Bill Dalton

One of the thoroughly enjoyable aspects of being a City Councillor is that you get to go to a lot of “feel good” functions.

Recently Napier City recognised a small group of people who had made amazing contributions to their community. How some of these people have managed to find the time to serve in such a way just amazes me.

A couple of nights ago the Civil Defence Minister, John Carter, presented awards to some of our long serving civil defence personnel. Again it amazes me that so many people can find the time to serve an organisation such as civil defence on a purely voluntary basis. It really does restore your faith in your fellow man.

And we need to celebrate these people. And we need to learn to say thank you to them – to tell them that these efforts are appreciated.

On Sunday a large group of well known Napier performers put on a concert in the Municipal Theatre in aid of the Christmas Cheer appeal. It was a good little show and hopefully from these modest beginnings, it will grow into an annual charity concert that will be on everyone’s calendar. But again everyone gave their time freely, even those who would normally charge for their professional performances.

And then there are people like Ross Holden here at the Radio Network. Ross has always been incredibly community minded and has given many hours to charitable events. In the interests of community radio, Ross has put in hour after hour over and above his normal work hours to ensure local events were advertised and reported, especially in the sporting field.

At a time when everything is being centred in the main centres, when our local community paper has been sold to a major, Ross Holden has been a great voice for his community. Well done Ross.

I can tell you it makes me feel good to live in such a caring community and to know that, especially at this time of the year, those less fortunate are not forgotten. So well done Napier folk – keep up the good work.

As a local body politician and a political commentator, it is easy to appear to always have a bee in one’s bonnet. It is also easy to sound permanently negative as you point out projects that need attention, jobs that have been done badly or people like Hone Harawira who is a disgrace to society.

But over the last few days I have once again, had it proven to me, that Hawke’s Bay is a wonderful place to be.

Over the weekend the Hawke’s Bay Vintage Car Club held it’s 50th Jubilee. We had a “noggin and natter night” on Friday night and then Shirl and I went on to the Napier Operatic Show at the Tabbard Theatre – a great night all round.

On the Saturday night the Vintage Car Club had an awards dinner at the Cossie Club – an excellent meal – good music – good company – what else could a man want.

On the Sunday we picked up Charlie Black who at 93 is a legend in Vintage Car circles and drove right up the Taihape Road. The old 1929 Model A went like a dream and we had morning tea at the Russell Homestead - Tunanui. We cruised off around Crownthorpe and came back to Okawa where the Lowry family hosted us at lunch time. A picnic in the magnificent grounds – walking through the rose gardens – life doesn’t get much better than that.

Then last night we attended a ceremony where six prominent locals received special awards from the Mayor of Napier.

When you heard the list of organisations that these people have served and the contribution they have made to our Society – it made you feel very humble.
So no grumbles today – just a confirmation that we are indeed fortunate to live in such a magnificent part of the world.

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the “Sponsors Night” for the Hawke’s Bay A & P Mercedes Wine Awards.

It was a great night – the wines were magnificent, the venue at Elephant Hill Winery was world class – it made me feel very privileged to live in this part of the world. I must say though that the last round of reds was probably unnecessary.

This afternoon the Napier City and Hastings District Councils are having a combined meeting followed by a dinner – at Councillors own expense, I hasten to add. I have to say I am really looking forward to a frank and open discussion about the future of our region and in particular a review of the collaborative projects that are already under way and an investigation of where other efficiencies can be found.

Clearly there is a completely different view of what constitutes a prudent financial structure, between Napier and Hastings Councils.

Napier, which in recent years has benefitted from strong and conservative financial management, prides itself on having just $12 million of external debt. Lawrence Yule is quoted in this morning’s Dominion as saying Hastings debt is likely to rise to $101 million over the next few years but that doesn’t matter because Hastings has got plenty of assets.

Debt is not serviced by assets and ratepayers don’t pay their rates with assets.

Debt is serviced with cash and cash comes from the ratepayers. So, great dollops of debt incurred by a Council will have a direct affect on ratepayers.

But the Councils need to talk more and today is a good start. I want to know why, at a time when amalgamation is a possibility, Hastings is blazing on incurring large amounts of debt to build new reception centres and sports parks in the middle of nowhere.

It seems to me that if Lawrence and his team are serious about amalgamation, they would be aware that debt levels are going to be a major issue.

But I’m going in with an open mind and to listen to the views of the Hastings councillors. And just to prove I am open to good argument, I watched Q & A on Sunday and found myself in full agreement with Richard Prebble.

Who would have thought?

Much is being made of the fact that we are coming out of recession and frankly the outlook is better. But we need to consider what “coming out of recession” means.

It means we are no longer going backwards – the economy is no longer in reverse gear. But that doesn’t mean we have found first gear. Simply not going backwards is not good enough. We need to find the right gear to move forward.

