Local government needs some serious reform

THERE has been recent reporting on moves to revaluate and reform the way local government works, and there has been a candid admission by the public service that there is not the expertise, even at the national level, to manage the Auckland light rail project.

As such, it seems to be time to acknowledge that local government plainly doesn’t have the resources of finance and expertise to manage the more complex elements of governance it is now lumbered with.

Infrastructure like the power distribution, the full road network and 3 Waters needs national coordination.

Is it therefore time to revisit a new (and more efficient) version of the Ministry of Works, which was able to build giant projects like the South Island hydroelectric power schemes?

Is it also time for councils to get back to the basics and represent their areas within that kind of framework, rather than elected officials having the scope to take up pet projects that cause a lack of focus on prosaic but vital things — and where they sometimes bite off a lot more than the ratepayers can chew because the data and experts get trampled by stampeding hobbyhorses?

I do not envy the role of the local government minister, Nanaia

Mahuta, in this kind of reform, that is just so desperately needed, but I sincerely hope she can drive useful progress to a rediscovery of the essential.

David Cohen

Kew

Ship idea

DR David Clark is entitled to be proud of what he achieved during his tenure as Minister of Health.

He set in motion a plan to replace the dilapidated facility which the Dunedin Public Hospital had become and already the site for a replacement edifice is being cleared.

However, much remains to be done, especially related to the workforce required to construct the project.

The pandemic has probably already resulted in the demise of the gigantic cruise ship. A consortium should therefore be established with members (at various levels) from the Southern District Health Board, the Dunedin City Council, Otago

Regional Council, Invercargill City Council, Environment Southland, the Dunedin and Invercargill Chambers of Commerce, University of Otago, the Otago and Southland polytechnics, and any other stakeholders relevant to this hospital project.

The consortium should then make an offer to purchase one of these behemoths for its scrap value, rename it the Murihiku, and before it rusts away, sail it to the Port of Otago.

There it would serve as a dormitory for the project as did the Wanganella when moored at Deep Cove house workers for part of the Manapouri power scheme.

Dunedin Railways would transport the shiftworkers to and from the worksite at changeover times, thereby helping to diminish potential car parking difficulties.

Before, after, and even during the construction period, the Murihiku

would itself feature as a tremendous tourist asset (as does the Queen Mary

in California) which would again require employees to service any tourist demands.

The vessel could also provide a haven for institutions seeking larger office/headquarters space: the ORC or ACC could relocate to a complete deck if they felt so inclined.

Housing the workforce on a ship has obviously worked in the past, so why should it not do so again?

G. Kidd

East Taieri

[Abridged]

Covid

I READ that the new mutated version of the novel coronavirus is called VUI202012/01 but surely it should be called Covid20 as it came into existence this year.

Meanwhile, the virus has combined with capitalism to turn the free hand of market against humanity itself. And the only cure now is to reboot socialism before we run out of fat to live off. We really don’t want to get down to eating the rich.

Aaron Nicholson

Manapouri