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 The judges at the Court of Appeal have been exercising their minds on the question of how a claimant goes about recovering losses from a New Zealand council. Heaney & Co’s Susan Thodey gives her judgement on the case.
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If your power suddenly goes off, the cause may not be the fact you forgot to pay the last invoice. Instead, it could be a contractor who has dug a hole in the road, without knowing what’s under the tarmac
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 Local government analyst Peter McKinlay says Minister Nick Smith has made a big impression on the local government sector, but he wonders if the Minister has set off down the wrong path by attacking local government over rates and debt.
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New Zealand Local Government editor Graham Hawkes says farewell to Owen McShane – a man who is unlikely ever to be replaced as a thinker, commentator, communicator and catalyst for change and improvement in planning and Local Government administration. |
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The second year of the local government term is usually the quiet before the storm of election year. Yet this year, public scrutiny of local government is more intense than it has ever been.
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_thumb.jpg "Photo Heather Spurway(2)") Ten thousand quakes and aftershocks in Christchurch, New Zealand, is a big enough deal to attract the whole world’s attention - and it has. Sadly it’s also furrowing the brows of those who lend money to our insurance companies. |
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There are potential issues for councils in Schedule 1, sub-section (k) of the Building Act 2004, and Shyrelle Mitchell of Heaney & Co, barristers and solicitors, says caution is needed in relation to a council’s legal liabilities and responsibilities.
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There’s a call to pay closer attention to insurance on residential property. Colin McCulloch, risk manager for JLT says people need to get the size of our property correct or you could end up under-insuring it. |
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There’s new scrutiny on the system of tendering that New Zealand councils operate under. The Contractors’ Federation says the system might be letting millions of dollars fall through the system.
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As we look forward to whatever 2012 has in store for us, most of us hope it will be a whole lot better than what was served up in 2011. NZ Local Goernment editor Graham Hawkes looks back on a year many in local government will want to forget. |
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