Latest news with #Kircher
Otago Daily Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Council pulls out of proposed water CCO
"I was surprised at how one-sided it was," Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher told the ODT after a surprise U-turn by the Waitaki District Council, which has voted to withdraw from a proposed joint water services company with three neighbouring Otago councils, opting instead to manage its water services independently — at least for the next two years. The decision, made at a council meeting in Oamaru yesterday, overturns the council's previous unanimous support for establishing a shared council-controlled organisation (CCO) with the Clutha, Central Otago and Gore District Councils under the "Southern Water Done Well" initiative. Only Mr Kircher and Cr Jim Hopkins, Waitaki's longest-serving councillor, voted in favour of pursuing the joint CCO model. Mr Kircher was shocked by the turn of events. "We've shared a lot of information on the various aspects of it. We were further advanced with the southern group of councils than with the South Canterbury one, and that was really due to just being far more motivated in the South, but councillors have given their reasons for their particular decisions and that's democracy. "Now the focus is on delivering a water services delivery plan to DIA [Department of Internal Affairs] in September and we will see what they do with that." Public consultation across the four councils drew in over 1000 submissions, 57.5% favouring the in-house business unit model, the preferred option in Waitaki (54%) and Clutha, while only 26.7% supported the joint CCO, most popular in Gore and Central Otago. A series of statements from Waitaki councillors at the meeting pointed to the opposition to the Southern Water Done Well concept, making it difficult listening for the mayors of the other councils involved, who sat grim-faced as one councillor after another shot down the idea of a joint CCO. Cr Tim Blackler's summary did not pull any punches. "Southern Water Done Well was the last cab off the rank, no-one wants a ride on it and if we believe the consultation to be some sort of litmus test for community feelings, which I do, then the feedback was clear ... There was a resounding call to keep it local ..." A joint statement from Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley, Gore District Mayor Ben Bell and Clutha District Mayor Bryan Cadogan was issued after the meeting. "While acknowledging that councils must make decisions they feel are in the best interests of their communities, we believe a jointly owned council-controlled organisation remains the best option for water services delivery in the future. "The government has been quite clear about its expectations for councils to work together to deliver Local Water Done Well legislation. "Southern Water Done Well meets those expectations and sets a strategic long-term direction for delivering financially sustainable, efficient water services while retaining local control. "When considering next steps, councils will need to be mindful of whether alternative options comply with government regulations and expectations." The Clutha and Central Otago District Councils meet tomorrow to decide their water services delivery model, while the Gore District Council's meeting is on Monday.
Otago Daily Times
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
No go on Oamaru-Dunedin bus link
Hopes of Oamaru getting a direct bus service to Dunedin have been dashed for now, after the Otago Regional Council last week discarded proposals to establish a link. Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher had lobbied strongly for the regional council to provide a bus service to Oamaru during its recent annual plan submissions but said he recognised the challenges of funding it. "There's a lot of calls from other areas wanting to expand their services. For us, obviously, it's about starting a service and it's really difficult if the co-funder, (Waka Kotahi) NZTA, doesn't have the money there. "Fundamentally, that's the issue and it's something that the government has to address because it's causing issues not just with public transport, but with projects everywhere. "It would just be too expensive if ORC paid for the whole thing themselves without the co-funding. It would just be too costly on our ratepayers." Mr Kircher had also submitted to the regional council about providing a connecter service between central Oamaru and the North End. He told the Oamaru Mail that was a service that would need to be funded by ORC, not the district council. "Again, it would come at a cost and public transport doesn't cover its costs, unfortunately. So, there has to be some other money coming from somewhere and with all of the pressure on rates, that'd be a difficult thing for the [district] council to be able to underwrite. It is a regional council responsibility." Mr Kircher said he was meeting with regional council representatives and would be talking about what other opportunities there might be to "make something happen". ORC chairwoman Gretchen Robertson said the council remained committed to connecting Oamaru. "Some regional upgrades will not happen due to co-funding gaps but we're committed to finding ways to improve connectivity options for Ōamaru, Balclutha and Central Otago." "The transport planning team will be investigating the cost and viability of connecting Oamaru to the existing Dunedin services, which currently terminate at Palmerston," she told the Oamaru Mail. "There are a range of ways to do this — through traditional public transport, or community-based transport services. "The investigative work