Category Archives: Uncategorized

I am disappointed that the DCC media release quoting Dr. Hazelton claims that  “As with any significant construction project, some minor repairs are needed in the first year following its completion and a few issues have been identified that need … Continue reading →

campaign spending rules, STV confusion and postal voting lack of scrutiny, and lower voter engagement despite the STV and Postal voting that was supposed to increase voter engagement.

In the DCC election run-up Mr Ong made many extraordinary claims including listed credentials on his website  https://www.benong.nz>meet-ben   that “I held Vice President and Associate Director roles at leading global banks- Royal Bank of Canada, Rabobank International, UOB Bank and … Continue reading →

Millions of people work in international banks. Mr Ong’s claims of having been a Vice President and Associate Director as below are decidedly not confirmed, on Google or anywhere else.

Lee Vandervis I initially supported STV as promoted by Otago University Political Studies Professor Janine Hayward, as being more representative than the traditional First Past the Post system still used by the majority of NZ Councils. My first decade of … Continue reading →

Also lacking credibility are most of the claims made by Benedict Ong in his Mayoral campaign speeches where his credential claims were so outlandish and vacuous that I had written him off as completely un-electable despite his extensive advertising, especially … Continue reading →

I feel for Dunedin, especially for people on lower and fixed incomes who will now continue to suffer both of our bloated bureaucracies, interest on DCC Billion-dollar debt, compromised Council companies with another Billion-dollar debt, and a Council with re-elected … Continue reading →

An increasing number of people are asking me daily now. Emails, texts, whenever shopping – they have all wanted my opinion so here it is. Having spent 18 years as a Councillor I know all of these people personally and … Continue reading →

And in no time Andrew Barnes Rutherford used some AI trickery to produce this version using my lyrics.

This is the full ODT article [on my FB page but some time ago] in which MP Jones calls the Otago Regional Council’s existence into question, describing the ORC as the Kremlin Council that needs to go. https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/kremlin-councils-need-go

Shane Jones calls for the dismemberment of Regional Councils, having last month called out the ORC for stopping Macraes Gold expansion. Getting Dunedin free of the Otago Regional Council can’t come soon enough, but needs a strong Mayoral push to … Continue reading →

My specific proposals are in contrast to Cr. Barker’s aspirations. e.g. “Cr Vandervis: Dunedin needs to “be free of” the Otago Regional Council. “We need to reclaim our port and our harbourside.” A unitary council should be established in Dunedin. … Continue reading →

“The mayor’s suggestion “core” council debt would drop after five years was presented in council material as DCC debt excluding water, and this metric shows projected decreases from 2030. Cr Vandervis described this as a “future fantasy”. Mr Radich described … Continue reading →

Business South & Allied Media – Dunedin Mayor Candidate Forum | Otago Daily Times Online News