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Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Real solutions before ‘saving the world'
Flooded streets in South Dunedin and Bathgate Park in June 2015. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY South Dunedin stormwater issues should be sorted out "before we embark on saving the world", a mayoralty candidate says. However, a city councillor argues shaping a climate-resilient future need not get in the way of local solutions. The differing perspectives came from Cr Steve Walker and Future Dunedin political ticket leader and mayoralty hopeful Andrew Simms, while Crs Sophie Barker and Lee Vandervis — another mayoralty candidate — also weighed in. Mr Simms noted it had been 10 years since a large flood in South Dunedin, and he lamented lack of progress in implementing key recommendations from a 2017 report by Opus about stormwater. The South Dunedin Future programme was set up by the Dunedin City Council and the Otago Regional Council after the flooding and it is principally about responding to climate change and natural hazards through a long-term plan under development. Mr Simms characterised the programme as offering "a long-term, billion-dollar response to gradual sea-level rise and climate change". "But the Opus report focuses on what South Dunedin urgently needs right now: practical, immediate solutions to mitigate flooding caused by an overwhelmed drainage system." Future Dunedin would advocate for Opus to update its proposals for the council, "to ensure decisions are grounded in sound engineering, not just long-term vision", Mr Simms said. He and Future Dunedin council candidate Conrad Stedman had talked to stormwater engineers and South Dunedin residents and "listened to longtime Surrey St residents whose showers back up with sewage during heavy rain". "We acknowledge the challenges of climate change, but Dunedin ratepayers' money should be spent firstly on solving Dunedin's problems, before we embark on saving the world." Cr Walker took issue with the way Mr Simms had framed matters, describing some aspects as misleading. The city council had directed money to immediate issues faced by South Dunedin and there was no agenda to prioritise international climate goals at the expense of local resilience, he said. Cr Walker said work could be done to deal with immediate problems for low-lying communities and shaping a climate-resilient future — "one doesn't have to come at the expense of the other". "While short-term, temporary fixes may look politically attractive, we should caution against knee-jerk reactions if it puts at risk, financially impinges on, or delays the longer-term planning identified in the excellent [South Dunedin Future] programme." Cr Barker said Future Dunedin's position was not greatly at odds with the council's. "While we need to look at the long term and our climate adaptation work, we also need action now to stop people's homes flooding and minimise damage," she said. Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich particularly pushed for a multimillion-dollar package for immediate mitigation and the council voted this year in support of it. Cr Vandervis said sewage erupting in Surrey St without a fix was unforgivable. However, northern parts of the city should not be forgotten and flooding there had historically been more damaging, he said. "Flood events in Dunedin can never be entirely controlled, but having a historically informed overview of all Dunedin flood vulnerability should spread limited resources proportionately to protect the majority of Dunedin residents and businesses."
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Letters to the Editor: Campaign spend, pay equity, rabbits and rail
Today's Letters to the Editor from readers cover topics including campaign spending, pay equity, rabbits and KiwiRail. Meaningful ideas beat enormous ad budgets In response to Mr Bill Southworth's letter (ODT 26.6.25) suggesting that both I and Future Dunedin hold an unfair advantage in the upcoming Dunedin City Council local body elections due to our ability to run a campaign. While the current rules permit each candidate to spend up to $55,000 on campaigning, Future Dunedin's actual budget is well below that limit. What sets us apart is not the scale of our spending, but the strength of our vision - a vision grounded in genuine change, practical ambition, and a deep commitment to the future of our city. We look forward to sharing that vision with the people of Dunedin and inviting their support. Mr Southworth may find reassurance in the fact that, in 2022, the candidate who invested the most in their campaign was ultimately unsuccessful. This underscores a fundamental truth in local democracy: meaningful ideas resonate more deeply than advertising budgets. Future Dunedin has also made a principled decision not to accept any external donations. We are not aligned with any political party, nor are we funded by outside interests. Should we be elected, our councillors will answer only to the people of Dunedin. Andrew Simms Mayoral and council candidate for Future Dunedin Pearl clutching ''Hipkins said he had changed his position on the appropriateness of the column because of the distraction it was causing, which was 'taking away from what is a very fair issue'.'' (RNZ 15.5.25). This was the moment Chris Hipkins showed his complete inability to lead and be the next prime minister. Instead of recognising the juicy open goal presented by the most outrageous egregious pearl-clutching episode ever seen in Parliament