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Home on the Range
One of the great things about living on the Otago Peninsula and having children at a local school is you get to do some of the cool things that they do as well. I was one of two parents who took a group of children from Portobello School to Okia Reserve for “World Ranger Day” with the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust. Getting children out of the classroom and providing a genuine ranger experience was a great concept, but having pupils from the three Peninsula…
The Rising Tide – Natural Hazards
On a very wet and wild night I recently attended a joint presentation on the Natural Hazards section of the City Council’s 2nd Generation District Plan. With the pot belly stove blazing away in the hall the presentation was a very useful and thought-provoking one. The preferred options for this section of the coming District Plan has been a joint approach by the Otago Regional Council and the Dunedin City Council and has covered, flooding from rivers, and the sea,…
For whom the Road Tolls
Its been an interesting last few weeks locally as the City Council deliberates over the Annual Plan. I managed to catch a couple of submissions from Peninsula residents on the Portobello Road widening schedule. Most speakers spoke well and passionately about the road issues, but one question that was raised regularly by Councillors was whether Peninsula residents would support a targeted rate. It’s not the first time that the financial issues around the use and development of Portobello Road have caused consternation…
Public Transport on the Peninsula
With the Otago Regional Council looking at transferring the management of the bus service to the Dunedin City Council. . While no timeframe has been given for the proposed transfer of management its probably a good time for Otago Peninsula residents to consider their use of the current service and what their needs are. Public transport services are important for our area and especially for the many high school children who use them. Currently, the Peninsula service is heavily subsidised and…
Getting Onboard
People often ask me what the Community Board actually does. In some regards it acts as a conduit between the City Council and other agencies and the community. Given that Board members come from the community they are able to have a good understanding of what some of the issues and provide “local knowledge” about problems, plans or ways to improve issues for local residents. Perhaps the main role of the Board is in consultation and acting as a sounding…
Trial by Bylaw
I’m just not convinced that city councillors fully understand the freedom camping issue on the Peninsula (ODT). Undertaking “Bylaw by trial” is not what’s required here and its a poor alternative to appropriate policy based on real evidence and research. The other issue is the fallacy that “there must be a demand” because of the people using Macandrew Bay as a camping site. That’s like saying all students are drunks because of the broken glass in the street. By creating the site at…
Is the Annual Plan like Christmas?
It’s Local Government Annual Plan season again, and regional and district councils across the country are preparing their annual plans for public consultation. Unlike Christmas the annual plan season is not something that communities count down to with anticipation of lavish celebrations or expensive gifts. In fact local government annual planning is more akin to looking at the credit card bill after Christmas. Reading through the pages of charges and sighing that buying grandma a set of pearl handled revolvers instead of a…
A Lapse in Concentration
I’ve been a little tardy at utilising my blog to discuss the issues that I meet in a weekly basis in my role as Deputy Chairman of the Otago Peninsula Community Board. I could blame distractions like family or work but largely its been a lapse in literary concentration. So with new resolve I’m going to make a better effort to write more about my observations of life on the Otago Peninsula. Freedom Camping Freedom camping has been the hot topic…
Now that the dust has settled…
Well the elections are over and I have to say that I was delighted to be elected by the community to represent the Otago Peninsula. The last few weeks have seen a round of introductory meetings and the inevitable advice from the City Council staff on what our role and obligations are. Its all quite serious stuff and you realise that after the hype of the elections that there is real work to do. What’s been great is the positive…