Latest news with #LGOIMA
Otago Daily Times
06-07-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Poll: OIA request for stadium event costs refused
Christchurch City Council's venue operator has again refused to provide financial details it has with event organisers to split the costs of events at the new $683 million One New Zealand Stadium. The Star requested under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) all reports, documents and correspondence in regards to the split of costs for stadium events between Venues Ōtautahi and event clients. The Star also asked for all written material related to contracts between ratepayer-subsidised Venues Ōtautahi and event clients. Ratepayers are funding the stadium to the tune of $453m. It is scheduled to open in April. The LGOIMA request came after Venues Ōtautahi refused to answer questions in May. Venues Ōtautahi chief executive Caroline Harvie-Teare said the information is 'commercially sensitive.' The Star editor in chief Barry Clarke said ratepayers had a right to know what arrangements had been made, given ratepayers may fund ongoing operational costs when the stadium is up and running, which appears to still be a grey area. "It's all about transparency. Ratepayers are effectively shareholders in the running of the city – the stadium included,' he said. The Star has laid a complaint with the Ombudsman about the refusal to provide the information. Venues Ōtautahi receives grants from the city council to run operations alongside revenue from ticketed events at its venues. The company operates key public venues on behalf of the city council, such as the Christchurch Town Hall, Wolfbrook Arena, Apollo Projects Stadium, and the new stadium. The agency received $3.2 million from ratepayers in operational funding for all its venues in the past financial year. New Zealand Taxpayers' Union head of policy and legislative affairs James Ross said Venues Ōtautahi must be transparent with ratepayers about the split of event costs. "Ratepayers have a right to know how their funds are being spent.' He says "commercial sensitivity" is often used as an excuse for refusing official information requests. "When ratepayer money is involved, transparency must come first. 'What sensitivities are being breached by simply sharing the cost-splitting model?' Harvie-Teare previously said event clients will pay a venue hire charge to hold events at the stadium. 'Event costs vary per event and per venue based on the type of event, the specific requirements of the event and the crowd size. 'The split of costs between the venue and the client also varies from event to event,' she said.
Scoop
06-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Nigel Simpson: Time For Major Change For Napier
Nigel Simpson - Latest News [Page 1] Nigel Simpson is calling on Napier residents to help elect a new set of councillors with proven governance experience; people who've served on school boards, business boards, and community groups, and understand what strategic leadership really looks ... More >> Unbelievable: CEO Has To Lodge Official Request With Own Council To Get Info Friday, 16 September 2022, 5:30 pm | Nigel Simpson The news yesterday that the chief executive of Napier City Council had to lodge a Local Government Official Information Act (LGOIMA) request to get information out of her own Council is deeply disturbing. The just departed chief executive lodged ... More >>
Scoop
30-05-2025
- 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
