s e v e n i s a j o u r n e y

We are in the midst of a bit of a scandal right now.

As of last Friday, Wellington had no more trained, full-time staff at WEMO (the Wellington Emergency Management Office). If the “big one” hit today, we would be in a world of hurt.

Why has this happened? Gross mis-management, of course. (Why are so many managers self-important idiots incapable of listening to advice? I think it is because people don’t like to feel stupid, so they only listen to people dumber/less knowledgeable than themselves. Thus management is a perpetual downhill slide as everyone within the hierarchy will be dumber than the leader- and if they accidentally hire a smart person he/she will be ignored and marginalized).

I belong to the TEMG, the Tawa Emergency Management Group, which is a bunch of CD/EM volunteers and professions with a lots of experience and knowledge. We are appalled by all this. We have, over the last few months, been filing OIA (official information act) requests for documents pertaining to the “review” of WEMO that has led to all but one person quitting over the last 6 months (and that last person had his job dis-established on Friday). About 3 weeks ago I sent out a very blunt email to the incompetent-WCC managers involved in the fiasco, as well as relevant government ministers and city elected officials (the Mayor). But with the final collapse last week, we had to go public with what information we had.

So Friday I spent 6 frantic hours working with Grahme putting together a media release, and then we called lots of media outlets. As the designated spokesman I have been interviewed, and had the dubious pleasure to listen to myself in radio reports.

On Saturday morning we met with Peter Dunne (local MP). He has an interest in CD issues, having worked/volunteered in it in the past, and he is going to rattle some cages for us.

I think that I am now a *very* unpopular person among certain WCC managers and elected councillors.

Update- MP Dunne was on National Radio Tuesday morning, and gace WCC a hiding (I thought so, at least). I met with the labour MP for CD at Parliament yesterday. She seems keen to bring the issue up. WCC sent out a press statement which is full of… creative versions of the facts. I look forward to sending a line by line fully-referenced deconstruction of that press release to the MPs for Wellington today.