The Daily Blog Open Mic – 10th August 2023

1. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/495539/interislander-warned-ferry-issues-could-prove-fatal-if-not-fixed
   Commuters who depend on the Interislander say the service being offered by KiwiRail is not good enough, after another fault that left passengers stuck.  
   Those onboard the Kaitaki spent the night anchored in Wellington harbour, after there was a problem on the way to Picton. KiwiRail said there were only a small number of passengers onboard and most were commercial drivers…

   This year the Kaitaki has already been subject to an investigation by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission after it lost power in January.   A preliminary report found it was caused in part by KiwiRail’s failure to replace safety-critical parts, which were years past their use-by dates.

   Wellington harbourmaster Grant Nalder said the ferry had been subject to much scrutiny since then.   The ferry has since been fixed and returned to service.KiwiRail said an issue with the main steering system on the Kaitaki was resolved this morning and the ferry was back in service by 10.30am.

   Note that KiwiRail does not seem to be much concerned about its faults effect on business and the good drivers held up who actually deliver on their jobs – unlike KiwiRail.   If people in management in quasi-government jobs don’t deliver I think they should be given three months notice and no goodie bag piled with gold chocolate doubloons when they leave.

2. Black Rock – hospitals with private investment. The group running this country have taken over and are patriarchal and patronising even if there are women involved.
   Women who follow male authoritarian ways and mix it with female kookiness are worse than straight males – a different form of stupidity.
   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/495478/te-whatu-ora-receives-hospital-pass-on-building-infrastructure

3. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/492359/future-for-local-government-review-what-you-need-to-know
   …It’s time to face into the future. With a roadmap to a brighter, more sustainable future now delivered by the panel, it is time for local government to pick up the mantle. Central government cannot solve the issues communities face on its own. If we look at the big issues such as climate change, dealing with regional inequalities, building social cohesion and planning for growth, local government is best placed to take a leadership role.”.,..
   What were the recommendations in full?
   (This is a drop of the rnz info – sorry about the missing bullet points.)

   The panel split its 17 recommendations into five different themes.
   Embedding local government’s purpose and wellbeing focus

   Entrench the purpose of local government, as set out in the Local Government Act 2002, to embed intergenerational wellbeing and local democracy at the heart of local government.
   Introduce statutory provisions to reinforce and give effect to the purpose of local government in the Local Government Act 2002, by:
   councils setting wellbeing goals and priorities each term, in conjunction with community and hapū/iwi and Māori
   central and local government committing to align wellbeing priorities and agree place-based investment plans.

   Growing authentic Te Tiriti-based partnerships

   Introduce new provisions in the Local Government Act 2002 that explicitly recognise local government as a partner to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and te ao Māori values to strengthen authentic relationships in the local exercise of kāwanatanga and rangatiratanga.
   Introduce a statutory requirement for councils to develop partnership frameworks with hapū/iwi and Māori to give effect to new Te Tiriti provisions in the Local Government Act 2002 that create new governance arrangements and complement existing ones.
   Central government leads a comprehensive review of requirements for engaging with Māori across legislation that impacts local government, considering opportunities to streamline or align those requirements.
   Amend the Local Government Act 2002 to require councils (elected members and chief executives) to prioritise and invest in developing and strengthening their capability and capacity in the areas of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, te ao Māori values, mātauranga Māori, tikanga, and the whakapapa of local government in order to make local government a better Te Tiriti partner.

   System renewal

   Initiate a reorganisation of local government to strengthen, support, and resource councils to plan for and respond to increasing challenges and opportunities, and to set local government up for a more complex future.
   Establish a dedicated Crown department to facilitate a more effective working relationship between local and central government that focuses on:
   a relational-based operating model to align priorities, roles, and funding
   brokering place-based approaches and agreements to address complex challenges and opportunities
   research, development, and innovation capability that equips local government to maximise intergenerational wellbeing for its communities.
   Establish a new local government stewardship institution to strengthen the health and fitness of the system. This entity should:
   provide care for and oversight of the local government system, including the health of local democracy and local government’s future-fit capability and capacity
   foster common purpose and relationships
   support and enable the health of the Māori-local government relationship
   incorporate the current roles and responsibilities of the Local Government Commission.

   Strengthening local democracy and leadership

   Local government and councils develop and invest in democratic innovations, including participatory and deliberative democracy processes.
   Enhance local democracy in order to increase access and representation by:
   providing for a four-year local electoral term
   adopting ranked voting (also known as single transferrable vote or STV) as nationwide method for local elections
   lowering the threshold for the establishment of Māori wards
   enabling Te Tiriti-based appointments to councils
   lowering the voting age for local elections to 16.
   Local and central government coinvest to build adaptive leadership capability focusing on
   leading change and system renewal
   valuing civic leadership and public service
   partnership and collaboration
   innovation and experimentation.

   Increasing funding

   In order to prioritise and deliver on wellbeing, central government makes a greater investment in local government through:
   an annual transfer of revenue equivalent to GST charged on rates
   significant funding to support local priorities, place-based agreements, and devolution of roles.
   Central government pays rates on Crown property.
   Central government develops an intergenerational fund for climate change, with the application of the fund requiring appropriate regional and local decision-making.
   Cabinet is required to consider the funding impact on local government of proposed policy decisions.
   Central government commits funding to support and enable the future transition by:
   resourcing a transition unit to support the change and system renewal of local government
   supplementing local government capacity funding to enable hapū/iwi and Māori to partner with councils
   supporting councils to: build Te Tiriti and te ao Māori capability and grow mana whenua relationships; lift their immediate capacity and capability to innovatively deliver wellbeing priorities for their communities; trial and grow participatory and deliberative democracy practices.
   Will these recommendations actually be implemented?
   Well, that is yet to be determined.
   McAnulty told Local Democracy Reporting the government would consider the report once the election was over.

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