The mayor is popular and forward thinking
How long will it take before a few Dunedin city councillors realise that they are damaging themselves by making complaints against a popular forward-thinking mayor?
ODT readers have already read about complaints made by present councillors against the mayor and two others. Most people realise that it can be difficult for some individuals to work as part of a team and being demoted or not receiving the same remuneration as others can also cause annoyance. However that’s life and it is wise to move on.
Temporary leaders, of any group, should listen to those who voted for them and represent these voters carefully as they plan for the future.
They should all make a real effort to co-operate and respect other members and their opinions. Disagreements should be aired and discussed privately so that most problems can be solved prior to open meetings.
Residents and voters prefer to have a mature and wise group of leaders who have the necessary skills and knowledge to make wise decisions for our city , rather than those which are nice to have.
Alex Armstrong
North East Valley
[Abridged — length. Editor]
Get on with it
I am disgusted with today’s headline (ODT 22.5.24). I understood that councillors were elected by the people to support and help the mayor, not criticise and undermine him. People are not born mayors so how about working as a team and doing the job you are elected for?
Denise Head
Dunedin
Public engagement
We are lucky to have a functioning citizens’ association in Dunedin. Thank you for engaging with the Aurora situation and my submission. (Letters ODT 22.5.24)
In reply to the dismay expressed by this association, my views on a transfer of the investment Dunedin has in Aurora to being an investment such as the Waipori Fund is essentially as follows:
DCHL's purpose, as agreed with the council, is to achieve the best for Dunedin from its investments. It has advised that moving this investment to a more flexible fund is what is best. Council can always change what it instructs DCHL to do but this is the current instruction.
Within the last five years Aurora has been ordered to pay a penalty of almost $5 million for excessive outages on its network. That is $5m which has been lost to Dunedin citizens.
DCHL has said it believes Aurora should be sold, and they would be the ones who are in charge of it. Whether they were swayed by how it has been run we do not know.
The submitters are not necessarily Dunedin citizens, and they are not necessarily aware of how it has been run and whether it is a good investment. Neither of these issues were canvassed in the consultation. It is also a little strange to be consulting those who are customers, and perhaps not even that of a business, as to who should own it.
Hilary Calvert
Dunedin
Century-old news
The photo of the light cruiser HMS Dunedin on a visit to its namesake city in May 1924 (100 Years Ago ODT 21.5.24) raises the question of the fate of this substantial ship.
She was launched on November 19 1918 and named Dunedin after the capital of Scotland, generally anglicised as Edinburgh. She was heavily armed including with torpedoes.
HMS Dunedin was sunk at 1526 hours on November 24, 1941 in the Central Atlantic east of St Paul’s Rocks, northeast of Recife, Brazil, by two torpedoes from the German submarine U-124.
Bob Franklin
Bannockburn
Logan Park’s trip to Narnia delightful excursion
On Thursday to Saturday last week, the students of Logan Park High School presented The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a play based on C. S. Lewis’ famous fairy-tale novel. Two different casts, under the direction of Megan Kolppanen, the school’s head of dance and drama, gave three accomplished and convincing performances.
I saw Saturday’s performance.
Like most good school productions, this owed its success to simplicity and enthusiasm. The panoramic backdrop was instantly recognisable as Narnia and, as the drama played out in front of it, the scene-setting was concise and effective. Leads, such as the White Witch, Susan and Lucy, gave particularly good performances but all actors spoke clearly and kept up a good pace, and stage movements were smoothly choreographed. Props and costuming, including characters such as the Beavers, White Stag and Fenris Ulf the wolf, were authentic to the story. The success of this production for me was its unpretentiousness. The story is full of fun, but it is a serious story, and the cast and crew took it seriously.
The magic could have been dissolved by any hint of satire or silliness. Lewis’ ‘Lion’ is a classic and beloved story, and it was heartening to see this deeply traditional tale of sacrifice and redemption resonating with young people, and treated with respect and delight.
Paul Tankard
Dunedin
Truth in advertising
Otago advertised itself as "Ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world" (ODT 18.5.24). Surely such rankings do not consider fiscal responsibility .
Greg Glendining
Dunedin
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
