Tech initiatives get $300,000 DCC funding

True, much of what I did was neither appreciated nor understood at the time - and I would point out that it was the media that chose to focus on the trivial or sensational, not I. As for positive thinking and initiatives - I have achieved more here in Australia; where people actually understand the value of being unconstrained by the boundaries of "conventional wisdom" than I could ever do in NZ; where the tall poppy syndrome is alive and well amongst the Tartan Bumpkins.
But whatever I do or say - I put my own name to it; and do not cower behind a pseudonym.

Jeremy Belcher

Jeremy Belcher did very little of anything constructive while a councillor in Dunedin. His chief claim to fame was not wearing shoes to council meetings.  Other gaffes included:

Delivering radioactive material to an MP's office that sparked a police investigation. Quite honestly this city needs some positive thinking and positive initiatives, not the same old belcherisms we've heard ad nauseum over recent years.

[Abridged]

Dear Mr Mann,
I am well aware of the details of "The Street" and it being a DCHL "investment" - it was passé nonsense then, and represents no less of an inappropriate investment of (ultimately) ratepayers' money as does this "augmented reality" trip today.

It may well be a worthwhile project for bone fide commercial enterprises to back financially, and that is their right, but the DCC should be keeping away from such departures tfrom their mandate of "providing the basics".

I also take issue with your assertion that Dunedin is "already a world-leading hub in the presentation of high quality factual information".  Dunedin may sparkle briefly now and then in its innovations, but a "world leader"? Give me a break.

For those of us that actually live out here in the real world and use high-end IT daily, your statement serves to illustrate that some Dunedinites need to get out a bit more often.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Belcher
Australia [Abridged]

Jeremy, "The Street" was an investment by DCHL.
The Industry Project Fund is contestable with clearly specified criteria. Other than being computing, and Dunedin, there is little else in common here. I look forward to all three of these projects adding considerable value to Dunedin with managed risk to the City.

Samuel Mann

Associate Professor : Otago Polytechnic

The DCC does it again; hurls other people's money at projects that are a totally inappropriate use of the ratepayer's purse. Does anyone remember "The Street" project? Well, there was a fond hope of almost a million dollars of our money thrown at something that failed. When will they learn?  I'm stunned.
Jeremy Belcher [Abridged]

Hi Renee and Sam,
Thank you for your responses and ideas. I can see where you are coming from. I suppose my point is that I view technological gadgetry of this nature as luxury items in a society.

For me, it's just a question of priorities. Our council seems to keep focusing on 'bells and whistles' add-ons to our city. Meanwhile, some of more basic necessities of life and building resiliency for the future are lagging behind.

I don't mean to bag the projects per se - it's all interesting stuff and great to see people innovating in Dunedin. If these projects can gain traction in international markets and bring some cashflow in to Dunedin then that could have good spin-offs for other sectors.

And as far as the 'technology hub' idea goes, I am sceptical only for the reason that it seems like nearly every city in the world is having the same idea. So I am not sure of the true potential of becoming experts in IT in the long run.

A lot of this stuff is now starting to be done out of peoples' bedrooms or small workshops virtually anywhere in the world.

I'd like to highlight that Tim Calder of Carswell Calder Ltd - Dunedin entrepreneur & co founder of the Distiller, our start up community which enabled this collaboration - is one of the three founding collaborators on our Augmented Reality Project. This project would not have been possible without Tim.

And to growtago above. As the person who believes this will raise the public perception of Dunedin as a city at the forefront of technology I'd be happy to talk with you about our technology as it reads to me that you are misinformed about the resulting functionality & value of our Augmented Reality project.

mkxplay@gmail.com

Well done all concerned with these three projects. Thank you growtago for raising the issues of the apparent conflict of sustainability and computing. I do not believe that these projects are "utterly unsustainable", rather the reverse - I think they show much understanding of sustainability. I am standing for City Council on with a vision of creating an attractive and resilient city our children will want to live in. To do that we need to find ways of developing a thriving local economy. In addition to the local food systems you rightly describe, we need to find ways of developing an economy that doesn't rely on exporting heavy goods. Instead we need a thriving economy that makes use of the intelligence and skills of our greatest resource - our people - and exports dematerialised goods (ie software, media, design) via a cable. The development of our software development, media and design industries are critical to the survival of Dunedin. These funded projects will enhance and expand these industries in a pragmatic way that meets many requirements of a sustainable city. Yes, there are technology hubs elsewhere. Dunedin is already a world-leading hub in the presentation of high quality factual information - with initiatives such as these, we can continue to be world class. Dunedin tourism will face significant challenges in the next few years. With peak oil and climate change, the age of low cost long haul travel is coming to an end. Travel will change to a slower experience instead of a flying visit. The augmented project adds value to the experience of being in Dunedin. The presentation of historic information adds to the sense of place and helps people to see themselves as part of the longer story.
Well done all. Growtago, like you, I see pressing needs in localising food production, changing our mobility patterns and ensuring social justice. I hope that together we can create a long term vision of an attractive and resilient city.
Samuel Mann
Greater Dunedin candidate for Dunedin Central

[Abridged]

How is it that this council continues to dump cash into utterly unsustainable projects, meanwhile ignoring pressing issues that will be confronting us (and the rest of the world) in the next few years? Anyone thinking that this will "raise the public perception of Dunedin as a city at the forefront of technology" is sadly mistaken.

While Dunedin has recently been turning it's focus to technology and IT in the hopes of producing income for the city, we are a few years too late and little tourist gimmicks like this one will be left in the dust by true technology hubs like California, China and India.

I can't believe that our city so firmly ignores confirmed and legitimate threats to our very ways of life, such as the depletion of oil and other natural resources, climate change, sea level rise, etc.

Being able to look at pictures of old buildings on your iPhone (which is made using extremely resource-intensive processes) might be fun and nice and interesting but it's doing nothing to address issues like how are we going to feed and transport ourselves in the coming age of scarce and expensive energy.

That $700,000 could have gone toward helping convert farmland to sustainable food production, or into research on how we can localise our food system and still maintain an adequate nutritional intake year round. Or it could have been used to develop sustainable transport initiatives such as cycleways, or the planting of riparian strips along waterways to filter water runoff and increase local biodiversity.

But instead we get gadgets to fiddle round so we can watch videos of our city's crowning glory - the stadium - being constructed. Same goes with the sports coaching app... you do not need a computer to play sports.

Let's just hope that the incoming council will be more forward thinking, pragmatic and realistic about our city's future and the role of the council within it, and hope like hell that they take sustainability seriously.