Recession is an important part of the economic cycle. Companies are forced to get leaner, meaner and more efficient and therefore well positioned to participate in the worldwide recovery. But there are still some areas that really concern me. Internationally there is still an enormous amount of greed obvious at the top level in companies. The recession does not seem to have had any effect on the huge remuneration packages being demanded and paid to senior management.

In the USA the problem remains. Here in Australasia it has got worse. The head of Telstra earning $16m – the head of the CBA bank getting $11m. Think about that. Ralph Norris, who is a very good Manager admittedly, goes to work each week where he is directed by a board of directors, supported by experts in every field, and runs the bank. For that he is paid $220,000 per week. That’s right, $220,000 per week.

In New Zealand we pay the head of Telecom in excess of $7m per year. In a country that sends its front line police offers in to face armed offenders and expects those officers to be happy to earn 55 to 70 thousand dollars a year, we pay the head of Telecom $140,000 per week.

Some of you, by now will be starting to think I have been converted to socialism but that is far from the truth. I just believe there needs to be some fairness in the remuneration levels different members of society receive.

We expect our Doctors and Nurses to work their butts off – and they do – in under-funded and under-resourced institutions like the HB Hospital. The Doctors work incredible hours for a pittance considering the years of training they have done and nurses earn less per month that the head of Telecom does before smoko on a Monday.

I don’t know about you – but I think somehow, these excesses need to be addressed, if the economy is going to move forward.

Listening to Martin Sneddon this morning, talking about the Rugby World Cup in 2011 reminded me of the lady, just a week or so ago, who was raving on to me about Rugby and particularly the Rugby World Cup.

This vitriolic spinster seemed to think Rugby was the root cause of all New Zealand’s ills and she stated she was sick and tired of hearing about the World Cup and the enormous cost that New Zealand was going to incur to host it.

Let me put this poor demented soul right.

The Rugby World Cup, to be held in New Zealand in 2011, is the biggest promotional opportunity that this country has ever had. It will put New Zealand on the world stage in a way no other event has ever done. The tens of millions of dollars that the government is putting in to this project is not an expense, it is an investment. It is an investment in our future and the wellbeing of generations to come.

Here in New Zealand we look around at our magnificent scenery and say of course we are a tourist destination, just look at what we have got to offer. But the fact remains that there is a very large number of people in the world who have no idea that we exist. Even in reasonably affluent countries – the United States is a good example – where interestingly Rugby is one of the fastest growing sports – in many parts of the States they have no idea where New Zealand is. Most have heard of it but many think it is part of England or by South Africa or somewhere near Australia.

The Rugby World Cup is a fantastic opportunity for New Zealand to raise its profile in the world.

And don’t forget the benefits all the domestic activity around the Cup brings to your community. At a time of high unemployment, the building of new stands, replacing lighting, upgrading of the infrastructure needed for such an enormous event, all provide much needed jobs for Kiwis.

This Rugby World Cup will benefit New Zealand in direct relation to the effort each and every one of us puts into supporting it. So lets get behind those who are working so hard to bring this event to New Zealand – it is very much in the interests of all of us to do so.

I was in a workshop the other day, waiting whilst a mechanic punched the details of my warrant of fitness into the computer.  I say waiting because the fellow was so slow on the computer it would have almost been quicker to send a letter to Land Transport.

And then another mechanic came along to an adjacent computer to order some parts and he too had appalling keyboard skills.  And it made me think – why don’t we insist that all pupils at school do a full typing course.  Our whole world is dominated by computers and yet most of us have little or no fluent keyboard skills.

Not one of my kids is a typist.  Yet the policeman spends half his life taking statements or typing reports on a computer.  The public affairs advisor spends a large part of his day preparing presentations and speeches on a computer and the specialist cardio thoracic nurse keeps all medical and treatment records on a computer.

It is a fact that in virtually every walk of life keyboard skills are required and yet they are not routinely taught in our schools.

And speaking of failures in our education system – we don’t teach financial prudence – saving and investment – in our schools either.

We are constantly being told, and rightly so, that New Zealanders need to increase productivity and to save more.  But we don’t teach people how to save and, in the absence of a compulsory scheme like Australia has, we need to educate people.

My two youngest who are currently resident in Melbourne are typical young people.  They want all the latest gadgets and cars – I don’t know where they get that from – and they tend to spend what they earn.  But they do so in the knowledge that 9% of their wages has been extracted from their pay packets before they get their hands on them, and that money is invested in a superannuation scheme for their retirement.  Not a bad idea – in fact I have real sympathy for a compulsory super scheme for New Zealand.

We need to do something.  In the last three quarters of a century, life expectancy has increased by 40%.  Today we have 4.5 workers for every superannuatant, in 25 years time there will only be 2.2 workers for every superannuatant. 

Simply put that’s an unsustainable model.

When we think of the senseless murder of Len Snee and the serious wounding of his two colleagues, it is hard to see positives.  And yet, as with everything in life, there are positives that become obvious.