and treating it with the kind of derision that Helen Clark would have revelled in, he bottled it, conceding weakly to the disingenuous framing of Brooke van Velden and certain media commentators, and threw Jan Tinetti under the bus. The late Bob Jones once called Bill Rowling the ''shiver in search of a spine'': Hipkins owns this now. Pay equity was and is the issue. Andrew Nichols Kew Freight hub What I consider very good news is the proposed freight hub is to be located at Milburn. This is an ideal location and must result in fewer heavy vehicles coming through Dunedin and using SH88 to and from Port Chalmers. The CEO of Port Otago, Kevin Winders, is very supportive and has indicated this hub will not be in competition with the one to be fully developed in Mosgiel. I suggest Calder Stewart start doing it immediately before all the naysayers get together and act against this plan. John Neilson Ravensbourne Oi. Shhh. Southland Hospital's ban on its staff chatting to each other for more than 5 minutes a day, and never in the afternoon, is brilliant. The management is well aware that talking about the performance of the All Blacks, the Kardashians or Meghan and Harry takes up far too many valuable minutes, and patients may die as a consequence. To have a taciturn but kindly and efficient staff is clearly the aim, and will surely save the taxpayer many millions. Mark Stocker Christchurch We are making rabbits run run run - KiwiRail I was surprised to read comments highlighting issues with feral rabbits in the rail corridor in Otago, and suggesting that land occupiers and Otago Regional Council staff have had limited success engaging with public agencies to enable effective control of rabbits (ODT 21.5.25). KiwiRail is committed to controlling rabbits on its land and has been carrying out targeted rabbit control annually since 2019 throughout sections of the rail corridor in Balclutha, Moeraki, Waihola, Milton and Henley. This has been undertaken in collaboration with both the ORC and the local community. Pests do not respect boundaries, so pest control is a responsibility of all landowners. KiwiRail is absolutely playing its part. Ruth Brittain National vegetation contract manager, KiwiRail Recognition sought Please could the current government at the very least acknowledge the economic cost that the Labour government had to bear with the four disasters it had to finance during its terms. Kay Hannan Weston Somehow not sighting the causal nexus If the Otago University Staff for Palestine group (Letters ODT 26.5.25) are so blinkered by their prejudice against Israel that they do not see the significant causal nexus between the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 and the present situation in Gaza, then there is little hope that the group's efforts can actually make any contribution towards their ostensible aims of improving the plight for Palestinians. Before October 2023, 18,000 Palestinians from Gaza held work permits allowing them to cross the controlled border between Gaza and Israel for work each day. After October 2023, all of these permits were revoked. Before October 2023, there were no settlers, settlements, or permanent Israeli forces within Gaza, although Israel still controlled the borders. After October 2023, the idea that Israel should not continue to control its borders is ridiculous. Malcolm Moncrief-SpittleDunedin [Abridged - editor.]
Otago Daily Times
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Unusual backdrop to DCC plan hearing
Walk-outs, insults, political manoeuvring and cackling councillors. It was anything but your usual Dunedin City Council meeting. Ruby Shaw and Grant Miller explore why this year's long-term plan hearing was overshadowed by the drama. As the volunteer driver of Dunedin's campaign ambulance answered questions on his long-term-plan submission, a ''guffawing'' or perhaps a sniggering caught him by surprise. To his left, Mike Waddell saw Dunedin city councillor Carmen Houlahan rolling her eyes and heaving an exasperated sigh, actions he says were mirrored by Cr Jim O'Malley. Their response to his concerns on a proposed Smooth Hill landfill struck him as ''appalling'', and he told them so - ''it's a sad reflection when people are starting to laugh around the table,'' he said. ''Where is the respect?'' Speaking to the Otago Daily Times a few days later, Mr Waddell said the interaction was ''pretty awful''. The council had called for submissions and it was the councillors' job to listen, ''not to belittle people''. The reaction from Crs Houlahan and O'Malley was unprofessional - '''could do better' would be on the school report,'' he said. There were plenty of moments at last week's long-term-plan hearing that suggested more than usual was on the line. On the second day, three councillors walked out in protest, one was ejected and two submitters said they were being disrespected by councillors. By the final day, mayoral hopeful Andrew Simms and developer Allan Dippie were squaring up over the Smooth Hill landfill - airing ''colourful'' emails which disparaged the current crop of elected officials as ''weird'', ''woke'' and talentless. Cr Houlahan apologised if she upset Mr Waddell and Cr O'Malley had apologised for snorting during submitter Sarah Ramsay's presentation, who also opposed the Smooth Hill landfill. Mrs Ramsay stopped her presentation to chastise poor behaviour, saying ''I don't appreciate councillors laughing at me''. Both councillors said they were irked at submitters peddling incorrect information on Smooth Hill put forward by election