Proposal to Head to Gold Coast – Queensland for Potential Junket

After Queenstown – can we afford Queensland

It has been brought to my attention that there is another “junket” coming up for parts of Auckland Council and the Local Boards. However this conference, junket or whatever you like to call it is over in QUEENSLAND (Gold Coast). The Conference is called: “Annual International Cities Town Centres and Communities Society Conference,” which is being held in the Gold Coast, Queensland, from 16 – 19 October 2012.

The purpose of this conference is: “The International Cities Town Centres and Communities Society Conference takes place from 16 to 19 October 2012 and focuses on place-making, with streams based on themes including Town Centre Development, Urban Revitalisation, Community Engagement and Infrastructure Planning and Development. The conference includes presenters from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

Now there is a glossy brochure for this conference which I shall embed at the bottom of the post. The brochure includes most costs, events, sessions and outlay of this elaborate affair.

One of our Local Boards (to my knowledge as I am busy tracing down more and checking to see if Councillors are going too at the time of writing this post) has been asked to consider sending a delegate along to this conference over in Queensland this October. The Local Board concerned and which was brought to my attention is the Upper Harbour Local Board and here is an excerpt in what was in their OPEN agenda concerning this conference:

Upper Harbour Local Board
28 August 2012
Local Board Member Attendance at the International Cities Town Centres and Communities Society Conference 16-19 October 2012
Page 139
Local Board Member Attendance at the International Cities Town Centres and Communities Society Conference 16-19 October 2012
File No.: CP2012/13571
Purpose

1. This report seeks endorsement for Upper Harbour Local Board members, to attend the Annual International Cities Town Centres and Communities Society Conference, which is being held in the Gold Coast, Queensland, from 16 – 19 October 2012.

Executive Summary

1. The International Cities Town Centres and Communities Society Conference takes place from 16 to 19 October 2012 and focuses on place-making, with streams based on themes including Town Centre Development, Urban Revitalisation, Community Engagement and Infrastructure Planning and Development.
2. The conference includes presenters from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
3. Local Boards have a significant role in place making through planning and oversight of local development. The Upper Harbour Local Board will provide significant input into the Unitary Plan and Urban Design Guidelines over the next six months and provide leadership in town centre planning and development.
4. The Upper Harbour Local Board has a number of significant current and pending town centre developments in its area including Hobsonville Point and the Albany Town Centre.
5. Attendance at the conference will provide best practice examples of international urban development and assist Local Board members with their future local decision making and sub regional advocacy.

Recommendation/s

1. a) That the identified Upper Harbour Local Board member(s), be endorsed to attend the International Cities Town Centres and Communities Society Conference, taking place in Queensland, from 16 – 19 October 2012.
2. b) That the Upper Harbour Local Board endorses the payment of registration fees of AUD$1380 per person (estimated NZD$1800) from its local board professional development allocation.
3. c) That accommodation and travel expenses for attending the International Cities Town Centres and Communities Society Conference be provided for, in line with Auckland Council’s Elected Members’ Expense Rules.
4. d) That following the conference, the members who attended the conference, provide a written report on the conference and lead a workshop discussion with Upper Harbour Local Board members to share learnings and insights.

Item 20
Upper Harbour Local Board
28 August 2012
Local Board Member Attendance at the International Cities Town Centres and Communities Society
Conference 16-19 October 2012
Page 140
Discussion

7. An amount of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) is available per local board member for the 2012/2013 financial year, for members to attend conferences and training.
8. The International Cities Town Centres and Communities Society Conference registration is AUD$1,095.00 per person and attendance in a Master Class is a further AUD$295.00 per person.
9. Additional funding will be required for accommodation (Estd AUS$149.00 per person per night) and travel including return airfares (Estd NZ$800.00 per person).

Consideration
Local Board Views
10. The report seeks to ascertain the views of the Upper Harbour Local Board with regards to approval of members’ attendance at the International Cities Town Centres and Communities Society Conference.

You can see the full agenda (from Page 139) which has the outline of the decision-making required in sending a delegate to Queensland as well as the Conference glossy brochure in the embed at the bottom of the document.

Costs

Just taking a look at the conservative side of the costs of sending a single delegate to this Conference in Queensland, the cost would be around (including five nights accommodation) $3,515 per person with no added expenses such as spending money or I think attending a Master Class. Basically we as a ratepayer would be looking at $4,000 including sundries per person to attend this conference.

Ouch

My Urban Education Tour in the USA was around $4,077 PER PERSON (although no Sundries as you pay for that yourself – so add $1,500 per person of your own money to spend while away) yet this little trip over to Queensland is going to cost $3,515 – $4,000 per person – that IS JUST NUTS!

However I am going to investigate further into this conference in Queensland and see if it is worth going over, OR propose an alternative that would be more fiscally responsible yet give better bang for your buck.

I shall get back to you on this conference and whether it is value for our ratepayers dollars or not

Stay Tuned

See from Page 139 for the consideration on The International Cities Town Centres and Communities Society Conference 16-19 October 2012