Geography 3.3

AS 91428 – Planning and impacts of a contemporary event

Resource Booklet

ASB Auckland Secondary Schools Māori & Pacific Island festival

Contents

  1. Brief History
  2. Who makes the decisions?
  3. Perspectives – John Heyes and Mele Ah Sam
  4. Organisational structure
  5. Organisations involved in the planning and decision making
  6. Planning an event
  7. Resource consents (permits)
  8. Policies and permits
  9. Contractors
  10. Methods of analysis

Appendix A – 2012 Annual Report, SMC Events Ltd

BRIEF HISTORY

The festival is an iconic annual event that celebrates the pride and passion of our Māori and Pacific Island communities through cultural song, dance, speech and art. The Diversity Stage allows other ethnic groups to be represented also. It is a place where we celebrate youth and all that they bring to the future.

From humble beginnings in 1976 when four schools gathered at Hillary College to compete in the initial festival, the ASB Polyfest has grown into the largest Māori & Pacific Island’s cultural festival in the world. In 2009 it attracted record spectator numbers of over 90,000, with 9000 students competing from 59 schools.

The 2013 ASB Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Island festival(Polyfest) marks 38 years of positive influence that the festival has had on the lives of our communities, our young people and our nation as a whole. Since it started, the festival has continued to grow despite financial and political pressures, and changes to the organisation structure. The festival has gained support from our youth, Auckland Secondary School Principals, teachers, tutors, families and iwi.

The ASB Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Island festivalfeatures traditional music, dance, costume and speech. Students compete on five stages, performing traditional items from the following cultures – Cook Islands, Māori, Niue, Samoan and Tongan. There is also a Diversity stage featuring performances from a range of cultural groups including Chinese, Korean and Indian.

The festival is organised by a Trust Board consisting of the Auckland Secondary Schools Principals Association, the KomitiWhakahaere, and the event management company – SMC Events Ltd.

WHO MAKES THE DECISIONS?

In the past, the task of managing and controlling the ASB Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Island festival was the role of an individual school, otherwise known as the host school. In the early 21st century, the Auckland Secondary Schools Heads Association (ASSHA) decided that an events company needed to take over the management of the polyfest because it was just too much for one school to handle the organisation on their own. It was then decided that SMC Events Ltd would assist in the management of the ASB Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Island festival. However, for years, even after the appointment of SMC Events Ltd, the actual running of the festivalcontinued to fall on the shoulders of a single school and the stage co-ordinators. The stage co-ordinators comprise the KomitiWhakahaere.

The SMC Group had to work together with schools and community representatives who for years have set up the kaupapa (principles or policy) that was used in each of the stages. Although SMC events Ltd worked alongside the host school, there were still huge pressures on the host school. Host schools were not able to apply for extra funding for school related matters and external trust boards declined their applicationas a result of having provided funding previously for their hosting of the ASB Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Island festival.

In 2008, the decision was made, taking into consideration that a single school was not able to organise the festival on their own, and that something needed to be done. It was at that point that the Secondary Schools Principals Association (who had taken over the festival from ASSHA) agreed that a trust board (The Polyfest Trust Board) needed to be set up. The Polyfest Trust Board had to be independent from any individual school. Therefore, any funding application would be completely independent from any single school.

The Polyfest Trust Board is now the main organisation that acts as an umbrella for all parties involved in the organisation and management of the Polyfest. The trustees of the Polyfest Trust Board are made up of school principals, a manawhenua representative – Eru Thompson (Kaumatua, Counties Manukau), a Pasifika representative, the event director from SMC Events Ltd, and two members from the KomitiWhakahaere.

Sources:

Interview with John Heyes, Principal of Mangere College, Trustee in Polyfest Trust Board, December 6th 2012, 2:18pm.

Interview with Mele Ah Sam, Samoan stage co-ordinator and assistant principal of Mangere College.

PERSPECTIVES

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

Source: The Polyfest Trust Organisational diagram cited at

ORGANISATIONS (GROUPS) INVOLVED IN THE PLANNING AND DECISION MAKING

The Polyfest Trust: Incorporated charitable trust.

Mayor Len BrownPolyfest Trust Patron

Trustees

ChairpersonSteve BovairdPrincipal

SecretaryDeidre Shea Principal

TreasurerJohn HeyesPrincipal

TrusteePatrick DrummPrincipal

TrusteeSusan ImpeyPrincipal

TrusteeVicki BarriePrincipal

TrusteeEru ThompsonManaWhenua (Kaumatua, Counties)

TrusteeBoaz RaelaPasifika

TrusteeToesulu BrownKomitiWhakahaere

TrusteeFane Ketu’uKomitiWhakahaere

Co-opted TrusteeTheresa HowardEvent Director

The Trust Board provides governance (authority and control) primarily overseeing the delivery and financial aspects of the event. Their main objective is to build a sustainable event. The Board meets on a quarterly basis every year.