The first thing that became obvious was that Napier is a wonderful caring community.  Individuals opened their homes to friends – hoteliers and moteliers offered beds to those shut out of their homes and agencies such as civil defence and the Salvation Army sprung immediately into action.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Bruce and Gill Wilton who put Shirley and I up for the night.

The other real positive to come out of this tragedy is the huge demonstration of support for our police personnel.

By the very nature of their job, policemen and women spend a lot of their time dealing with the less desirable members of our community.  Many of these low-lifes have no respect for the police and it becomes very easy for police personnel to see the world as being full of scumbags who hate the police.

Events of the last two weeks have allowed us to demonstrate to the members of our police force, that we admire and appreciate the job that they do and that the great majority of citizens have tremendous respect for them.

I don’t know if you saw the letter to the editor in the Hawke’s Bay Today on Monday night from Glen Miller – brother of injured policeman Bruce.  It was a fantastic letter and if you didn’t read it – get a copy of Monday night’s paper and do so.  The paper should print it again.  It makes you feel good to be a member of the human race.

So no matter what happens in our lives there are always some positives to be found.

We can only hope that we do not have to face such tragic circumstances again, but if we do – we will do so in the knowledge that our police force can handle any situation and that our community will pitch in and do what is required.

I for one take great comfort from that.

During the last local body election campaign, some candidates tried to make a big thing about dolphins.

Frankly it was a diversion. Dolphins are not an option for Napier’s Marineland at this stage.

Neither is leaving Napier’s Marineland as it is, an option at this stage. Despite the efforts of a dedicated, hard working and enthusiastic staff, Napier’s Marineland is a disgrace. It is a glaring example of a council owned asset that has not had a maintenance budget to allow the facilities to be kept up to scratch.

There are now only two options for Marineland. One is to put a bulldozer through the lot and turn the site into a garden.

The other, is to spend sufficient funds to convert the basic infrastructure of Marineland to an attraction that Napier can be proud of – perhaps some other kind of Marine Park.

I am firmly in the do it up and do it properly camp.

The problem is that public opinion has been side tracked by the dolphins/no dolphins debate. Forget about dolphins. Marineland has large tanks and pools that can be put to other uses. It has the pumping systems – the drainage systems – the grandstand – the shop – sure it all needs a major smarten up but the basic infrastructure is there.

The problem is – it all looks like an industrial plant. It is simply not an attraction in the true sense of the word.

Marineland sits on one of the prime sites in Napier. On the Marine Parade – easy walking from the CBD – just down the road from the i-site, on the way to the aquarium. Properly developed, Marineland could once again be, not only a tourism facility that we could be proud of, but one that contributes to the city’s coffers as well.

Look at the Municipal theatre – once an embarrassment suffering from years of deferred maintenance. Ten years ago the decision was made to rebuild the theatre and now it is a major component in the city’s arts scene. Napier is now also firmly on the touring show calendar and we get to enjoy the sort of shows that used to by-pass the city.

The people of Napier got behind the re-development of their theatre and they are going to have to get behind Marineland, if it is going to be transformed into a facility we can be proud of.

I for one think the re-development of Marineland is a project worth getting behind.

A well meaning ratepayer approached me earlier in the week and suggested that Napier was run by a dictator – that Mayor Arnott called all the shots and that her councillors were just pussies – they simply rubber stamped the Mayor’s decisions. 

I don’t believe that is a widely held view but just in case there is that sort of perception out there, let me put the matter straight. 

Mayor Barbara Arnott is now in her third term and naturally is now very confident in her role.  But to suggest she is a dictator is an insult to all councillors.  I can’t speak for the nine councillors who were returned to council in October although I would not like to be the one that tells Mark Herbert he is a pussy. 

But I can speak on behalf of the three new councillors, Keith Price, Maxine Boag and myself.  Let me assure you we are not just there to make up the numbers – nor are we there to sycophantically agree with all of the Mayor’s views. 

The reason the three new councillors have been “low profile” is because we have been head down and bum up learning the ropes.  I don’t think that ratepayers would expect or want new councillors to arrive in the Council Chamber, firing shots in all directions, without a good grounding in the undertakings of the council. 

I can tell you I am amazed at the complexity of the Napier City Council as a business and most impressed with the officers who run that business on a day to day basis. 

For councillors to be effective they need to understand how the council works and that doesn’t happen in five minutes. 

The one thing that is taking me time to come to grips with is the time it takes for things to happen.  In my first couple of months I felt like saying – “for Gods sake, lets get on with it.”  But of course it can’t be like that.  There are procedures that must be followed, Laws that need to be adhered to and of course ratepayers who have to be answered to.  So the decision making process is inevitably slow. 

That of course does not mean, in any way, that anyone, councillors included, is not doing their job.  It is simply the way it has to be. 

So let me assure you that the Napier City Council is not a one woman band.  It is a team of people – officers and councillors alike – who are doing their best for the city.