Latest news with #LGOIMA
Scoop
6 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Councillor Challenges West Coast Council Over Secrecy
A West Coast regional councillor is challenging the council's refusal to reveal the credentials of people who work for it. Brett Cummings, who chairs the council's Resource Management Committee, asked the council in March for details of the professional qualifications of Commissioners and a planner engaged by the council to work on the region's new district plan - Te Tai o Poutini Plan (TTPP). The Greymouth goldminer represents his council on the TTPP working group and has protested regularly over its mounting costs and rules he considers too restrictive. 'It's supposed to be an enabling plan, customised for the Coast but the planners have taken over and I wanted to know to know how qualified they are and in what fields'. Cr Cummings made his request under the provisions of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA). But the council's quarterly summary of LGOIMA requests showed it was rejected on privacy grounds. Under the Act, councils can withhold information to protect the privacy of 'natural persons'', including the dead. Cr Cummings says that makes no sense in this case. 'These are professional people and we are paying them and the council should be open about their backgrounds and their qualifications.' The councillor has since found the information he wanted both online and in the council's public documents. Principal planner Lois Easton formally recorded her credentials with the TTPP committee at the beginning of the plan project. Her LinkedIn profile describes her as an environmental scientist with 25 years' experience advising government and not for profit organisations. And a quick Google search reveals her bio as a member of the Hawke's Bay Conservation Board, with an MSc degree in environmental planning and botany. The credentials of the five TTPP commissioners are also readily available online. Cr Cummings says council staff appear confused about the meaning of privacy, as it applies under LGOIMA. 'If the information is publicly available and our council staff are citing privacy – you have to wonder why.' The LGOIMA report shows the council rejected several other information requests on privacy grounds, and those decisions should be reviewed, Cr Cummings said. The West Coast Regional Council received 27 LGOIMA requests over the quarter and granted 13 of them in full. Ten were granted in part, with remaining questions declined. Privacy grounds were cited in three other cases. Information requested about the Taylorville Resource Park and its monitoring was partly withheld on grounds of privacy, maintenance of the law, legal privilege and to protect the free and frank exchange of information by or to council officers. A request about the Te Kinga pest control aerial poison drop was refused in part to 'protect staff and contractors from improper pressure or harassment." Another, about compliance monitoring, was declined to protect privacy and the integrity of the council's environmental complaints hotline. Other requests were refused on commercial grounds, or because the information did not exist, or that collating it would require too much work. The council has been approached for comment.
Scoop
14-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Southland Hospital Struggling With ‘Too Small' ED
Problems with the hospital's "too small" emergency department are outlined in information prepared for former Health Minister Shane Reti in December 2024, released to Local Democracy Reporting under the LGOIMA. The three-page document discussed the hospital's struggling emergency department and operating theatres which have been waiting on upgrades since 2021 when funding was allocated. 'Southland Hospital is experiencing significant capacity constraints in ED (emergency department),' the report stated. 'The ED is too small to allow for the efficient flow of patients, this leads to extended times for patients to be placed in a clinical space to be assessed.' A lack of specialised treatment spaces in the department meant it was not complying with relevant standards of 'safe, effective and dignified care', the document said. 'The ED is not equipped to sustainably and safely treat infectious patients.' Meanwhile, demand was only increasing. In 2024, the department was tracking at 2,015 patients per bed compared to recommended targets of between 1,000 - 1,500 A shortfall in theatres was also hitting the hospital hard, with Southland now home to a 'stringent' eligibility criteria and some of the highest thresholds for surgery in the country. At the time the information was prepared in December, there were 1,071 patients waiting more than four months for surgical procedures. High demand for acute and trauma care — especially from Queenstown — was straining resources, it said. Surgeons were not being fully utilised, and a further 90 surgeries could be completed each month if more theatres were created. The initial business case from 2021 estimated a need for two more operating theatres. Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora would not give the current budget for upgrades to the hospital, but said $3 million had previously been allocated for theatre capacity and $5 million for emergency department expansion. The combined $8 million is deemed insufficient without significant compromises, the document said. A more accurate figure is expected as part of an updated concept design and business case, but it is expected to take a further two years to deliver the upgrades once the case is approved. Issues with sleeping facilities were also noted, as the current arrangement did not satisfy the multi-employer collective agreement. The report said the hospital was built with the expectation the region's population would decrease, but it had done the opposite. It also highlighted pressure resulting from the closure of Invercargill's urgent doctors in March 2024 and a struggle to recruit new GPs. Local Democracy Reporting asked for notes and minutes from a February meeting between Southland District Council and Te Whatu Ora, but none were taken. A spokesperson for Te Whatu Ora said they understood the two parties met regularly.
