Fighting Yesterday’s Battles. But what about tomorrow?
As the election approaches there is a predictable but undiscriminating rush of blood to the head in some quarters about the new stadium. Old accusations and grudges are dusted off, trotted out and sprayed around like effluent on a Southland dairy farm. Oddly, or perhaps not so oddly, given the motivation of some commentators, Councillors on both sides of the argument are targeted. Individual Council decisions and votes are reprised, omissions or even comments are dug up as evidence of Councillor neglect, incompetence and even virtual criminality.
As a Councillor who opposed public funding, and the debt it entailed for the Forbar stadium, I am comfortable with the stands I took, the votes I cast and the statements I made. I am comfortable with my nearly six hours of arguing against proceeding on March 17th 2008, with casting an emphatic “no” vote on Feb 9th when the definitive vote to proceed was taken. I am comfortable that with Councillors Staynes and Wilson we personally contributed or sourced over $2,000 for the independent University of Otago Marketing Dept public opinion survey that concluded a clear majority in the Dunedin community did not want to pay for the stadium, and comfortable with trying to convince the rest of Council to listen to that. I am comfortable with what I said to 1,800 people at the Town Hall meeting on the stadium issue. Indeed some of my predictions then are now being vindicated.
What I regret is that we didn’t have the numbers in Council. Council decisions always come down to numbers: to having a majority or not. I, we, could not convince our Councillor colleagues of the reckless folly of what they were doing.
But that is in the past. The stadium is being built. What concerns me now is the future. That decision, and the debt it entailed, particularly on top of already committed debt for other projects, has taken Dunedin City to the brink: to the limit of its credit. Neither the Council nor the Council companies on which the debt was loaded, are in a position to borrow any more. That is a concern because we don’t know what is around the corner: what else we may have to spend on at a moment’s notice, like the Middle Beach sand dunes or flooding in South Dunedin for instance. It is a concern because the community has other aspiring projects like the South Dunedin Library and a new pool for Mosgiel that are now threatened. On top of all that is the real likelihood of operating losses at the stadium, and what they would do to rates rises. They wouldn’t bring rates down.
So the incoming Council faces an enormous challenge to cut costs, limit on-going losses after the stadium is completed and still take the city and the community forward with all of the other things that Dunedin needs to progress. What will it take to have some hope of achieving that? It will take a Council that is disciplined, innovative and united in its resolve. It will take thoughtful imagination and tough decisions. It will take a Council in which the majority of Councillors can cooperate and reach consensus on a way forward: a Council that can achieve the numbers.
Clearly the current Mayor and the bulk of Council do not fit that description. After all, its majority decisions are what got the city in the bind it is, with the debt it carries and the massive rates rises that are projected. Council abdicated responsibility for investigation and development of the stadium project to a self-appointed and self-interested Carisbrook Stadium Trust, and following from the front, the Mayor led most of Council behind them.
Just as clearly only changing the Mayor would not be enough. The Mayor has only one vote. That is particularly the case with a Mayor who couldn’t foster consensus and collegial decision-making in Council: an aspiring mayor who by his own admission is not a team player: a man who has always alienated rather than united: leading from behind. It would not matter who was elected to Council under such a Mayor. It would be dysfunctional.
Greater Dunedin offers a diverse team of independent thinking but collegial Council candidates and a Mayor, myself, committed to achieving a vision going forward by consensus building. That is the only way on offer that Dunedin can settle to the task of drawing back from the brink, regrouping and going forward to what has to be a challenging but bright future. Greater Dunedin is not a party. We share principles, aims and aspirations, but not strait-jacket policies. There is plenty of room for difference but a will for cooperation.
During my term on Council I have chaired the Digital Strategy and the Harbour Cone Steering Groups. Both contained Councillors, Council staff and community and stakeholder representatives. Both consulted widely and genuinely with the community. Both produced strategies that have won wide acceptance, approval and enthusiastic support. Building consensus produced great results.
The die is cast with the stadium. It is being built. Dunedin carries the debt for that. We could beat our chests and swear vengeance on those responsible. We could determine to make sure the project fails completely and costs the ratepayers millions more. Or we can sum up the challenges, address what has to be done and collectively with the community develop a bright vision for Dunedin’s future. The future for our kids in an even Greater Dunedin.
