Kia Ora,

Thank you for your email.

We are handling your request under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). We have forwarded it to the appropriate Christchurch City Council staff, and we will provide a response or update within 20 working days of the date we received your request. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact me. If any additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact me so that these can be taken into account.

If you have not had a reply within 10 working days please email us at [Christchurch City Council request email]

Kind regards,

Sean Rainey
Manager Official Information

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 Dear Marc,

 

I refer to your request for:

 

Could you please provide the costs involved in recruiting the following
CEO's and any costs you know of in recruiting the new CEO for the City
Council and what company(ies) have been contracted for the recruitment.
Also have any City Councillors declared a conflict of interest with the
agency that has been awarded the contract.

 

1. Tony Marryatt

2. Karleen Edwards

3. Dawn Baxendale

 

Council Response

 

The information we have on this is:

 

1. Tony Marryatt - Sheffield completed this work with a recruitment
service charge of $34,701

2. Karleen Edwards - JacksonStone completed this work with a recruitment
service charge of $61,000

3. Dawn Baxendale - JacksonStone completed this work with a recruitment
service charge of $55,000

 

Sheffield has been appointed for the current process with a recruitment
service charge of $59,000.

 

No Councillors declared a conflict of interest with Sheffield.

 

Charging companies a recruitment services fee is a standard industry
practice and is usually based on a percentage of salary. These percentages
can range from 10% to 17%.

 

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

 

Kind regards,

Sean

 

 

Sean Rainey
Manager Official Information and Privacy Officer
Official Information Team

Office of the Mayor and Chief Executive

 

 

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Dear Jim,

 

I refer to your request for:

 

In a previous request regarding the LGNZ Infrastructure Symposium 2024,
you provided information that Waipapa Community Board Member Ali Jones
attended: '...she attended “because local and central infrastructure -
particularly the procurement process and coatings [sic] - are of interest
to me in my role as an elected member”.'

 

Please provide all emails and messages Member Jones exchanged with
LGNZ/the organisers, the Christchurch City Council staff, and the Mayor
regarding the Forum this year.

 

Please also detail the aspects of the Forum Member Jones attended and what
information she imparted or received regarding Christchurch City and its
infrastructure needs.

 

Council Response

As previously discussed, Ms Jones attended the conference in a personal
capacity.

 

There is one email the Council holds in relation to this (see attached).

 

Additionally, Ms Jones provided the following statement to assist:

 

From a personal perspective, in discussions around post disaster
recovery, I did manage to raise SCIRT at the Symposium - as an example of
post disaster recovery, and asked one of the infrastructure panels if they
were using past lived experiences by cantabrians to inform the way forward
for other  post disaster hit areas? I also met and talked with a number of
elected members from around the country with a particular focus on
transport and effective inter-regional connectivity.

 

This was on the LGNZ linked in page and provides a good synopsis of the
event.

 

It’s no secret that New Zealand’s infrastructure is in serious need of
investment. ASB’s latest report reveals that our infrastructure deficit
could reach a staggering one trillion dollars over the next 30 years.  

 

It’s a challenge that councils across the country are working hard to
solve. But we can’t solve this issue alone. That’s why LGNZ held an
Infrastructure Symposium with elected members from across the country, as
well as central government Ministers and infrastructure experts. We looked
at problems and potential solutions, and how we can work together to solve
the challenges.  

 

First thing Friday, we heard from Peter Nunns, Director of Economics at
the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission. Peter is leading the charge to
lift and improve New Zealand's infrastructure, and this morning he
outlined what the long-term need is for New Zealand’s infrastructure.  

 

He notes, “getting good infrastructure outcomes is a marathon not a sprint
– it’s a generational task.” We won't have all the money needed for
everything we want, so the focus should be on essential ongoing work, new
funding methods, and the long-term value of infrastructure. He mentioned
that managing assets is both the most important and most expensive task.
We've spent too little on maintenance, and we'll need to invest more to
catch up; even if we only did this, it would be a significant step
forward.

 

Next, there was a discussion with Nicole Rosie, Chief Executive of NZ
Transport Agency Waka Kotahi. She talked about the government’s policy
shift towards prioritising roads of national and regional importance,
along with maintenance and renewals. She also mentioned the funding
challenge and suggested tolls and congestion charges as possible
solutions. Nicole, like Peter, emphasised the need to focus more on
maintaining and improving our current infrastructure.

 

Funding and financing are at the core of our infrastructure challenges –
bridges, roads and pipes aren’t cheap, and they’re only getting more
expensive. It’s an issue that councils around the country are grappling
with – so we’re diving into today with a lineup of expert panelists.  

