Dear Pauline

 

Thank you for your information request received on 25 November 2020 .  For
clarity the questions have been repeated below with our responses in blue

 

Dear Dunedin City Council,
My preference is to receive the requested information through the
fyi.org.nz platform.
On 22 September 2020 Customer and Regulatory Services made the report
“ANIMAL SERVICES ANNUAL REPORT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS” to
the Planning and Environment Committee.

1. At paragraph 9 the Report states:
“The Council has nine dog exercise areas, three of which are designated
small dog exercise areas, that are well patronised daily. Positive
feedback from the public continues to confirm that they are very
successful with both the socialisation of dogs and the interaction of
people.”

Please provide the evidence that substantiates the following statements:
(a) The parks are “well patronised”.

This statement in the report was made as a result of staff observations
while undertaking daily patrols across the city. No other information is
held, therefore this request is declined pursuant to section 17(g) of the
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

(b) The “very successful socialisation” of dogs. That is expected to
include (but is not limited to) an evidence-based definition for
“socialisation”, the measures used to determine “success”, the evidence
collected to confirm “success” and the documentation and surveys etc used
to collect and evaluate public opinion.

This statement in the report was made from informal public feedback
received and not via formal consultation, and as this information is not
held your request is declined pursuant to section 17 (g) of the Local
Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

(c) The “very successful” interaction of people. That is expected to
include similar evidence as required for (b), but it involves collecting
information about individuals who could be easily identified, so also
needs to include the authority for undertaking targeted surreptitious
surveillance, how the behaviour was surreptitiously recorded, proof it was
assessed according to a scientifically credible and ethical process, has
been secured against future misuse, and all other issues associated with
recording and subsequently assessing the inter-personal skills of a
law-abiding minority group without their knowledge.

This statement in the report was made from informal public feedback
received and not via formal consultation, and as this information is not
held your request is declined pursuant to section 17 (g) of the Local
Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

2. Paragraph 19 refers to advertising that promotes dog owner
responsibilities. Please provide the following
(a) The advertisements referred to (for example, the text of radio
advertisements and copies of the newspaper advertising), and the dates and
places the advertisements were published. 

These advertisements details are attached with dates listed below:

Jul-19    Annual Dog Registrations / Exercise Sports Grounds

Aug-19  Neutering / Dog Fouling / Exercise Sports Grounds

Sept 19 Neutering / Dog Fouling

Oct-19   Dog Fouling

Nov-19 Guy Fawkes / Holiday Care / Dog Fouling

Dec-19  Holiday Care / Dog Fouling / Sea Lions

Jan-20   Dog Fouling / Sea Lions

Feb-20  Business + Schools Education Programme / Dog Fouling

Mar-20 Penguins / Dog Fouling

Apr-20  Dog Fouling

May-20 Dog Fouling

Jun-20   Annual Dog Registrations / Exercise Sports Grounds

 

The advertisements for dog registrations ran from 1 June - 29 June 2020
inclusive (in relation to the Covid alert response) and from 30 June 2019
to 30 July 2020 for the general dog registration information.

 

(b) The surveys performed to assess public opinion. That would include,
but is not limited to, the surveys showing dogs were not accepted by the
public before the advertising, and the subsequent surveys showing that as
a result of the advertisements dogs are now accepted.

I advise that Council did not undertake any formal survey to assess public
opinion and has used the informal public feedback received for commentary
within the report.  As there is no information held your request is
declined pursuant to section 17 (g) of the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987.

(c) The comparison that substantiates the statement the print and radio
mediums are positive and effective (while other mediums are not).

I advise that no comparison work was undertaken between print, radio and
other media mediums (such as Facebook) and your request is therefore
declined pursuant to section 17 (g) of the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987, as the information is not held.

(d) Given this statement is made each year, the reason the advertising is
still viewed as effective given it is having to be repeated every year.

I advise that the use of print, radio and online advertising allows
Council to reach as many dog owners as possible and therefore considered
an effective form of advertising.

(e) The cost of the advertising and whether funded from dog revenue.

The costs for Animal Control advising to MediaWorks (July 2019 – June
2020) is advised as:

Budget                  $25,000 + GST

Spent                    $24,767.70 + GST

 

NZME (July 2019 – June 2020)

Budget                  $9,000 + GST

Spent                    $9,019 + GST

 

The advertising is funded through the Marketing and Communications budget,
and is not funded from dog registration fees.

Note I expect this information will be easily to hand given the Report has
has only just been complied and presented.
Yours faithfully,
Pauline

As we do not hold some of the information you have requested, your request
is refused pursuant to section 17 (g) of the Local Government Official
Information Act because the

information is not held.  You have the right to seek an investigation and
review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information about how to make a
complaint is available at

[1]https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/get-...
.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Lauren McDonald

Governance Support Officer
CORPORATE SERVICES GROUP              

P  03 477 4000  |  DD  03 474 3428  |  E [2][email address] 

Dunedin City Council, 50 The Octagon, Dunedin

PO Box 5045, Dunedin 9054

New Zealand

[3]www.dunedin.govt.nz

 

 

 

[4]DCC Main Page

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

If this message is not intended for you please delete it and notify us
immediately; you are warned that any further use, dissemination,
distribution or reproduction of this material by you is prohibited..

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/get-...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/
4. https://au-api.mimecast.com/s/click/XujA...