there had been some improvement on last year — Clutha had 98 fewer breaches in 2024. "You just keep on going. It is never-ending. "So, the environmental expectations and the financial capacity and ability for communities like Clutha is really going to test people's ability to pay like never before."
Otago Daily Times
30-06-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Clutha had more water breaches than all NZ — Report ‘embarrassing': mayor
ODT GRAPHIC A small Otago council has recorded more drinking water quality breaches than the rest of New Zealand combined, a damning report has revealed. The Water Services Authority report, publicly released yesterday, said it received 565 notifications in 2024 that drinking water was, or might be, unsafe. Clutha District Council was responsible for 338, or 59.8%, of the country's drinking water quality breaches. Mayor Bryan Cadogan said yesterday he could not ignore the report's findings. "They're embarrassing." The supply with the most E. coli notifications was Waitahuna Rural (24), which is owned by Clutha District Council and is on a permanent boil-water notice. In March 2023, the authority issued a direction to Clutha in response to aluminium levels breaching standards across five of the council's supplies. In January 2025, the council met the remaining requirements of the compliance order. Bryan Cadogan. PHOTO: ODT FILES Mr Cadogan said the council accepted responsibility for the "damning indictment", but it had been the after-effects of issues that had been ignored for decades. "So, in the 1970s, Clutha developed the most extensive water scheme in New Zealand for our size. We're the third-longest in New Zealand. It is Auckland, Christchurch, then Clutha. "So, what we've done is we've set up a council-run extensive water system supplying to virtually all our rural and all our towns. No-one else does it. "But the problem with that for us is that when you have council-run schemes, you have consent and you have to abide." The water supply was built for 1.2 million stock units across all the towns. "Unfortunately, that's a real problem now that system is no longer compliant with the New Zealand Water Standards. "The scheme was not only working 100% the way it was meant to, it's producing better water now than it has in all its lifetimes. "But unfortunately, it's like trying to turn a car into an aeroplane." It was only relatively recently the council started addressing the problems, Mr Cadogan said. "That's why our debt [has increased], because our council had no debt only five years ago. "We've got 150-odd-million dollars of debt and all the water plants that we've upgraded are about to be commissioned." Back in the 1970s, the government funded 50% of Clutha's new drinking water system, and struck similar deals with other councils, he said. In contrast, Clutha had needed to pay for all of the upgrades this time, Mr Cadogan said. "And that's why I am horrified at the rate rises that are coming through." "We're stuck with this dichotomy of having the third-longest water recirculation network in New Zealand behind Auckland and Christchurch ... and a population of 19,000." Water Authority head of operations Steve Taylor said it had been working with Clutha District Council to make improvements. "From the outset, Clutha District Council was open to engaging with the authority, sharing information, being honest about their challenges and responding to the directives issued by the authority. "It should also be noted that this report is for the year to December 2024 and considerable work has been completed by the council in the past six months. "We will continue to work closely with Clutha District Council as it addresses issues across its supplies." Clutha District had 13 distinct communities, all with water and sewage, Mr Cadogan said. "Within those 13 communities, there's 27 either water or sewage plants. "If you've got 30-year consent, that means you're doing up at least 27 plants over 30 years. You're basically doing up one a year." Each of those upgrades were in the vicinity of $5m to $20m, he said. Although the authority's report was tough reading, it noted there had been some improvement on last year — Clutha had 98 fewer breaches in 2024. "You just keep on going. It is never-ending. "So, the environmental expectations and the financial capacity and ability for communities like Clutha is really going to test people's ability to pay like never before."