SMC Events Limited: SMC Events manages logistics and operations and provides communication links for the ASB Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Island festival (Polyfest) network. Their commitment to the event runs from September to August.

Auckand Secondary Schools Principals Association (ASSPA): ASSPA lead the participating schools in their involvement in the festival and sign off on the official school entry forms. Their involvement is during the first term of the school calendar.

KomitiWhakahaere: The KomitiWhakahaere is an integral part of the ASB Polyfest Structure. The Komiti lead the organisation and operation of specific stages in the event. The Komiti is made up of stage coordinators and their respective komiti, host school representatives and SMC representatives. Their involvement is from September to June.

School Cultural Coordinator: The school cultural coordinator is the senior school contact/representative for all groups representing that school. They forward information to the school's Polyfest community. The School Cultural Coordinator involvement spans typically from September to May.

Teacher-in-Charge: The teacher-in-charge is the school representative who attends the event. His/her key role is to pass on communication to the participants and ensure that the school group works within the guidelines of the school and the event. Their involvement is from November to March.

Tutors: The tutors support the teacher-in-charge with the management of the group by preparing the groups for their performances and ensuring performances meet stage specific rules. Their involvement is typically from November to March though it depends on each school. Student Leaders: The student leaders lead the students/group in their performance.

Whanau/Churches/Marae/Community: These groups provide assistance and support to the school groups that are performing. Their involvement is tied in with schools.

Council Contractors/Sponsors/Trusts/Media/Stallholders/Community/Tourism: These groups act as the Polyfest stakeholders and service providers.

ManaWhenua: Mana provides spiritual guidance through protocols and practices over the four-day festival and thereafter more specifically October to March.

Geography 3.3

Host-school model: In 2012 the Polyfest Trust piloted a new host school model. This involves six secondary schools hosting a stage each (

Geography 3.3

PLANNING AND EVENT

Source:

When you are planning an event, you need to do the following:

  • Get permission to hold the event – ‘event permit’ if it is in a public place
  • Event safety – information and resources for you to ensure the safety of everyone attending your event
  • Event traffic management
  • Licences you may require for your event – information on other licences or permits such as food licences
  • Waste management – produce a waste management plan

Resource consents are permits issued by Auckland Council for activities that affect the environment. The council is required by the Resource Management Act to make sure that environmental effects are managed well.

Every day, people apply for resource consents for activities such as subdividing their property, building a new house, discharging wastewater or stormwater, moving earth or releasing discharges into the air. There are different regulations about these activities based on the area where you live, under the district plan for that area.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACT 1991

cited at

The Resource Management Act(usually called the RMA) is the main piece of legislation that sets out how we should manage our environment. It’s based on the idea of the sustainable managementof our resources, and it encourages us (as communities and as individuals) to plan for the future of our environment.

This doesn’t mean that we have to get rid of our cars, stop building things and plant only native trees on our farms. The RMA is really more concerned with managing the effects our activities have on the environment so that the environment doesn’t suffer.

We need to think about how our activities today can affect the future – to keep our eyes and ears open and to do what we can to stop other people’s behaviour that might damage the environment. The RMA also encourages us to get involved in deciding what’s best for the environment.

Perhaps most importantly, the RMA expects us to tell our local councils what we value about our environment, so that they can look after it for us. This is because we – as locals – are best placed to know our own surroundings, and we should be involved in deciding what needs to be protected and how. While the RMA provides a guide to what’s important in our environment, it generally leaves the decisions about how to manage the environment in the hands of the local community.

If you need to obtain resource consent, then the consent authority (Auckland Council) should also explain how to go about talking with people who might be affected by your project and preparing an assessment of environmental effects(AEE). Every application for resource consent must include an assessment of environmental effects. An AEE identifies all the environmental effects, positive and negative, of a proposed activity, and ways in which any negative effects can be prevented or reduced.

ASB POLYFEST

Resource consents are confidential information that sits between our Operations Manager and the Auckland City Council directly. “There are no third parties involved. It is fairly complex and requires a lot of detail. In conjuction with a number of Acts in place, we are guided by Auckland Council to complete the relevant and recommended documentation. Our resource is pulled from their website, and/or forwarded on from a specific department office direct depending on what process we are working off. This could be parks, or permits, food safe practices”.