candidates. So what was different about this year's long term plan hearing? Three councillors have pointed to an unusual set of circumstances, which meant the hearing was held in election year instead of halfway through the council term. In 2024, the Dunedin City Council deferred its long-term-plan a year amid uncertainty about transport funding and Three Waters reform. On top of this, mayoral candidate Andrew Simms launched an early, well-funded campaign for office in January, which was in full swing as long-term-plan hearings began. This meant the usual diet of earnest appeals for council to build more cycleways and improve playgrounds has been spiced up with a healthy helping of political point-scoring. Mr Simms has been vocal in his opposition to the council's planned $92.4m landfill at Smooth Hill, near Brighton - ads from his Future Dunedin campaign have said waste should be sent to an existing, privately operated site in Winton. Mr Waddell and Mrs Ramsay happened to be making submissions about the topic which has so far dominated the election year. Clearly Mr Simms' campaign had hit a nerve and, when his talking points were recounted by others during the hearing, councillors were drawn into debate as they tried to explain the council's position. Cr O'Malley said there was little point in having hearings if ''misinformation and political manoeuvring'' entered the process. ''Having these hearings during an election year has resulted in some presenters coming... armed with positions put forward by council and mayoral candidates that are factually incorrect,'' Cr O'Malley in turn said. ''When those presenters are informed the position is incorrect, some have then doubled down and some have been very casual in their language to councillors.'' Cr Houlahan said she was frustrated at the amount of false information ''being pushed'' by election candidates. Cr Sophie Barker said she was unhappy the long-term plan was being done in an election year. ''There's too much politics entering into the process and too many distractions for people,'' she said. ''It also means that we sign off the plan, then go straight into an election - the next council could quickly change the plan and budget.'' A defining point of last week's hearing came on its final day, when Mr Dippie and Mr Simms butted heads over the Smooth Hill landfill. Mr Dippie called Future Dunedin's ads opposing the landfill ''wild, alarmist [and] extremist'' trying to ''be populist'' ahead of the election. He told councillors he and Mr Simms had exchanged ''colourful'' emails on the matter. In response, Mr Simms read from Mr Dippie's colourful emails. ''Just look at the lack of talent and the general weirdness and wokeness of some of the present councillors - probably the best money they have ever been on and ever will be,'' Mr Simms read, before Cr Bill Acklin raised a point of order, upheld by the mayor. Mr Dippie told the ODThe received unusual responses when he later apologised to councillors. Some of replies to his apology included: ''I totally agree with your weird and woke comment, no apology needed from me'' and ''Thanks for your email. No offence taken. Your submission was so refreshing thank you. It was great.'' Cr Steve Walker said: ''I'm hard to offend Allan, so no issue from me. To be honest, I've begun taking it as a compliment being referred to as woke!'' Mr Simms said he was surprised some councillors had supported Mr Dippie's comments though long-term-plan decisions would ''inevitably'' be impacted by the looming election, he said. ''I can absolutely see that Mr Dippie's personal attack on me will have suited some of them who may feel threatened by my campaign, but that doesn't excuse them condoning that type of language and that type of behaviour. ''I have no doubt that some of the hostility that I received during those hearings... was as a result of being a candidate essentially - it's human nature, isn't it?'' Future Dunedin had no sitting councillors, which gave them the ability to focus on campaigning earlier, Mr Simms said. ''And I guess to try and establish a profile, particularly in respect to the big issues that are facing the city.'' One of those issues he had established a profile on was the Smooth Hill landfill, which he acknowledged he and Mr Dippie had ''very different'' views on. ''I'm still yet to understand why Allan found it necessary to launch a scathing attack on myself and candidates and sitting councillors in order to express that view. Cr Lee Vandervis said the ''spat'' between Mr Dippie and Mr Simms was an entertaining look into how ''some wealthy people viewed elected representatives''. Last year, council chief executive Sandy Graham had found a single word to express a similar view to Mr Dippie's, Cr Vandervis said, referring to an ODT article last year which revealed Ms Graham had referred to the mayor and councillors as ''f... tards''. Hearing chairman Mr Radich was blamed by some councillors for allowing poor behaviour. The hearing's constant obstruction was Mr Radich's ''general incompetence... and the mystery and inconsistency of his rulings'', Cr David Benson-Pope said. ''After a term as mayor things ain't coming together.'' Cr Steve Walker said departure from previous LTP hearings was on Mr Radich. ''Councillor conduct is only EVER as good as the chair's ability to run a good meeting.'' Cr Lee Vandervis said the mayor yielded to ''precious sensitivities of councillors'' by allowing rudeness towards submitters critical of council. Mr Radich said it was disappointing to see some councillors blame him as chairman, rather