Almighty God

If I deemed myself as having a God (or Goddess) it would undoubtedly be Mother Nature.  I am in awe of the simple joys of nature and the complexity of it all.  My five year old asked me what was in a seed today and the only response I could give was that incredibly a seed can contain a delicate poppy or a mighty oak.  Surprisingly everything it needs to know from birth to death is contained within one little package, how tall to grow, what colour to be and when to flower and when to die.

Mother Nature has been kind to us this Autumn but I am well aware that the cold days to come in Winter are necessary to ensure vibrant Spring and Summer colour.  Our gentians, daffodils and tulips excel because of those cold winter days and nights.  I only wish I didn’t have to venture out in it with children in tow to complete tedious tasks like shopping and school drop off and pick up.

We’re now in June and Winter has officially begun and I am excited by the prospect of  the Spring and Summer to come.  I hope at least for a few mild winter days so I can enjoy Queens Parks in it’s dormant state.

I hope that I can benefit from the fruits of my labour in the garden but feel even more labour is required, maybe a little prayer to my Goddess will pay off.

The Decent Thing To Do

Irrelevant of Ludlow’s comments

“You would think when Tim saw me at 3.15pm this afternoon he’d have had the fortitude to tell me of his decision. THAT is disappointing.”

“It wouldn’t have been hard and it would have shown good leadership,” Cr Ludlow said.

The decent thing to do is to contact ALL other councillors before publicly releasing the report as part of the agenda.

“I walked out happy as Larry thinking `gosh, he is taking it so well, it’s fantastic he is not upset’. I assumed – I know what a hi-tech guy he is – that as soon as it went online he would be looking at it … I thought he would have known by 3.15.”

Tim shouldn’t have left it to the agenda to inform the councillors and his statement shows that is what he did.  “I thought he would have known“.  Tim should have told him.

Is an email to them the day before all that hard (even without a P.A.)?

Hi Guys

I know some of you will be disappointed but I have chosen Carolyn as my Deputy Mayor.  I hope you will support me in this decision. The report to be included with the agenda (to be released tomorrow) is attached.

Regards

Tim

Surely They’re Taking The Piss

Hawkes Bay are getting a $2.5M jousting field and amenities?  I thought it was a wind up but it’s not April Fool’s Day is it?

Says Mayor Yule: “We were approached by the International Jousting Federation, which has made a convincing case that jousting is the sport of the future. Apparently the Chinese love it. Right here in New Zealand, we already have 23 competitive jousters, many of them from Central Hawke’s Bay, and that number is projected to grow astronomically over the coming decade as sport enthusiasts look for the greater excitement of blood sports. I have visions of an International Jousting and Swordplay Academy. We see ourselves trading up … a big, sturdy lance that can inflict mortal wounds for a little stick that nicks ankles.”

Wow, 23 competitive jousters, it’s the sport of the future….but wait there’s more….this guy probably owns every infomercial gadget for sale at 2am.   Still skeptical that it’s even for real.

ICC’s Latest Junket

While uploading this media release they have at least fixed up the date I mentioned earlier

Trade opportunities in China to be explored

30 May, 2012

The Invercargill City Council and Invercargill City Holdings Ltd will send four representatives to join a South Port business delegation to explore trade opportunities in China, Invercargill City Council Chief Executive Officer Richard King said today.

Mayor Tim Shadbolt had agreed to fund the costs of Cr Carolyn Dean out of the Mayor’s Promotional Fund, Mr King said. Council’s Director of Works and Services Cameron McIntosh would be funded out of existing operating budgets. Invercargill City Council Holdings Ltd will be represented by Cr Graham Sycamore and Holdco CEO Dean Johnston.  The Holdco group is looking to expand its markets for log sales in China.

It is estimated that the cost per person will be around $6,000. Mr King said Councillors were briefed at the *Finance and Policy meeting last night about the intent and purpose of the business trip.

“The trip follows the Free Trade Agreement between China and New Zealand and Prime Minister John Key’s launch of the NZ Inc China Strategy, which aims to promote trade between the two countries.

“Mr Richard Hay from the Chamber of Commerce Southland also recently approached Council about cementing a political relationship between cities in China, as this is seen as very important to opening up trade on a city to city, or province to province basis.  The area of interest is the Yangtze River Delta, which is one of the wealthiest areas in China.”

Mr King said the delegation would be away for a week from June 8.

* I can’t see that in the agenda

The Similarities Don’t Stop

Robert Guyton’s blog has more directed at Judith Collins but the similarities to our own defamation instigator continue.  Some great phrases ring true to me, just change the underlined words to suit.

