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States > New Zealand > New Zealand Events
New Zealand Events
Our co-ordinator in New Zealand (North) is Roger Tweedy.
Our co-ordinator in New Zealand (South) is Andrea Wild.
Upcoming events:
IAP2 Australasia would like to invite you to a very special Master Class with international leader of community change, Bliss Browne from Imagine Chicago.
| Date & Location: |
27 Novmber 2008 - Auckland |
| Time: | 9am - 4.30pm Registration from 8.30am |
| Cost: | $490 members, $590 non member, $290 students and NGO's. |
Young people are particularly at risk today as they try to make sense of their lives in a society in
which they are often isolated and poorly educated. They struggle to find constructive communities in which they are valued and expected to make a meaningful contribution. How can we awaken and cultivate their hope and commitment? How can we sustain it?
These questions compelled Bliss Browne, an Episcopal priest, mother and former corporate banking executive, to create Imagine Chicago in 1992. What would it take, she wondered, to create a vision and action plan for the city's future that was owned by the people of Chicago? How would it be possible to create a city economy in which no one was wasted, in which everyone’s contributions mattered?
Browne’s questions led her to convene a group of 65 experienced community builders in Chicago for a 2-day conference in October 1991. Together, they explored "Faithful Economic Imagination", or how individuals might collectively steward the city's resources to sustain life for everyone. .
For more information on the Auckland event, click here..
For more information on the Christchurch event, click here...
What you have missed so far:
February 2008
Community engagement as a democratic process
The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Australasia hosted an exciting series of facilitated discussions around New Zealand in February.
The discussions were lead by Dr Geoff Fagan, of the University of Strathclyde. Geoff’s interests lie in democratic renewal, engagement as a core sustainability issue, engaging local people to make their communities more sustainable and local research as empowerment. The discussions combined elements of all of these topics and presented some specific case studies from Geoff’s work in rural communities in Scotland.
Dr Geoff Fagan:
Geoff is the president elect of the IAP2 as well as the Project Director of CADISPA (Conservation & Development in Sparsely Populated Areas) and a senior lecturer in the Department of Community Education at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK. His research interests include Local Agenda 21; sustainability and community development; capacity building; and popular education. His teaching at the University is tied into the research and includes community development; education and group work; and empowerment.
May 2007
Guest speaker Bruce Northey, General Counsel Auckland District Health Board.
Bruce lead an informal discussion and analysis around the recent High Court case of Diagnostic Medlab Ltd v Auckland District Health Board. The case concerned the process that the three greater Auckland DHBs followed in making their decision to award the contract for pathology services to a new provider, Lab Tests Auckland.
Judge Asher J found that the consultation for this decision was inadequate, because the material provided was “bland” and failed to “indicate that significant change” to pathology services was being contemplated by the DHBs. Asher J also suggested that since Lab Tests Auckland’s proposed method for providing pathology services was significantly different to the proposal set out in the November 2005 consultation document, the DHBs had not consulted adequately.
The DML case has significant implications for consultation practitioners in New Zealand. The case is one of only a few to have tested consultation requirements and practices in court, and provides some important precedents and useful guidance for practitioners on the requirements of adequate consultation in New Zealand.
February 2007
Anne Pattillo (of Pattillo) lead a group workshop discussing the development and first stage of consultation on the re development of the New Zealand Building Code. The project is one that will take over five years to be completed with several phases of consultation. The first phase was determining the community expectations for their homes, places or work and buildings. The second phase focused more on the input both from the public and key stakeholders in the building sector.
July 2006
Andrew Stevenson, of Tasman Research and Consultation, presented a case study following the Ministry of Education’s consultation process to decide how to provide schools to a growing area of Auckland – Flat Bush. Andrew’s presentation is available here
Awards
NZ Families Commission Wins International Community Engagement Award
The New Zealand Families Commission’s contribution to the development of a five-year plan for out of school child-care services has won one of only six global IAP2 awards. See details here for details.
Member Profile - Ben Parsons
What do you do in your day-to-day work?
I have just recently started my own consultancy business – Ben Parsons & Associates, so my days are currently very busy setting up the business, establishing systems and processes, finding clients and working on projects. My work includes both public engagement and social research, and my aim is to help clients with their business decisions by giving them an insight into their customers’ and stakeholders’ needs and opinions. The business is going really well after 6 weeks or so, but it’s still early days yet!
When I first started working at Auckland City Council, and started applying my research experience to public engagement and consultation processes.
Keeping up with the workload as a one man band.
In New Zealand I think the relatively recent law changes governing local government consultation requirements are having a big impact – not always positive either. The local government Act requires councils to ‘consult’ on a range of significant decisions, but it hasn’t necessarily encouraged them to ‘engage’ with their community. Rather, many councils/decision makers view this requirement as a barrier to good decision-making and conduct their consultation as a begrudging box-ticking exercise. This has led many community members and interest groups to feel increasingly cynical about local government’s motives and decision-making abilities.
Keep it simple and focus on the fundamental principles – I think it is much more important that the decision-makers and internal stakeholders have a genuine intention to engage meaningfully with their stakeholders than it is to worry about the latest technique or technology to do so.