than taking personal responsibility for their own behaviour. ''But my focus remains on the big issues facing our city. Submitters' concerns raised about councillor conduct were addressed at the time, he said. ''I encourage councillors to learn from this and avoid repeating the types of behaviour that disrupt meetings and erode the confidence our community should have in us all.'' Cr Barker said elected members lack of respect was a low-point and Cr Benson-Pope said there was certainly more poor behaviour from councillors than previous long-term-plan hearings. Cr Kevin Gilbert said despite a few lapses, councillor conduct was broadly fine. ''I am still perplexed at the ease with which points of order get raised from some seats, and with the freedom that opinion and fact can get confused.'' In an email sent to staff after the hearing, Cr Christine Garey commended them and said: ''elected members could well take a leaf out of your book''. Despite being critical of their peers' conduct, several councillors noted the high quality and variety of submissions and speakers who broadly understanding finances were stretched across households, organisations and the council alike. Council deliberations on the long-term-plan will run from May 26-29. The plan is expected to be formally adopted in June.
Otago Daily Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Councillors agreed with Dippie's email insults
A prominent Dunedin businessman has apologised for calling councillors weird, woke and out of their depth. Allan Dippie's views about councillors were contained in an email exchange when he butted heads with mayoral candidate and fellow businessman Andrew Simms over the planned $100 million Smooth Hill landfill south of Brighton. Mr Dippie yesterday said he had had an "unusual response from the councillors in terms of them telling me that they weren't offended". Instead, they backed his support for the Smooth Hill landfill, he said. The commentary in the emails, which both businessmen have now shared with the Otago Daily Times , "was kind of a bit of private banter", Mr Dippie said. "I did have the graciousness to apologise. "I apologised to the councillors, and then I got a whole lot of councillors backing me. Mr Dippie shared texts and emails he had received from councillors in response to his apology , which included: "I totally agree with your weird and woke comment, no apology needed from me ... " And: "Thanks for your email. No offence taken. Your submission was so refreshing thank you. It was great." Cr Steve Walker said: "I'm hard to offend Allan, so no issue from me. To be honest, I've begun taking it as a compliment being referred to as woke!" Mr Dippie's emails — in which he said Mr Simms had been "hijacked by both the existing landfill operators and some alarmist Nimbys" — questioned both the quality of the Future Dunedin ticket that Mr Simms assembled for the October election as well as the present crop of councillors. "Just look at the lack of talent and the general weirdness and wokeness of some of the present councillors, probably the best money they have ever been on and ever will be," Mr Dippie wrote. "The scary thing is these individuals are sometimes in charge of decisions way beyond their capability. "It's probably cruel." The email exchange included Mr Dippie's brother Martin Dippie and council chief executive Sandy Graham copied in. Mr Dippie said yesterday he copied in the chief executive as a courtesy. Mr Simms said yesterday the fact Ms Graham was copied into the emails was why they were now public. However, he "immediately pushed back" on Mr Dippie's characterisation of both prospective councillors and sitting councillors because it was "really unfair". "I think the 'private banter' argument kind of disappears when you start copying the chief executive of the DCC into emails." Mr Simms said he wanted a discussion of the merits of building a landfill at Smooth Hill compared with transporting waste to AB Lime's landfill at Winton, but Mr Dippie had made his criticism of this through an "attack" calling Mr Simms' position "populist electioneering" and claiming he had been captured by those with a vested interest. "The affordability of rates is going to be a big issue this election, as is the mounting core council debt," Mr Simms said. "And both of those things are contributed to significantly by a decision to spend $100 million on a landfill when there is an option that doesn't seem to have received sufficient consideration." Ms Graham did not respond to ODT questions yesterday. A council spokesman said "it was not a staff matter". However, Cr Mandy Mayhem said there were "some great minds" around the council table. "I am sure Mr Dippie is embarrassed about his remarks." Cr Carmen Houlahan said she appreciated Mr Dippie's comments about Smooth Hill at the hearings. "His comments are unacceptable but need to be taken in context that they were private communication between him and Andrew Simms," she said. It did a disservice to the community when a project was being "slammed for the purpose of electioneering", Cr Bill Acklin said. "I think the greater concern for the community is expensive advertisements containing individuals' opinions being delivered as if they were facts." Cr Sophie Barker said she was pleased to receive "and accept" Mr Dippie's apology, which celebrated councillors' diversity. Cr Andrew Whiley said he did not believe Mr Dippie owed councillors an apology. Cr Brent Weatherall said everyone was entitled to an opinion and it was "sad" Mr Dippie felt the need to apologise..