It’s a shame Collins didn’t care as much about the real issues…

Her indecisive management and lack of leadership…

ACC’s dysfunction have a bigger impact upon her reputation and make her look stupid.

Ultimately this fiasco will probably cost her her job.

Imagine if she had handled things differently from the start – admitted ACC had problems and then simply said she’d sort it all out. It would have been over in a few days.

But no – her ego was in control and said – I’m going to get Pullar and Boag for exposing me and making me look stupid….. She manipulated…

…she slagged Pullar off as being indecent (clearly just projecting about herself), she’s acted defensively trying to sue Little & Collins & Radio NZ, and on and on she’s gone.

It’s all a side show to the real issue – ACC has problems.

Collins looks like a stupid old trout – a psychopathic bully who lacks good judgement.

I’d suggest she’ll find herself dropped before too long or she’ll be switched out or resign the portfolio, as through this process she has exposed herself as an ego driven manic who doesn’t give a toss about her portfolio -only defending her reputation.

It’s a shame she doesn’t have the power of clairvoyance.

Bluff Board Screws Pool Of A Future

That’s what it looks like to me and exactly why I opposed the Board’s public excluded pool negotiations.  I believe there was another 500+ that agreed.

To recap, the original decision was that ICC funding ‘will be $180K’ and then after some public excluded Board involvement the new resolution was ‘up to $180k’ and that was based on operational expenditure.  I argued that the full $180k is necessary for the pool to have a viable future.  Any cost savings in operation could be placed into reserve.

End result only operational funding because ‘importance was placed on the submission of the Bluff Community Board’ (WTF), 2 versus 536.

We now have ICC managing the pool for the trust and look at the operational savings they’ve made (granted, the loan on the building is gone now).  From the Community Services agenda

ICC have done well out of this deal, pity the Bluff representatives screwed Bluff over.  That is why I bitch about them and rightly so!  If that is the true cost of running the pool, the Trust would be banking over $100,00 this year alone.

Thanks Bluff Community Board….you serve us soooooooo well..FFS

Fire The Whole Council

I’ll make it clear, I do not condone ICC’s proposed rate increases but we should be lucky we’re not in Kaipara and especially not Mangawhai.

Kaipara District Council voted today to endorse and adopt a draft Long Term Plan (LTP) for 2012 – 2022 with an average rates increase for 2012 – 2013 of 31%.

Tim’s Speechless (And Blind)

Mayor Tim’s column has him speechless, and rightly so, but you can see he also has on rose tinted glasses.  Yay Invercargill, all is well with the city…”In our modest southern way we are running like a smooth well oiled machine.  OK, so we have a few issues, but if you look over the fence…

Maybe if he takes his head out of the sand and removes his rose tinted glasses he may see that Democratic Responsibility isn’t happening in Bluff…

A Double Edged Sword

I’ve noticed an increase in songbirds since the Hill was felled.  I don’t have a lot of trees but more so lately I’ve been entertained by melodious trilling from the neighbours Macrocarpa’s (well more accurately from the birds visiting them).

I have to assume it’s because we have less trees on the hill so they are coming into the residential area more.  Don’t get me wrong though, I love listening to them and watching them but it does raise the concern that they are more open to attack from domestic cats.  All the great work the Bluff Hill/Motupohue Environment Trust are doing trapping pests on the hill and the bloody birds are going to get killed because their trees were removed and they’ve migrated towards the township hence this picture always pisses me off.

What the hell is there to smile about?

This one become another turncoat situation when she realised the community weren’t as happy about it as she was.  Back in March 2011

Bluff Community Board chairwoman Jan Mitchell said the hill looked unsightly with more than two-thirds of the trees gone, but was pleased it was being replaced by native bush.

The pine trees posed threats to the safety of residents because of how frequently they fell, so it would be good to see them gone, she said.

Forty four hectares of unsafe trees?  WTF

And Robin Pagan is talking his fair share of shit with this comment

However, the area would be covered in native bush once the felling was complete and he expected the land scarring to be invisible within two years, he said.

Mitchell might have believed him but I do my own research!

Invercargill City Council By-Election

In a brief emotional personal statement at the end of today’s council meeting Deputy Mayor Jackie Kruger advised council and community that she will be resigning mid June for family reasons.  It will require a by-election.  The process will take 82 days once her resignation is received in writing by the CEO.

UPDATE: After today’s article in the Southland Times, it seems the Kruger family are an example of our population decline.  I’m sad to leave, the idea of it brings me to tears, but I’m off to Oz!