San Francisco Chronicle
30-06-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
GoFundMe is refurbishing a little-known financial tool in a bid to supercharge everyday giving
NEW YORK (AP) — GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan had some complications while fundraising on his own website last fall. Several friends wanted to help Cadogan reach his $28,000 goal as he crowdfunded for a Los Angeles area wilderness rescue team. But they tried to donate through a lesser-known wealth management tool called a donor-advised fund, or a DAF, a no-frills investing vehicle for money earmarked as eventual charitable gifts. After cutting checks and waiting three weeks, Cadogan said, the money finally arrived. 'It was just a bit of a thing,' he added. "If they were using a Giving Fund, it would take ten seconds.' Giving Funds are GoFundMe's latest in a flurry of product rollouts with the purported goal of moving stagnant U.S. charitable contributions beyond the 2% GDP mark where totals have long hovered. But the for-profit company's DAF, announced Monday, enters a crowded market of more than a thousand providers — products often with older, wealthier clienteles that are often criticized for warehousing gifts. To transform the way that everyday users plan their donations, Cadogan will have to widen the appeal of DAFs beyond the likes of the technology entrepreneur's circles. And he wants to change public perceptions of his company as just a crowdfunding site. 'We're also hopeful that more people will start using GoFundMe for a broader set of things in their lives: not just that one fundraiser they're supporting, not just that one nonprofit. But they're coming in and they're managing their giving portfolio with us and through us,' Cadogan said. 'That connects directly to our mission, which is we want to help people help each other.' A DAF boom — but for whom? Donor-advised funds grew popular over the last decade among ultra-high net worth individuals as a tax-efficient instrument for grantmaking without the hassle of a more sophisticated charitable foundation. Donors can immediately write the contribution off on their taxes but face no deadline for giving the money to a nonprofit. The idea: account holders could invest money they wanted to ultimately donate, let the funds grow tax-free while they sit and give themselves time to identify the recipients best aligned with their giving goals. There's since been a rush to court average givers. Legacy financial services firms such as Fidelity Charitable lowered the minimums to open accounts. Fintech startups such as Daffy contrast their flat fees with the hidden expenses they allege their competitors charge. All that traction brought IRS proposals last year to impose penalties on those who abuse DAFs and Congress has considered legislation that would require some deadlines for disbursements. GoFundMe's Giving Funds will have no minimum balances, zero management fees and donations starting at $5. Users can load their DAF through their bank accounts or direct deposits for free. Credit card payments will be covered through the end of the year and then face the company's standard transaction fee of 2.2% plus 30 cents. Contributions can then be invested in a choice of exchange traded funds from managers including Vanguard, Blackrock and State Street Global Advisors. Cadogan pitches Giving Funds as a way to be more intentional about giving — something he said user feedback suggests more people want. As he sees it, widespread adoption hasn't occurred because DAFs have been framed as 'wealth management products.' 'This is a giving product,' Cadogan said. 'It's something for everybody. And you don't need to know the words 'donor advised fund.' It doesn't show up.' Moving the needle DAFs remain scrutinized for allowing donors to reap tax benefits before they ever redistribute any money to charitable causes — even if the notion that the channel is being exploited is fiercely debated in the nonprofit sector. Opaque disclosure requirements make it difficult to put a number on the overall assets held within the funds. The National Philanthropic Trust placed the total at more than $250 billion in 2023. Cadogan believes GoFundMe's culture is uniquely suited to nudge users with targeted spotlights of the 1.5 million charities already active on the platform. Giving Funds holders will be peppered with information about local nonprofits, crisis responders, their friends' charities of choice and potential beneficiaries that address their selected issue areas. That 'dynamic, alive community' is very different from the 'fairly static, passive' financial vehicles in the current market, according to Cadogan. 'It's essentially inspiring the money to move,' he said. Other features seek to encourage contributions by simplifying things. Users can set annual giving goals by a percentage of their income or a fixed number. Their gifts will tally up in real-time records to track their progress and ease year-end tax planning. Streamlining the process was one area for improvement identified in the DAF Research Collaborative's recent survey of more than 2,100 donors. But Jeff Williams, one of the researchers, said DAFs are currently hitting the 'sweet spot of convenience and connection to nonprofits.' The challenge for any new player, he said, is that it's a competitive environment with many different options. Plus, he added, many DAFs already are 'available-to-everyone vehicles" considering that half run balances under $50,000. 'Givers are voting with their feet that DAFs are increasing with popularity. More options are generally better,' Williams said. 'Anything that makes sure we maintain or enhance the ease of giving, it makes me happier.' But Direct Relief CEO Amy Weaver, previously the CFO at Salesforce, described GoFundMe's entrance as 'a game changer' that could unlock additional funds. Direct Relief, a nonprofit that supplies free medical resources worldwide, reported receiving more than 18,000 DAF gifts totaling $116 million over the past five years. Weaver acknowledged DAFs have been traditionally used by those with more substantial wealth. But she encouraged people to view them as a 'savings account" for "good works." 'And GoFundMe, with its name familiarity and the fact that it really attracts people making smaller gifts, I think could be incredibly powerful if they can bring DAFs to that group of people,' she said. ___