 

Then a panel discussion. Amelia East, Partner and Head of Advisory at APAC
HKA, Sara Lindsay  from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Andrew McGavin
from Crown Infrastructure Partners and Leigh Kissick from Chapman Tripp
talked to us about some of the funding pressures we’re facing when it
comes to infrastructure – and ways to work through them.  

 

Sara said we need to be able to right-size the funding. “We are a small
country with a small population, and we need to figure out the right tools
for funding.” Next, Andrew and Leigh talked about some of the pros and
cons of the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act. While it’s set up
well to encourage private funding, they noted that there are aspects of
the act that do need to change – which have been clearly signalled by
councils.  

 

We also heard from Josh Hickford, Chief Executive of Taranaki Foundation,
and Mayor Neil Holdom of New Plymouth District Council – who talked about
the opportunities that can come when public, private and philanthropy
combine forces.  

 

Josh shared a local case study of Destination Play at Kāwaroa – this $6m
project is one of the country's biggest, and is being led by the Taranaki
Foundation in partnership with Ngāti Te Whiti, New Plymouth District
Council and NP Partners. Josh says any successful project needs some key
ingredients: the right story and design, the right people and leadership,
relationships and partnership, and the ability to unlock philanthropy.

 

Next a panel discussed the huge impacts from the effects of climate change
on our communities – and the infrastructure that keeps them ticking.
That’s why we’re exploring how to create more resilient infrastructure
after – and in anticipation of – severe weather events.  

 

Mayors Jamie Cleine, Nigel Bowen and Rehette Stoltz, CMInstD, JP – along
with Ross McLeod, Chief Executive of Hawke’s Bay Regional Recovery, and
Sanchia Jacobs from Beca, our panel moderator (and MC for today) – joined
us to discuss some of the lessons learned from recent extreme weather
events, including Cyclone Gabrielle and Cyclone Hale.  

 

It’s crucial to remember that building resilient infrastructure goes
beyond roads, bridges and water – it also includes key areas like social
and social cohesion.  

 

Our panelists noted that after Cyclone Gabrielle, the recovery and rebuild
triggered stronger advocacy with central government. Mayor Stoltz
commented that the funding provisions often only allow for recovery
– despite a desire to build back better – and Mayor Bowen added that
recovery efforts prompt conversations we’re not having, like climate
adaptation and managed retreat.  

 

The panel highlighted the importance of taking a step back and
understanding risk, as well as questioning what can wait – and what’s
essential for the future.  

 

We were also joined by Simon Dyne from Fulton Hogan, who talked to us
about disaster recovery and lessons learned.  His advice? Hope for the
best but prepare for the worst. One of the key learnings after Cyclone
Gabrielle was how important communications were – especially once lines
were down. He also reflected that it’s key to assess what’s needed and to
get the right gear (and people) there as quickly and safely as possible.
And finally, he said having good design with local resources is key.
“Think local. It makes a big difference.”

 

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and its
impacts on communities are already being felt – so it’s a key factor to
consider as a country when we think about how to future-proof our
infrastructure.

 

After lunch on Friday afternoon, there was a great conversation about
lessons we can learn from across the ditch. Cr Linda Scott (GAICD) – the
President of the Australian Local Government Association – joined us
online to discuss how they’re dealing with infrastructure challenges and
opportunities in Australia.  

 

In a chat with LGNZ President Mayor Sam Broughton, she noted that ALGA
represents 537 local government authorities and collects only 4% of the
tax take. “We’re struggling to be able to afford the things we’re doing.
Over the long term, Australia local government funding is not sustainable.
Securing buckets of money from the commonwealth is critical to maintain
assets. We are seeing examples of councils reducing services to manage
costs.”  

 

She noted ALGA align their financial asks of with the broad themes of the
central government of the day. More recently that has included $100m on
emissions reduction funding.  

 

We also heard a couple of great case studies. Paul Davidson, Chief
Financial Officer of Tauranga City Council, who talked how Tauranga has
used off balance sheet financing to enable Infrastructure Investment. And
Denise Beazley of Wellington City Council dived into how we can improve
our collective knowledge of what lies beneath our feet as part of
Wellington’s subsurface journey – which is all about creating a digital
map and record of all its underground infrastructure. ​She notes, “The
current system is broken and all we have a role to make it work.”

 

Last thing Friday, we heard from Sir Bill English. He emphasised the need
to consider risks when managing costs, the importance of staying focused
to achieve our goals, the value of paying for expertise, the need to
concentrate on solutions instead of problems, and that transparency is the
best way to handle project risks.

 

You have the right to request the Ombudsman to review this decision.
Complaints can be sent by email to [1][email address], by fax
to (04) 471 2254, or by post to The Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington
6143.

 

 

Kind regards,

Sean

 

 

Sean Rainey
Manager Official Information and Privacy Officer
Official Information Team

Office of the Mayor and Chief Executive

 

 

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