Otago Daily Times
14-05-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Southland Hospital struggling with 'too small' ED
Problems with Southland Hospital's "too small" emergency department are outlined in information prepared for former Health Minister Shane Reti in December 2024, released to Local Democracy Reporting under the LGOIMA. The three-page document discussed the hospital's struggling emergency department and operating theatres which have been waiting on upgrades since 2021 when funding was allocated. 'Southland Hospital is experiencing significant capacity constraints in ED (emergency department),' the report stated. 'The ED is too small to allow for the efficient flow of patients, this leads to extended times for patients to be placed in a clinical space to be assessed.' A lack of specialised treatment spaces in the department meant it was not complying with relevant standards of 'safe, effective and dignified care', the document said. 'The ED is not equipped to sustainably and safely treat infectious patients.' Meanwhile, demand was only increasing. In 2024, the department was tracking at 2015 patients per bed compared to recommended targets of between 1000 - 1500 A shortfall in theatres was also hitting the hospital hard, with Southland now home to a 'stringent' eligibility criteria and some of the highest thresholds for surgery in the country. At the time the information was prepared in December, there were 1071 patients waiting more than four months for surgical procedures. High demand for acute and trauma care — especially from Queenstown — was straining resources, it said. Surgeons were not being fully utilised, and a further 90 surgeries could be completed each month if more theatres were created. The initial business case from 2021 estimated a need for two more operating theatres. Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora would not give the current budget for upgrades to the hospital, but said $3 million had previously been allocated for theatre capacity and $5 million for emergency department expansion. The combined $8 million is deemed insufficient without significant compromises, the document said. A more accurate figure is expected as part of an updated concept design and business case, but it is expected to take a further two years to deliver the upgrades once the case is approved. Issues with sleeping facilities were also noted, as the current arrangement did not satisfy the multi-employer collective agreement. The report said the hospital was built with the expectation the region's population would decrease, but it had done the opposite. It also highlighted pressure resulting from the closure of Invercargill's urgent doctors in March 2024 and a struggle to recruit new GPs. Local Democracy Reporting asked for notes and minutes from a February meeting between Southland District Council and Te Whatu Ora, but none were taken. A spokesperson for Te Whatu Ora said they understood the two parties met regularly. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
NZ Herald
27-04-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
86,787 reasons to keep Napier Library open: Mary Anne Eyles
Between February 2024 and February 2025, 86,787 people entered the library. That's 238 people a day, most of who will miss out or disconnect if the library closes, despite the city council considering trialling click and collect or making the mobile van more available. Taradale is too far away for too many people. Library staff issued 29,122 books and users self-issued 60,241. That's 89,363 reasons (244 a day) to keep the library open until the new library is ready. Here are some more: internet use totalled 136,829 sessions by library users. Seventy-five events, such as baby bounce and story time, were held involving 913 children and 668 adults. (These figures were provided through a LGOIMA request to the city council and pertain only to Napier Library). For the council to decide, after all this time, that the MTG site is not the right building or location from a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) perspective is a bit rich after moving there in 2017. That security has become an issue with an increase in antisocial behaviour requiring security guards to be employed is not new. Security guards were needed at the Station St site pre-2017. Security and its extra costs are incurred at many facilities and businesses in our city. This issue is not the fault of the library, it is a wider concern for the city council, social services and police. To imply this is a factor in the proposed closure is scaremongering. The city council should make a more concerted effort to stop the antisocial behaviour rather than punish the library staff and users. Will plans be in place to ensure this doesn't become an issue again at the new site? The annual plan consultation document states on page 20, 'an extra benefit of the earlier interim closure is this will give us more time for moving to the new library'. But the new library won't be ready for at least two years. How much time is actually needed? Will there be sufficient qualified librarians left to do the job? Word has it that some staff have left already. In the same document (page 22), under 'Update on Napier's new library', the following is written: 'Modern libraries complement and fill gaps that online information sources can't provide.' And '… it will support the educational, cultural and creative life of our community." Does this not happen now in our present library? Of course it does. There are many more reasons to keep the library open for the benefit of Napier city. The other council facilities in the firing line all have a tourist component and generate income. It is interesting to note the MTG, with free entry, does not even feature in any of these proposals and it is totally funded by ratepayers, just like the library. It is significant the library is the only facility in these proposals that is solely for Napier ratepayers. These vital functions and connections must remain for our Napier community until the scheduled move to the new space begins. And when that happens, we need our qualified staff on hand to make this transition. It is unbelievable that the city council considers a saving of $600,000 outweighs the immense contributions and benefits our library provides to the welfare of our Napier ratepayers.
Scoop
22-04-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Meatworks And Council Clam Up Over West Coast Effluent Breach
Article – Lois Williams – Local Democracy Reporter The company told the council this month that it had exceeded that limit on April 7. But it has declined to answer further questions about why it was unable to stick to the consented limit. The owners of the Kokiri meatworks are refusing to answer questions about the latest breach of its resource consent while the matter is under investigation by the West Coast Regional Council. ANZCO Foods Ltd was prosecuted by the council and fined $60,000 in the Greymouth District Court this month for submitting false and misleading monitoring reports about its effluent discharges. Kokiri is permitted to release 6,100 cubic metres of wastewater a day from its oxidation pond into the Arnold River. The effluent includes wastewater from toilets, stock wash-down facilities and the plant itself. The company told the council this month that it had exceeded that limit on April 7. But it has declined to answer further questions about why it was unable to stick to the consented limit. LDR asked the company how the excess effluent release happened, whether the oxidation pond flooded and whether it had plans to enlarge its system or take other steps to avoid repeats. In court, the company said its previous misreporting was down to 'a serious lapse of judgement' by one employee and it had new systems in place to ensure accurate monitoring and reporting. LDR has asked if that meant Kokiri would simply do a better job of reporting its consent breaches in future rather than take steps to prevent them. The company's communications manager Janet Wright responded: 'The event you're inquiring about is an open event with the Regional Council and as such we're unable to comment on it.' The Regional Council has declined to say by how much Kokiri exceeded its allowable effluent discharge on April 7, because it is in the throes of investigating the breach. The council did say that its records showed the company had exceeded counts in its releases three times between 2017 and 2023. LDR has asked under the LGOIMA (Official Information Act) whether the West Coast Regional Council will review the conditions of Kokiri's resource consent. – LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
