Mayor ‘a pragmatist with rose-tinted spectacles’
Dunedin was a city divided. Dave Cull, who has died aged 71, had served on the city council for just one term, but decided to go for the top job held by two-term incumbent mayor Peter Chin.
Cull, who worked as tradesman before making a name as a writer and TV presenter, easily won the 2010 election, but the work had only just begun.
Two years previously he was one of four councillors who voted against Dunedin’s proposed new stadium, now known as Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Fast-forward to May 2019 and Cull, by now a three-term mayor, confirmed his retirement from the position, and spoke glowingly of the venue. ‘‘It is a wonderful asset to the city, it is providing enormous benefits,’’ a visibly upbeat Cull told media of the stadium, which opened in 2011.
That statement was made with the benefit of hindsight, and driven by Cull’s renowned pragmatism: it was built, so let’s make it work.
But it wasn’t easy. Financially the city was driven into austerity during his first term, and it wasn’t until later that Dunedin started experiencing something slightly unusual: growth in levels not seen since the gold rush of the 1860s.
‘‘We realised that business and employment opportunities are made up by people. The aim is to make the city attractive, including our lifestyle offering,’’ Cull told Stuff in 2018.
Dr Sue Bidrose, the former council chief executive between 2013 and 2020, recalled Cull working hard to make the venue work, including ordering a review of the controversial facility.
‘‘Some people had a hard time that, having opposed it as a councillor, he had to make it work as a mayor.’’
Bidrose recalled Cull not showing any political bias, because while he was supportive of issues such as community housing and climate change, he also backed Dunedin businesses.
Instead, he was ‘‘pro-community’’. ‘‘He held that dear to his heart all the way through, he talked about that all the time.
‘‘A pragmatist is a good description. He was a unifier right across the political spectrum.’’
Cull was just into his second term when the $1.5 million council car fleet fraud broke, which was pinned on a former council employee who later died in a suspected suicide.
Bidrose praised Cull’s leadership during the scandal, and he was ‘‘wise’’ towards her and the staff.
By the end of his third term he was getting ‘‘cranky’’, potentially driven by relentless criticism of the council.
During an exit interview, he acknowledged that criticism when he told Stuff he avoided social media as it tended to offer ‘‘bugger-all facts’’.
David Charles Cull, who lived on the Otago Peninsula, was born in Invercargill on April 1, 1950. He went to school at Southland Boys’ High School before heading to Dunedin to study at the University of Otago.
An interest in politics was evident early when he completed his studies in political science, but any political ambitions would have to wait as he embarked on an OE.
On his return from the United Kingdom he landed a few television roles,
and became a familiar sight on New Zealand television screens during the 90s on Home Front, The Fastest House in the World, Master Builders House of the Year Awards, and Town and Country.
He also penned several books on topics such as icebergs and weather, but his political ambitions were made clear when the first-term councillor helped set up the Greater Dunedin ticket when he pushed for the mayoralty in 2010.
Cull had become increasingly exasperated by the opportunity cost of building a stadium, and a belief that councillors were not listening to ratepayers. He wanted the city to focus instead on infrastructure and community assets.
Before he was elected mayor in 2010, he told the Otago Daily Times: ‘‘I would probably call myself a pragmatist with rose-tinted spectacles.’’
Yet almost a decade later, he gave a speech before several hundred mining delegates saying that fossil fuel exploration was at odds with his community and the council he represented. That 2019 speech came with the backdrop of large exploration companies eyeing up potential oil and gas fields off the coast of Otago.
His successor, Aaron Hawkins, a selfdescribed activist, said Cull took him under his wing and showed him how to ‘‘navigate the process and get things done’’.
He acknowledged the division the stadium had caused, but also the efforts Cull made to heal the wounds. ‘‘There are no plaques to be unveiled in the name of good governance, but it remains our primary purpose as an elected body, so this focus was well-placed.
‘‘It was always a pleasure to spend time in his company listening . . . ideally if he was in charge of the wine list,’’ Hawkins said. ‘‘I will miss him dearly.’’
Those sentiments were echoed by Deputy Mayor Christine Garey, who also noted Cull was an inspiring leader with a ‘‘wicked sense of humour’’.
‘‘But it was his personal qualities of kindness and compassion that set Dave apart. He was a man of integrity – a good man. He was a great colleague, a wonderful friend and a family man.’’
O¯ ta¯ kou kauma¯ tua Edward Ellison praised Cull for embracing a partnership with iwi, and putting mana whenua at the forefront of council.
He also was appreciative of Cull’s use of te reo and his efforts in uniting people, whether descendants of former political prisoners from Taranaki, or Syrian refugees. ‘‘He was a joy to work with.’’
After stepping away from the mayoralty, Cull was elected president of Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) in 2017, continuing in the role until 2020.
In 2019 he elected to represent the Otago constituency on the Southern DHB, and in December was appointed chairman by former health minister David Clark.
But last year he announced he was stepping down, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. ‘‘It is clear that henceforth I will need to devote 100 per cent of my energy to confronting this ominous health challenge and supporting my wha¯ nau,’’ he said.
He received treatment before moving into hospice care and then returned home to be with his family.
He is survived by his wife, Joan Wilson, two daughters, and grandchildren.
His funeral will be held in the Dunedin Town Hall on Monday. –