Otago Daily Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Dippie apologises for comments
A prominent Dunedin businessman has apologised for calling councillors weird, woke and out of their depth. Allan Dippie's views about councillors were contained in an email exchange when he butted heads with mayoral candidate and fellow businessman Andrew Simms over the planned $100 million Smooth Hill landfill south of Brighton. Mr Dippie yesterday said he had had an "unusual response from the councillors in terms of them telling me that they weren't offended". Instead, they backed his support for the Smooth Hill landfill, he said. The commentary in the emails, which both businessmen have now shared with the Otago Daily Times , "was kind of a bit of private banter", Mr Dippie said. "I did have the graciousness to apologise. "I apologised to the councillors, and then I got a whole lot of councillors backing me. Mr Dippie shared texts and emails he had received from councillors in response to his apology , which included: "I totally agree with your weird and woke comment, no apology needed from me ... " And: "Thanks for your email. No offence taken. Your submission was so refreshing thank you. It was great." Cr Steve Walker said: "I'm hard to offend Allan, so no issue from me. To be honest, I've begun taking it as a compliment being referred to as woke!" Mr Dippie's emails — in which he said Mr Simms had been "hijacked by both the existing landfill operators and some alarmist Nimbys" — questioned both the quality of the Future Dunedin ticket that Mr Simms assembled for the October election as well as the present crop of councillors. "Just look at the lack of talent and the general weirdness and wokeness of some of the present councillors, probably the best money they have ever been on and ever will be," Mr Dippie wrote. "The scary thing is these individuals are sometimes in charge of decisions way beyond their capability. "It's probably cruel." The email exchange included Mr Dippie's brother Martin Dippie and council chief executive Sandy Graham copied in. Mr Dippie said yesterday he copied in the chief executive as a courtesy. Mr Simms said yesterday the fact Ms Graham was copied into the emails was why they were now public. However, he "immediately pushed back" on Mr Dippie's characterisation of both prospective councillors and sitting councillors because it was "really unfair". "I think the 'private banter' argument kind of disappears when you start copying the chief executive of the DCC into emails." Mr Simms said he wanted a discussion of the merits of building a landfill at Smooth Hill compared with transporting waste to AB Lime's landfill at Winton, but Mr Dippie had made his criticism of this through an "attack" calling Mr Simms' position "populist electioneering" and claiming he had been captured by those with a vested interest. "The affordability of rates is going to be a big issue this election, as is the mounting core council debt," Mr Simms said. "And both of those things are contributed to significantly by a decision to spend $100 million on a landfill when there is an option that doesn't seem to have received sufficient consideration." Ms Graham did not respond to ODT questions yesterday. A council spokesman said "it was not a staff matter". However, Cr Mandy Mayhem said there were "some great minds" around the council table. "I am sure Mr Dippie is embarrassed about his remarks." Cr Carmen Houlahan said she appreciated Mr Dippie's comments about Smooth Hill at the hearings. "His comments are unacceptable but need to be taken in context that they were private communication between him and Andrew Simms," she said. It did a disservice to the community when a project was being "slammed for the purpose of electioneering", Cr Bill Acklin said. "I think the greater concern for the community is expensive advertisements containing individuals' opinions being delivered as if they were facts." Cr Sophie Barker said she was pleased to receive "and accept" Mr Dippie's apology, which celebrated councillors' diversity. Cr Andrew Whiley said he did not believe Mr Dippie owed councillors an apology. Cr Brent Weatherall said everyone was entitled to an opinion and it was "sad" Mr Dippie felt the need to apologise..