Director of ASB Polyfest, SMC Events Ltd

POLICIES AND PERMITS (RESOURCE CONSENTS)

  • Event permit – this was required by SMC Events from Auckland Council in order for the ASB Polyfest to take place at the Sports Bowl venue in Manukau city.
  • Healthy eating Policy – all stall holders must follow this policy
  • Hygiene Regulations – stallholders selling food must abide by Auckland Council’s Hygiene Regulations. If stallholders do not meet requirements they may be shut down. A “safe food handling” booklet will be given at Stallholder meetings.
  • Following are 5 important guidelines to ‘safe food handling’
  • All hot food must be kept above 60 degrees C.
  • All cold food must be kept below 4 degrees C.
  • Keep food covered.
  • Always wash hands before handling food.
  • Provide shade over the stall to keep food out of the sun.
  • Waste Management Plan – plan was provided to Auckland Council about managing and minimizing waste.
  • Green Project - rubbish, litter and waste have a large negative impact on the environment. The ASB Polyfest organising committee is committed to reducing waste so they encourage stallholders and the community to reduce the amount of waste we use and recycle whenever possible.

What does that mean to Stallholders?
The ASB Polyfest Green Project will involve the use of the principle “3- R’s of waste minimisation – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”.

cited at

  • Reduce packaging to a few materials which are recyclable
  • Collect and sort recyclable materials
  • Prevent litter

What are the benefits for the Stallholder?

  • Decreased cost by reducing types of packaging and minimising rubbish collection
  • Allowing for creativity around packaging
  • Promoting a cultural presentation to your stall
  • Increased competitive edge

What should I do as a Stallholder?
You can help reduce litter and waste by:

  • Avoiding unnecessary packaging
  • Reusing items where possible
  • Use packaging that can be recycled
  • Use packaging that is made from recycled material
  • Control the spread of litter by having rubbish bins at your stall

Recycling stations with bins will be located at a number of locations around the festival, especially near food areas. These are for use by patrons only. Stallholder’s waste materials including flattened cardboard boxes should be placed at the site designated by the festival Operations Manager. No waxed boxes please as they cannot be recycled.

Grey water disposal
Grey water is waste water generated from activities such as dish washing, laundry and other domestic activities. In addition to the “3-R’s of waste minimisation – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” we will also be providing receptacles to dispose of grey water in the following areas:

  1. In between B1 and N1 stalls
  2. Cook Island stage area
  3. Māori stage area
  4. Tonga stage area

These areas will be well signposted and will assist us in working towards sustainability and a greener event.

CONTRACTORS

Contracting services were hired by SMC Events Ltd to look after parking, day security, night security, health and safety, power, marquees, staging etc. In 2011, a number of contractors signed a 3 year contract agreement. The majority of contractors have now been locked in to annual contracts.

See 2012 annual report, SMC Events Ltd

METHODS OF ANALYSIS USED TO INVESTIGATE PLANNING ISSUES

Source: Hensman, J. M., & Hensman, J. R. (Eds). (1992). Planning and Decision – making. Auckland, New-Zealand: New House Publishers Ltd.

Social Cost Benefit Analysis (p. 15)

This technique is often used to evaluate alternative options where a commitment of resources is involved. The costs and benefits of each alternative option are calculated in monetary terms and expressed as a ratio:

Cost=Cost Benefit Ratio

Benefits

There are two types of costs and benefits which may be considered-primary and secondary. Some costs and benefits are difficult to measure, for example, how should a lower accident rate be quantified and expressed in monetary terms? This is often done by using saved hospital costs and saved absence from work. This aspect of the method introduces a subjective element into the analysis, as there are many different views concerning, for example, the value of a human life or the value of a quiet neighbourhood.

PRIMARY COSTS
  • Purchase of land and materials
  • Labour
  • Compensation
/ SECONDARY COSTS
  • Disturbances resulting from construction
  • Loss of trade in by-passed towns

PRIMARY BENEFITS
  • Faster transit times
  • Lower fuel costs
/ SECONDARY BENEFITS
  • Rise in value of by-passed towns
  • Lower accident rate

Environmental Impact Assessment (p. 14)

Environmental Impact Assessment is a means of describing the potential effects on the environment of particular development projects (eg, a mine, and industrial plant, a power station). It considers the changes (both positive and negative) which may be caused by the implementation of the proposal. Environmental impact assessment includes socio-economic as well as physical and ecological impacts.

A variety of planning methods are used in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and some of these are outlined in this unit. Public participation is an important aspect of environmental impact assessment (5.3).

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (E.I.A)

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

All developmental proposals which require resource consents (planning permission) from government agencies are required to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment. The government when acting as a developer is also bound by these legal requirements.

Goals Achievement Analysis

Refer to Hensman and Hensman (1992, p. 18).

Sieve Analysis

This technique is often used in evaluating alternative locations for a development. Sieving refers to the successive elimination of unsuitable sites by using various criteria.

Refer to Hensman and Hensman (1992, p. 20).

Appendix A

2012 Annual Report, SMC Events Ltd