News

Last year, Dunedin wanted change. It demanded change. And Dave Cull seemed to be the man to deliver it. As such, he was voted in as your Mayor. You may have even given him the tick. Or did you vote back home? Having talked to the guy, I can see why Cull attracted the voters. He writes, he reads, is a family man, he cycles, he's a Southland High old boy and he has been a presenter on TV One. Cull is a man of the people. Praise be. Georgie Fenwicke spoke to him about the Highlanders and this lovely city.


What do you think of the Highlanders going green?
Well, it looks quite probable now doesn't it? I noticed that in the paper this morning, there were definitely some polarised views on it. I must say I can understand both sides of it. I can understand the call of tradition, albeit that the pictures show that actually the jersey has changed quite a bit over the years anyway. But then I understand that it is such a radical change to the light green. On the other hand, frankly if they win the competition I don't think anyone would care if they were running around stark naked.
 
Did you go to the game over the weekend?
No, I haven't gone since the Auckland game.
 
Talking about the Mayoralty in general, what has been biggest challenge you have had to face so far?
Well, I think that in some ways, the biggest challenge is to formulate – along with the rest of the council – a consensus on the major direction, major project or major challenge we face and actually get council all on board with all of that.
 
What is an example of a project that the council has reached a consensus on recently?
During the election, I talked about the need for us to have a vision of what we wanted the city to look like in thirty years’ time. Because if you don't have a clear vision of where you're going, then how on earth are you going to take steps to get there? Then at the same time, we were going through a consultation process where we were setting up some leadership groups in the community called “Your City, Our Future”. These leadership groups were on various issues; transportation, research & development, arts & culture, things like that. These groups were made up of members of the community; there were no councillors on them. They got together and were asked several questions such as where we are as a city and where do we want to be in thirty years’ time and what steps do we want to take to get there? That fed a lot of stuff back in to us.
 
And now it is starting to crystallise and lay out on maps in the city, and we're saying this is how we think this area should be. It is focussing the Council's thinking and the community's thinking.
 
The Stadium is obviously something you will be taking into consideration in terms of the ongoing infrastructure of the city, are you looking forward to it opening?
It is certainly going to be quite an experience for spectators. Because the edge of the field is so close to the seats and then the seats rake up quite steeply, when you are halfway up the stand you actually feel like you are looking into the game and not across the stadium at it.
 
That is a point of view about the Stadium I haven't heard yet, so you understand everything is on schedule?
It will be pretty tight, but I am confident everything will be ready.
 
There are a number of teams coming down to play here now; do you have any personal or ancestral ties to Ireland, Italy, England, Argentina, etc.? Who will you support?
I have some ancestral ties to England and Ireland. I think I will be supporting the All Blacks. I have got a soft spot for the Argentinians though. The underdogs, you know, give them a go.
 
Will you be going to Elton John when he comes?
Absolutely. I'll be there.
 
How do you see Dunedin's role in supporting the Christchurch rebuild developing over the next few years?
I see it in the South Island context, which is to maintain services and facilities for the rest of the South Island. The losses from Christchurch are not just in Christchurch, they are being felt by the whole of the South Island. For instance, tourism numbers are down in Queenstown because a lot of the tourists used to come in jumbos into Christchurch, they would overnight in a hotel there and would go on. Well, there are no hotels for them to overnight in so a lot of them are going to Auckland and they're not necessarily coming to the South Island at all or it is being interrupted. What that tells us is that it is the whole of the South Island's problem. Christchurch was an infrastructural and distribution centre; now with it out of commission, some of the other towns have to pick up some of the slack. It is not a matter of poaching anyone's business, it is about maintaining the facilities and services so that the whole of the South Island keeps going. So I see our role as partly that, but offering an alternative in the meantime for various things as Christchurch is being rebuilt.