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Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Govt ‘asking a lot' of councils
Steve Walker. PHOTO: ODT FILES At least two Dunedin councillors are not impressed the government is looking to load more costs on to councils through civil defence reforms. Implementing new requirements, updating emergency management plans and engaging with iwi Māori and communities disproportionately affected by disasters are expected to have a four-year cost of about $82.8million. Local Government New Zealand said the government planned to get councils to cover the bill. Cr Steve Walker was one person to observe this was "yet another example in the continuing trend of loading more costs and responsibilities on to councils and expecting ratepayers to pick up the tab". Cr Mandy Mayhem has often been part of community responses north of Dunedin, such as providing food when motorists are stranded. "We've got good people here," she said. "I think the government is asking a lot." Mandy Mayhem. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Cr Mayhem suggested it was unfair to saddle councils with extra costs that would have to be covered by increasing rates. "The government has to stop punishing councils." A Cabinet paper said proposed changes should make the emergency management system stronger by clarifying roles and obligations. In particular, there would be clarity about who was in control during emergencies and accountability at the local level, the paper said. Objectives included enabling a higher minimum standard of emergency management, minimising disruption to essential services and strengthening the participation of communities and iwi Māori in emergency management. Local Government New Zealand chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said imposition of compliance requirements would come with no additional funding. Councils would have to increase rates to cover the extra costs, she said. "Like the government, councils want to keep rates down," Ms Freeman-Greene said. "But rates are the only way they can cover these kinds of costs imposed by central government." The government intends to introduce and pass the Emergency Management Bill during this term of Parliament.
Scoop
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Emergency System Reforms Will Place New Costs On Councils
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) says the Government has signalled emergency system reforms will place new costs on councils – which will lead to higher rates bills. A Cabinet Paper released today estimates the reforms would initially cost councils $82.8 over their first four years. This would cover implementing new requirements, updating civil defence emergency management (CDEM) plans and better engaging with communities and iwi Māori. Councils will receive no additional funding to meet these new compliance requirements. LGNZ Chief Executive Susan Freeman-Greene says these new costs will leave councils with no option other than increasing rates. 'What local government needs is more financial backing from central government to respond to emergency weather events. Councils don't need more costs and compliance measures pushed onto them, that can only be funded from rates,' says Susan Freeman-Greene. 'Communities turn to their councils when disaster hits and the Government expects councils to be responsive to their community's needs. Locally led planning and response is critical, as councils lead their regions and communities through all phases of an emergency. 'As weather events become more frequent and extreme in New Zealand, councils are also increasingly bearing the brunt of emergency events. Currently councils fund civil defence activities through rates, receiving some central government support to respond to and recover from civil defence events. 'The actual bill for councils and their ratepayers could be much higher that the Cabinet paper implies, because it doesn't account for the ongoing resourcing implications of minimum service levels. 'Like the Government, councils want to keep rates down. But rates are the only way they can cover these kinds of costs imposed by central government.' Susan Freeman-Greene believes that a better solution is for the Government to empower councils through a separate funding source for emergency management. 'Last year LGNZ released a set of 25 funding and finance tools that could help councils better resource the infrastructure and services their communities need. "One of these tools was a civil defence levy to help councils fund emergency response efforts and alleviate some of the significant costs they face when responding to extreme weather events and natural disasters. 'This levy, modelled on natural hazards cover, could be included with insurance premiums to support emergency preparedness and response.'
