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Watching the spend

At the latest ICC council meeting, a report was tabled by councillor Ludlow from the events committee he chairs, was accepted by the councillors.

The events committee had approved a $20,000 grant to Surfing NZ for The Ultimate Waterman series held at Colac Bay.

The mayor, Tim Shadbolt, commented that while the weather for the event was great and better than the North Island, the crowds attending were poor as most of those young ones watched the event online.

This funding rises some issues for me. Why would ICC ratepayers fund an event in Colac Bay?

What was the perceived benefit to the city?

And more importantly, I understand that $1500 of that funding was to publicise an event held in Invercargill, after the series, on April 9, at the cricket ground on Gala St.

The Sunday event was great as it had free rides and games for children, live music, food stalls and visual display showing the surfing event.

According to some of the food stall holders, part of the funding was not spent as intended in advertising this local event.

When we took our grandchildren there half an hour after the opening we were one of two families there because, unless you had to pick it up on Facebook, there was no way of knowing it was happening.

That then begs a further question.

When councillors commit funding to such events, why is there no ‘‘after event’’ analysis, to assess the benefits and/or problems. The way the mayor was speaking, we may be up for funding a future surfing event.

I would expect that all discretionary funding be followed up by some transparent report, especially where there are large amounts of funding involved.

Without that, the public continue to be skeptical.

Nobby Clark (Spokesperson - Ratepayers Advocacy Group)

Invercargill

Value for money

Thanks to the old boy’s political network, Simon Upton is now the next Parliamentary Commissioner of the Environment.

With qualifications in music, literature and law he hardly appears to be value for his five- year, $1.5 million package.

The government deciding long ago that science and biology being irrelevant skills in the role of environment commissioner.

He was an MP in the National Government from 1981 to 2001. But [the] PCE’s position is supposed to be free from political influence.

Yet neither of the ‘‘deadbeat’’ parties of the left took note of these glaring deficiencies.

Perhaps they were asleep on the benches?

As a former member of the OECD Environment directorate in Paris, expect Upton’s office to spew out endless drivel about ‘‘sustainability’’.

While suggesting more regulation and control on business and agriculture.

His thinking entrenched in the failing OECD global agenda of centralisation.

What Simon’s political appointment means is that one of the world’s poorest environment performers is all set to stay there.

And that is exactly where the government wants it. David Langer Gore

Creating change

The National Party and the two Maori Party members have managed to get a piece of legislation through.

The iwi clauses would entrench co-governance and partnership obligations with iwi Maori into local government, creating a constitutional change.

The treaty train is headed towards its ultimate goal [of] Maori sovereignty through constitutional change. Everything that can mean, with regards to ultimate power, where they will put in a new constitution based on the Bolivian constitution.

In Bolivia your house and car will be confiscated, you will then be paying 50/50 rent to the government and Maori for the use of your house and car.

And the installation of tribal law (not indigenous law, as in universal) each tribe having the power to establish its own laws within its own area even although a tribe might consist of as little as 40 members, no appeal is allowed against their decisions.

We are getting more and more apartheid laws from this National government and most of the people don’t care until its to late Ian Brougham Wanganui Abridged, Editor