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Otago Daily Times
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Letters to the Editor: water, Israel and lefties
Today's Letters to the Editor from readers cover topics including the critical issue of water, seismic shifts around Israel/Palestine, and where have the old lefties gone? Water meeting could be watershed moment The CDC Southern Water Done Well Decision Meeting today will be a well-attended meeting by the public, I suspect. Hilary Calvert's opinion piece ( ODT 19.6.25) is a good assessment of the critical issue of water. The Clutha Council's preferred Jointly Council Controlled Organisation led by Mayor Bryan Cadogan is opposed by the majority of submitters supported by a couple of public groups who have had several meetings and expressed considered opinions through social media. I along with 24 others gave oral submissions to support our written ones, as requested by our council. The CDC oral submissions delivered the council a strong opposition to CCOs. The mayor's reaction to submitter, Phil Barrett, accusing him of manipulating the process by organising public meetings and helping others with their submissions was astounding ( ODT 26.6.25). Is the Clutha District under mayor Cadogan a separatist enclave of New Zealand where free speech and freedom of association is not allowed? If the mayor thinks he can operate under authoritarian rules, I suggest he consider an early and immediate retirement. None of their business Dunedin City Council has no business writing letters to support a party in government backing sanctions against Israel. ( ODT 3.7.25). They have no business even discussing wars in other countries in council time. This is a personal conscience issue and councillors represent a wide constituency with many personal views on issues of wars across the world. They are not representing the views of all their constituents, only their own beliefs on the issue. They are also inadvertently forcing members of council to reveal their own beliefs or perhaps vote against their own beliefs if worried this may affect them in the next elections or peer pressure. Councillors are free to form action groups for world issues they feel strongly about in their own time, not the ratepayers' time. It is their business Like many, I too shared the anger and utter disappointment reading the letter the mayor sent to the PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was a disgraceful letter. But I'm writing to let you know that regardless of how many sand bags the Zionists and their accomplices try to stack in an attempt to mend the wall, the massive tides of change are already in motion. No-one can unsee what they witness unfolding in Gaza. Thankfully the majority of the world's population have a heart and a conscience. Have you seen the millions of people marching around the world? What was once only known to few who dared to look into the occupation is now common knowledge. Even in Israel/Palestine there are more and more voices refusing to be silenced and bullied any longer. Manipulate words all you want, it won't change a thing. The seismic shifts are here. You were backing on the wrong horse. Experience matters I can think of no more compelling argument for at least one term of "councillor" experience, than our present dithering, dismissive, evasive prime minister, completely out of his depth. Of course, at least one term of council experience should be a pre-requisite required of any mayoral candidate, especially given the degree of dysfunctionality and entrenched opposition he, (or she), is likely to encounter. Freedom, fairness and those old-time lefties Gerrard Eckhoff was correct when he crowed ( ODT 3.6.25) "Whoever said life was meant to be fair other than the good ole boys of the Left." He will be pleased to see the old lefties have long gone as a political force. Sadly, cheap government housing loans for families on modest incomes went with them. In their place we have a Labour Party leader who asserted proudly that he would ensure food banks remained as part of the infrastructure by funding them. He still doesn't get it what a massive betrayal of the Left that was. He and the new so-called Left also appear to see nothing wrong in significant numbers of the working poor lining up at food banks, and nothing callous about low-paid workers living in cars and tents in winter because they cannot afford rents. This gross insensitivity appears to be the way the good ole boys on the Right and the phony new boys on the Left want it. Someone said the defining difference between two countries was that America valued freedom where New Zealand valued fairness. But that was a long time ago. Opening fire How can Future Dunedin fire Rob Hamlin for complaining about karakia and then its leader Andrew Simms comes out against Māori wards and mana whenua on committees. This is the problem with teams. Members could now be tainted by their leaders' actions whether they agree with it or not. I would not be surprised if this causes division in the ranks given Bex Twemlow came out so strongly against Rob's comments. Bring back Rob I say, he's been treated unfairly. One rule for the leader, another for Rob. Mayoral candidate — Dunedin [Andrew Simms and Rebecca (Bex) Twemlow reply: "As a sitting councillor Cr Houlahan should consider applying her efforts to address the problems in front of Dunedin city rather than concerning herself with the machinations of Future Dunedin. At a recent South Dunedin hui, Cr Houlahan approached me aggressively while I was speaking with residents proclaiming that I was 'wasting my time' advocating for action to deal with flooding in South Dunedin 'because councillors had no power'. . I fully accept that I do not understand mana whenua's position on representation at the council table, particularly their resistance to a Māori ward for Dunedin and the preference for unelected committee positions instead. My mistake was opening my mouth without a full understanding of Te ao Māori, something I am very keen to understand and learn about. I remain very uneasy about unelected council positions, not just those set aside for mana whenua. I am committed to Te Tiriti and to improving representation for tangata whenua on council. This includes our promotion of Bruce Ranga, an outstanding representative who should gain a council seat on his own merit. Andrew Simms, mayoral candidate — Dunedin Carmen is reaching a new level of ridiculous here. Two facts: Dr Rob Hamlin was removed because his comments were racist and harmful; Andrew Simms isn't against mana whenua or Te Tiriti, his comments were about the structure of representation, not the principles behind it. I stand alongside Andrew 100% and I stand by our decision. Rebecca (Bex) Twemlow, council candidate — Dunedin.] Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@