Scoop
10-05-2025
- General
- Scoop
‘It's In Our DNA': Why Aboriginal Cultural Protocol Welcome To Country Is Not Topic For Debate
Welcome to Country is a sacred ceremony practised by the world's oldest continuous cultures- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – dating back 65,000 – 70,000 years. An Aboriginal academic , Māori News Journalist Welcome to Country is a sacred ceremony practised by the world's oldest continuous cultures- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – dating back 65,000 – 70,000 years. An Aboriginal academic says the ancient cultural protocol of Welcome to Country demands genuine understanding and respect and urges Australians to embrace it as a living expression of unceded sovereignty – not a culture war talking point. In Aotearoa, the pōwhiri has long been the formal ritual of welcome. Once used by iwi Māori to assess whether newcomers were friend or foe, today it greets all manuhiri (visitors) onto a marae or place. Every iwi applies its own tikanga and kawa to pōwhiri – from karanga, to whaikōrero. But at its heart it is about extending and receiving manaakitanga (hospitality) and acknowledging the sacred link between people and place. Across the Tasman, Aboriginal peoples maintain a similar tikanga – the Welcome to Country. Delivered by a local Elder whose whakapapa ties them to that land, it too provides spiritual protection and affirms custodial authority. Yet, as recent Anzac Day events in Te Whenua Moemoea revealed, this protocol is increasingly debated and even turned into 'political bait' for the 2025 election. Curtin University senior research fellow Dr Cally Jetta told RNZ there remains 'a lot of resistance and denial' in Australia, as too many would rather 'forget that side of everything and move on' than confront the deep history and responsibilities that a Welcome to Country embodies. What is a Welcome to Country? According to Jetta a Welcome to Country is a way to honour ancient and continuing First Nations customs. 'It's about honouring the fact that you are just one link in a chain. That this land – and the people who have been on it, looking after it – go back generations. Through that welcome, you are offered spiritual and cultural protection. It's a beautiful thing.' She said that 'Country' does not refer to the nation-state of Australia but rather the hundreds of distinct Nations – similar to Aotearoa where different iwi and rohe would have different customs – each with its own language, story and protocol. 'When people say, 'I don't wanna be welcomed to my own country,' we're not talking about the country of Australia,' she said. 'Australia didn't exist as a concept, as a word, as a term, as a nation prior to 1901, and definitely not back in 1788. 'Every single [area] represents a different country, a different cultural group that has different history, different ancestors, different stories, different ways of working with that land and country to look after it.' Jetta said whether it was indigenous people or non-indigenous people, they were all welcomed if they're not from that particular place. Weaponising culture Jetta believes the Welcome to Country has become 'a political tool to weaponise and divide society to win political votes'. 'Blackfellas here are just the poor scapegoats in the middle,' she said. 'And any hate and resistance felt as a result of government initiatives. Don't go back on the government, they come back on Aboriginal people and communities themselves.' Although Labor won the 2025 federal election in a landslide, she said acute social crises were still being overshadowed by persistent anti-Indigenous rhetoric. 'Australia has massive drug issues, massive homelessness. People can't afford to get a house. And yet some political parties, their opening line, 'we're sick of being welcomed to our own country' just shows how hateful and petty politicians can be when they're chasing votes.' She believes Welcome to Country has been 'misinterpreted and deliberately twisted'. 'This isn't something that should be used as a political tool. This is something that should be treated with respect and dignity because it's 70,000 years old, far older than any concept of the nation of Australia.' Solidarity and the road ahead Jetta hopes non-Indigenous Australians recognise that Welcome to Country is part of Australia's collective heritage, not an 'optional extra'. 'It's not just Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and heritage. It's Australian knowledge and heritage.' She said the outcome of the 2023 Voice referendum – a proposal to recognise its First Peoples in the constitution, which was overwhelmingly voted down – had been a major setback. 'We were hoping that we would see that change with the Voice referendum. But it didn't happen. It just means we keep working harder.' Looking forward, Jetta said change would require true allyship from non-indigenous allies. 'We need non-First Nations allies as the dominant majority to stand up and help. When people hear these messages from their own communities, that's when real change happens.' However, she believes the world is at a 'turning point'. 'While we've seen this rise of that hard extremist right-wing rhetoric. We've seen on the other side, the younger generations and those coming through that are just going, no, we don't accept that.' 'It's in our DNA. If we were meant to have rolled over and given up, we would've disappeared by now,' 'We won't stop walking until our grandchildren no longer have to debate their right to be welcomed on their own lands.'
