Actually the title of this post is wrong. The person we used to call “the secretary” at our local school is now rightly given other titles such as Office Administrator or School Administrator. But even those don’t capture the role that they play in the running of schools and the well-being of the staff and students.
This morning I attended the farewell for Anne Young the long time Office Administrator at Cardinal McKeefry School in Wellington. Anne has been the friendly welcoming face of the school for many years, and right from when I met her I always felt welcomed and included when I visited the school. As I looked around the room at her farewell today I saw all kind of representatives from the community for whom Anne is their window to the school- from the bank, the contractors, other schools, parents, staff and of course the kids.
A couple of years ago when NZEI were running their support staff pay campaign I listened to some administrators detail the scope of their work. It was vast, but they all seemed to know that the ultimate reason for them being at work was the kids. At every school I visit the office staff have a great feel for the schools and the needs of children. I have observed them playing the role of counsellor, mentor, friend, shoulder to cry on and general supporters of a range of kids. They know them, keep an eye on them and notice all the ups and downs.
Schools simply could not run without the likes of Anne. From making sure the bills get paid to making sure the kids are looked after, they are a key part of our school communities. The jobs do not pay anything like what they should, so I thank them all for their service. All the best to Anne in her retirement, but also to all the school secretaries/administrators/whatever you are called, thank you for what you do.
Its easy to get annoyed about the decision to go ahead with the Wellywood sign. For me, its just not Wellington. Its cliched and derivative. The city I love to call home is quirky and different. If we are going to welcome people in, lets give them something that is truly representative of us, and unique. (Leaving aside the fact that given prevailing winds, you are most likely to see the sign on your way out, not your way in…)But what this really shows is what happens when a strategic asset is sold off. For those who were not around the sale of the Government’s 66% share in Wellington airport was the nadir of the Shipley led National government in the 1990s. Winston pulled New Zealand First out of the coalition in the wake of it, and the government staggered on until they were defeated in 1999.
Nowadays the airport is 2/3rds owned by Infrantil and 1/3rd owned by the City Council. I actually have quite a lot of time for Lloyd Morrison, but I am sorry to say that the fact that his company can essentially make the call on how Wellington is branded in terms of visitors and publicity, is just not right. This is just one aspect of what happens when a city or country loses control of strategic assets.
Can we be sure that something like this would not have happened with government ownership? Of course not, but at the very least the public would have a greater say and ability to influence the decision, and deal to the decision makers if they do not listen.
There has, understandably, been a lot of talk in the last few days about how Wellington’s buildings will stand up to an earthquake, and the progress or lack thereof that has been made in strengthening buildings. The information from the Wellington City Council about those buildings that might be earthquake prone is now being consumed all across town. That’s all well and good, but what about a solution to actually get the work that needs to be done, done?
I well remember in the 2008 election campaign coming under some pretty strong criticism about the costs being imposed on building owners for earthquake strengthening in Wellington as a result of changes to the Building Act. In 2009 the Wellington City Council allowed for a negotiated slow-down of the timeline for undertaking the strengthening work, and most owners have got on with the often massive task of raising the necessary funds to do this work.
The tragedy in Christchurch has seen many people think again about the strengthening work. The City Council is to review the process again. I have been contacted by building owners and tenants who are worried, and are anxious both to make progress on the strengthening, but also about what new requirements might come from the Council review.
There’s no doubt we all want to see the strengthening happen, and happen quickly. But we have been, and possibly still are in a recession. People are struggling to find the money to do the work.
I think the time has come from a central and local government partnership to address the issue just as has been done with the leaky building issue. It does not necessarily have to be structured the same way (it could be a loan facility for instance) but if we are to see buildings strengthened in a timely manner, the owners are going to need some help.
The government’s priority in this kind of area must, and will be, with Christchurch over the next period, but as soon as it is practical I would like to see if we can get the right people together to develop a proposal that gives building owners, residents and the rest of the city a pathway to getting this important work done.
And just to make the point, Wellington hosted a very cool musical weekend this past couple of days. Saturday saw Rufus Wainwright and Sunday (and again tonight) Leonard Cohen. I did not make it to Rufus, but I did see Leonard last night. He was simply stunning. I would not class myself as a fan, at least until last night. I have heard plenty of Leonard songs over the years, and spent many of my Friday nights as a student warbling along to So Long Marianne played by the house band (Bits of Spaghetti) at the Robbie Burns, but seeing him in person was something else. A fitter 76 year old you would struggle to find. Intense, captivating, amazing.
In any case, to celebrate, here is Rufus playing Leonard. I dont class myself as religious in any sense, but this song has it all.
Just back from the Wellington cultural and networking evening here in Shanghai, which was well attended by a mixture of expat New Zealanders and Chinese business people. It was held in NZ Central which, apropo of my previous post, I think is a great investment for NZ Inc. It is a space that promotes New Zealand right in central Shanghai, and is available for business people coming to Shanghai to use as a base.
Its hard to be sure at events like this with a somewhat self-selecting audience, but there seemed to be a genuine interest in New Zealand. While there was a lot of talk about exporting our value added products and knowledge into China in key areas such as agriculture and horticulture, there was great interest in our IT and production industries. There are a number of production companies represented on the Wellington delegation, along with Richard Taylor from Weta, and they have all reported great progress with joint ventures in film and TV production in China.
The cultural side of the evening was brilliant, with Elena and her troupe wowing the audience.
Earlier in the day we had a youth forum at the NZ Pavilion at Expo. One of the Chinese participants was the volunteer coordinator for the Expo. They have around 8,000 volunteers working each day on site, and around 400,000 visitors each day. It is vast. From what I saw the New Zealand pavilion stacks up well, and offers some unique experiences, especially in terms of the outdoor area complete with hot pools, veggie garden and Pohutakawa.