the team will undertake will look at a range of options, including ones based on co-funding and ones not reliant on co-funding. Any decisions on funding additional services will be subject to future decisions through annual plans or long-term plans." Transport Minister Chris Bishop said public transport was funded from both public and private revenue sources, noting government funding for public transport in Otago has increased from $90 million to $125m. "Private share refers to the proportion of funding that comes from private sources, including fares paid by passengers, advertising on buses, bus stops, trains, train stations, as well as other commercial opportunities like renting or leasing commercial space," he said. "The Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024 (GPS 2024) sets the expectation that there will be increases in private share revenue to support the growing operational costs for public transport, as well as to reduce the burden on ratepayers and taxpayers. "Under the previous government the private share revenue dropped as low as 10%, meaning far more of the costs had to be covered by taxpayers and ratepayers. "To reach agreement on targets, NZTA asked PTAs (public transport authorities) to show they had considered methods appropriate to each region that did not drive adverse outcomes such as patronage decline. Actions considered include reviews of fare policy, regular fare increases and third-party revenue sources. As a result, targets for the next three years have now been agreed. "NZTA is committed to working with Public Transport Authorities to ensure a reliable and resilient public transport system for everyone. Increasing the private share of public transport expenditure can help contribute to this goal and I expect PTAs to continue working collaboratively with NZTA." ORC rates to increase 5.5% overall With the adoption of the annual plan, ORC rates will increase 5.5% overall in the year ahead. For most in the Waitaki district, it means regional rates will rise 1.72% to $263.93 a year. However, for Waitaki residents in the Palmerston area, the rate rise is more, up 6.18% to $381.33 a year. This is because Palmerston residents have an ORC-funded bus service to Dunedin. However, they will also have to pay increased fares for that bus. From late September, adult fares will rise from $2 to $2.50 (with a Bee card). Children will also have to pay, following another decision ORC councillors made last week, to reintroduce a $1.50 fare for 5 to 18-year-olds.
Otago Daily Times
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Council discards proposal for direct Dunedin to Oamaru bus service
Hopes of Oamaru getting a direct bus service to Dunedin have been dashed for now, after the Otago Regional Council last week discarded proposals to establish a link. Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher had lobbied strongly for the regional council to provide a bus service to Oamaru during its recent annual plan submissions but said he recognised the challenges of funding it. "There's a lot of calls from other areas wanting to expand their services. For us, obviously, it's about starting a service and it's really difficult if the co-funder, [NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi] NZTA, doesn't have the money there. "Fundamentally, that's the issue and it's something that the government has to address because it's causing issues not just with public transport, but with projects everywhere. "It would just be too expensive if ORC paid for the whole thing themselves without the co-funding. It would just be too costly on our ratepayers." Mr Kircher had also submitted to the regional council about providing a connecter service between central Oamaru and the North End. He said the service would need to be funded by ORC, not the district council. "Again, it would come at a cost and public transport doesn't cover its costs, unfortunately. So, there has to be some other money coming from somewhere and with all of the pressure on rates, that'd be a difficult thing for the [district] council to be able to underwrite. It is a regional council responsibility." Mr Kircher said he was meeting with regional council representatives and would be talking about what other opportunities there might be to "make something happen". ORC chairwoman Gretchen Robertson said the council remained committed to connecting Oamaru. "Some regional upgrades will not happen due to co-funding gaps, but we're committed to finding ways to improve connectivity options for Ōamaru, Balclutha and Central Otago," she said. Transport Minister Chris Bishop said public transport was funded from both public and private revenue sources, noting government funding for public transport in Otago has increased from $90 million to $125m. "Private share refers to the proportion of funding that comes from private sources, including fares paid by passengers, advertising on buses, bus stops, trains, train stations, as well as other commercial opportunities like renting or leasing commercial space," he said. "The Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024 [GPS 2024] sets the expectation that there will be increases in private share revenue to support the growing operational costs for public transport, as well as to reduce the burden on ratepayers and taxpayers. "Under the previous government the private share revenue dropped as low as 10%, meaning far more of the costs had to be covered by taxpayers and ratepayers. "To reach agreement on targets, NZTA asked PTAs [public transport authorities] to show they had considered methods appropriate to each region that did not drive adverse outcomes such as patronage decline."