Otago Daily Times
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
A sad sign of the times
It's a perennial question which becomes even more insistent at this stage of the three-year cycle: Why would anyone want to be a local body councillor? Many who sit back comfortably and let someone else do it undoubtedly have inklings as to why they wouldn't get involved. Thank goodness then for those who are courageous or foolhardy or even egocentric enough to want to have their names out there publicly. Like in all politics, serving as a city, district or regional councillor comes with a heavy price to an individual's privacy and ability to live as a regular citizen. Walking down the street at the weekend, enjoying being part of an anonymous throng and simply running errands, going out for a quiet meal or a few drinks with mates it all becomes nigh-on impossible, particularly in smaller communities. And then that banter from the public on your "day off" turns into something more annoying, complaints from a resident about rates rises or the drains outside their house, money being spent on cycleways or something which isn't even a council but a central government responsibility. Before you know it, that has turned into overt aggression. Angry people in your face, leaving repeated and intimidating messages on your cellphone, even knocking on your front door and threatening violence, because they didn't like the way you voted on something. Some years ago, you might have read about such actions overseas and tutted. Unfortunately, it's here now as well. Back to that question of why someone might want to stand as a councillor. For the status, the kudos? Possible, but unlikely. For the money? Also pretty unlikely. For the chance to make changes for the better for one's community? Most likely. When people engage with such altruistic intentions, it seems even more egregious that their personal safety should be jeopardised. Yet this is what has been increasingly happening around the country in recent years. The South is not immune to such childish, worrisome behaviour. Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan has had angry constituents at his door, while Clutha district Lawrence-Tuapeka ward councillor Jock Martin received a threatening voicemail message calling him the n-word over rates relief for Mâori land. Abusive behaviour has also been directed at a Central Otago District Council representative. Elsewhere, three-term Nelson mayor Rachel Reese was confronted by a man with a nail gun inside her house. Nobody should be subjected to such vitriol. Councillors are not always going to be able to make decisions everybody agrees with. Mr Cadogan says times have changed, and not for the better. When he was elected as a councillor in 1998, he says such behaviour would have been "inconceivable", but now it happens regularly. Local Government New Zealand has now approved a home-security allowance for elected members to offset potential personal harassment. Councillors are entitled to up to $4500 to install a security system with another $1000 for annual maintenance. This is a good idea. It should never have got to this stage, but our councillors deserve to have an extra layer of protection in such angry days. We have to hope that ongoing harassment and intimidation simmers down and does not put people off standing for local councils. New era for science? After many years of discussion and complaint about New Zealand's old and creaking public science sector, and unnecessary competition, much-awaited changes kicked into life this week. Gone are the seven Crown research institutes. Instead, we have a refocused CRI in the form of the Public Health and Forensic Science Institute and two mega-sized public research organisations, Earth Sciences New Zealand and the Bioeconomy Science Institute. The alterations are long overdue, given the CRIs were established in the 1992 science reforms. However, it remains to be seen how much will really change. The New Zealand Association of Scientists warns the new PROs statements of purpose make it clear the three are still commercially oriented, "just bigger". The concern is the two big new entities could end up feeling more like the supermarket duopoly than the solution to the country's research needs. Time will tell.
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."
Otago Daily Times
26-06-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Our community champions
The Clutha Community Hub Charitable Trust and Committee are presented the Supreme Award at the Clutha Community Service Awards at TPŌMA last week by members of the Clutha District Council. PHOTO: SUPPLIED The Clutha District Council announced the winners of the 2025 Clutha Community Service Awards last Wednesday to honour the groups and individuals who go above and beyond to make a positive difference in their community. Presented at Te Pou Ō Mata-Au, Clutha District War Memorial and Community Centre (TPŌMA), the Supreme Award went to Clutha Community Hub Charitable Trust and Committee. "This a great opportunity for our district to acknowledge the passion and pride people put into their community," Mayor Bryan Cadogan said. "Communities are defined by their champions who drive projects and make real differences that we all benefit from." Formed in 2016, the Hub Charitable Trust and Committee were formed with "a goal to develop a place to celebrate local identity and heritage, and bring people together to connect, grow, and thrive". The resulting TPŌMA civic centre is "a facility that pays tribute to the past while boldly embracing the future". Other groups acknowledged for their contribution this year included Clutha Budget Advisory Service, Lawrence Creative Arts, Tapanui Toy Library and Milton Area Promotions. Local individuals recognised for dedication and commitment to their communities included Benji Perry, Jess Paul, Geoff Blackmore and Elizabeth Jenkinson. Year 13 students who demonstrated "great volunteer mahi" were recognised with Youth Spirit award, given this year to Annaliese Bisset and Maddie Grinton. "The awards remind us of the remarkable generosity, dedication, and heart that exists within our communities," council's community support and development adviser Lilly Paterson said. "It was a privilege to celebrate the individuals, students, and groups whose tireless volunteer work often goes unnoticed, yet has such a lasting impact. These are the people who make Clutha a stronger, more connected place to live — and we are proud to acknowledge and thank them," Ms Paterson said. Each community group winner received $1000, and the supreme winner received an additional $2000. Keep reading future editions of the Clutha Leader for a closer look at this year's hard-working winners and details of their impact on the area.
