Category Archives: Uncategorized

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

Very happy with the ODT quotation of me from an informative debate last night. “Cr Vandervis said Dunedin needed to ‘‘lose’’ the Otago Regional Council and restructure its own operation to be financially and environmentally sustainable. The regional council was … Continue reading →

LEE VANDERVIS  Core services must be optimised Age 70 Occupation Dunedin city councillor Running for mayor and council How should your council balance the need for infrastructure spending with concerns about rates rises? Better contract delivery of Dunedin core services is needed to … Continue reading →

The Taxpayer’s Union have not got this Pledge right and have email-bombed Elected Representatives with it. Subject: Re: Ratepayer Pledge: Can we promote you in our ‘How to Vote’ guide? My reply – Dear Sam, I would have liked to … Continue reading →

For more than a decade I have asked DCC staff to plant at least some Family Friendly fruit trees since they plant hundreds of other trees annually, but so far without success. As Mayor I will be able to push … Continue reading →

What electricity lines company Aurora [currently owned by DCC] ‘can earn’ means what profit margin is allowed by the Commerce Commission for Aurora to charge customers. This electricity cost to the consumer is set by the Commerce Commission and not … Continue reading →

Exporting our waste seems wrong until you consider that most of our waste is imported in the first place, and that regional boundaries don’t recognise ideal waste disposal areas.About 80% of Dunedin waste, mostly commercial is appropriately disposed of in … Continue reading →

I have been surprised that we have had little paperwork specifying what the $14 million Municipal Chambers restoration is being spent on, but we have been told verbally that significant spending was required, largely due to seismic strengthening of the … Continue reading →

From: Lee Vandervis <lee@vandervision.co.nz>Date: Thursday, 10 July 2025 at 9:36 AMTo: DCHL@dcc.govt.nz <dchl@dcc.govt.nz>, Council 2022-2025 (Elected Members) <council.2022-2025@dcc.govt.nz>, Sandy Graham <sandy.graham@dcc.govt.nz>Subject: NZ Post follows Air NZ and Auckland Airport dropping climate targets as unachievable and unaffordable Dear All, NZ Post has … Continue reading →

My Mayoral plans to control Rates, Debt and Bureaucracy include: Cancel recent Carbon Zero and Cycleway spending budgets [over $100 million], Pause Smooth Hill landfill [$94 Million in budget], sending our putrescent waste, [less than 20 of Dunedin total waste … Continue reading →

Additional details – Stadium debt of $85,000,000 has remained unpaid for the last 14 years. The interest cost alone ongoing [assuming 5% interest rate] is $4,250,000 every year. Enormous and increasing Stadium maintenance costs have varied markedly from year to … Continue reading →

Aurora needs to be sold and soon. Jess Pen as below has accurately made the rational case for selling Aurora, but has not highlighted two main reasons why Aurora needs to be sold soon. 1 – the DCC is in … Continue reading →