Otago Daily Times
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Letters to the Editor: death, taxes and road cones
Today's Letters to the Editor from readers cover topics including outrage at the protest songs about Gaza, a spokesman for the Trumpian world, and the truth about road cones. Responsible residents make a durable system Although Waitaki Council's preferred option for district water control is a new joint Council Controlled Organisation (CCO company) with Gore, Central Otago and Clutha district councils, a clear majority of Waitaki voted to retain it in-house. As this result did not align with the advice received from Waitaki's economic consultant, Mayor Kircher considers the community may have been misled by a deliberate misinformation campaign ( ODT , 25.6.25). While words like sustainability and resilience are sprinkled about in background assessments, the pros and cons of the options are largely based on economic and engineering considerations, including projections well beyond what can be forecast with any confidence. Besides, compared with the horrifying water rates projected to maintain schemes in a decade, cost differences between options are rounding errors. Such projections are hard for the rural community to swallow when much of their first water schemes there were simply mole-ploughed in by farmers with their tractors. In increasingly uncertain times, a much more reliable basis for a decision is to consider the value of preserving full agency over local resources and services. There may currently be checks in the legislation to retain some council input to CCOs, but these can be extinguished with a stroke. The most resilient and sustainable community is one where the residents understand their systems, and are responsible for establishing and maintaining them. Separate companies are no match for home-grown goodwill and engagement. Could the main reason for public preference for an in-house model be fear a CCO makes it that much easier for this government to weaken and marginalise local government and that that is the underlying agenda of the legislation? Community support Predictably, Don Sinclair fudged the facts ( Letters , 28.6.25). Tahakopa School's board of trustees did reach out to community members for assistance in organising the Tahakopa School Farewell in late March, just as we did with the successful 125-year celebrations held a couple of years prior. The Tahakopa Memorial Hall is the logical choice to receive the locally raised funds from our closed school with the long history of supporting the school by the way of free hall usage. It is now the community's main focus, as only it is large enough to accommodate the whole community and able to cater for district events in traditional Tahakopa style. And, yes I am sure that the good people of the district will support the Tahakopa Hall Board as it continues to improve the hall's facilities, just as good Kiwi country folk have always done. And we're off It has started already. Today's paper ( ODT , 1.7.25) flushed out a splutter of local politicians denying the obvious. Keep pens and paper at hand, folks, for it looks like local body incumbents themselves will make it obvious who to discard come election time. And Yeo, what a classic cartoon. What was that What has the world come to when protest songs at Glastonbury cause more outrage than the ongoing senseless killing, maiming and starvation of the entire population of Gaza? Traffic, rather than road cones should be focus Mid-morning, Portsmouth Dr, Dunedin. The grass down the middle of the road is being mowed. The mower can be seen from some distance, its flashing beacons lighting it up like a UFO. The operator is seated on an elevated platform within the cocoon of a safety canopy. The job is not impinging on the road. Common-sense reveals no foreseeable safety issues and traffic management is not necessary. Yet a truck has been assigned to shadow the mower by driving slowly in the right-hand lane a few metres behind the mower, acting as a rolling road block. It is causing chaos as traffic tries to merge from two lanes to one. Two minutes later, same journey, roundabout at Larnach Rd / Scott St. A tricky spot at the best of times with poor sightlines and two of the three meeting roads being downhill approaches. Suddenly a head pops up from behind a bush in the middle of the roundabout. It is a council gardener on hands and knees. Common sense tells you that they are in a vulnerable position and traffic management is needed. Vehicles crash into roundabouts. A ute is parked on the footpath to the side but does not have its warning beacons activated. There is no traffic management, no warning signs and no speed restriction. We have to stop talking about road cones. Cones are not the problem, merely a symptom of the real problem. When we focus on making jocular remarks about cones we risk trivialising the larger and life threatening issue — the poor standard of temporary traffic management across New Zealand. Inevitable debate on taxes Tony Fitchett ( ODT , 30.6.25) obviously needs some help with comprehension. If you take a good flat land farm once valued at $400 per hectare in 1970, which now has a median value $20,000 per hectare (extremely conservative) the percentage increase is 4900%. If you take a house with a median value in 1975 of $24,300 and compare that with a median house price today of $772,000, the percentage increase is 3000%. Most readers will understand that reality. It may assist Dr Fitchett to understand that the purchasing power of your dollar has diminished due to government-induced inflation, so they will always want more and more of your money. Meantime productivity crashes. Oh, and who ever said that life was meant to be fair, other than the good ole boys of the Left. Three cheers from me to Tony Fitchett for his rebuttal of Gerard Eckhoff's apologia for privilege ( ODT , 9.6.25), echoed in warnings from IRD about tough decisions ahead. New Zealand clearly raises too little revenue compared with Australia and similar countries but from where will the political ability to successfully communicate that come? Tony Fitchett accurately exposes Gerry Eckhoff as a spokesman for the Trumpian dog eat dog world. The last message from the late Pope Francis was, 'Today's builders of Babel tell us that there is no room for losers, and that those who fall along the way are losers. Their's is the construction site of hell.' Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@
Otago Daily Times
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Claim reform benefits being undermined
A "concerted" misinformation campaign around new water reforms is taking the blame for Waitaki residents not believing the benefits of creating a multi-district water company to run things, the mayor says. As part of the government's Local Water Done Well reforms local authorities need to change the way drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services are delivered. In Waitaki, three options are being considered for the future management of water services: in-house; a council-controlled organisation (CCO) wholly owned by the Waitaki District Council; and a joint CCO co-owned with three other councils. Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher said he was concerned about how many submissions might have been affected by the dissemination of wrong information. "It has been very unfortunate that there has been a concerted attempt to provide incorrect information and assumptions to the wider public which have not only misrepresented the actual facts, but they have also contradicted the base facts of the case," Mayor Kircher said in a council report. "It has clearly skewed the results and fed into people's natural concerns about change. "These implications raised by submitters' concerns will need to be considered and they will. "At the end of the day, we must do the best we can for our ratepayers and whether that means retaining water services or giving them up, it is my expectation that every councillor and I will do our best to deliver the best decision for long-term quality and affordability over the next 50 years or more." The council's preferred choice would have Waitaki establish a CCO with the Gore, Central Otago and Clutha District Councils in a proposal called Southern Water Done Well (SWDW). Mr Kircher said economic consultancy Infometrics was employed to "better inform" both councillors and the public about each option, the company's chief economist, Brad Olsen, concluding the SWDW proposal offered "a compelling solution" to the problem. However, mayoral candidate David Wilson said residents had given a clear "keep our waters local" message to the council. "It is insulting to imply that the submitters didn't know what they were talking about. Many of the most knowledgeable and wise people in the district responded. "The message of the people was clear." Just over 300 submissions were received, just half the amount council received during its recent submission period on the district plan. The clear winner in the popularity stakes was the in-house option, which is favoured as the first choice of 54% of submitters. The stand-alone option was favoured by 21% of submitters, the council's preferred SWDW option was favoured by 15% of submitters and 10% favoured the South Canterbury option involving a combined CCO with the Waimate, Timaru and Mackenzie councils. This was included in consultation documents even though none of those councils included Waitaki in their own consultations. Overall, "75% of submitters said they opposed collaboration between councils, with the strongest concern registered as losing local control (83%), followed by lack of transparency (64%), increased costs (60%) and 16% of submitters concerned about changes to water quality", the council 's report said. The Waitaki District Council has conducted deliberations on the proposal over the past two days, advisers from Morrison Low attending yesterday. A final decision will be made at a council meeting on July 8. The water services delivery plan must be submitted to the Department of Internal Affairs by September 3.
