Consultation

Question 1

Identify Stakeholders

Answer 1

• directly affected (neighbours)
• local community
• wider community
• media/elected officials
• interest groups
• Maori groups

Question 2

Successful Consultation

Answer 2

• start early
• devote time and money
• clarify expectations
• have honest intentions
• be a good listener
• learn from mistakes
  successful consultation builds trust

Question 3

Maori Consultation

Answer 3

• special historical and cultural relationship with water
• need to be careful of vegetation clearance, contaminations of water, mixing of waters, discharge of ‘used’ water
• be clear on level of consultation appropriate (national, tribal, runanga?)

Question 4

kaitiakitanga

Answer 4

food/guardian/customs - desire to serve as guardians for natural resources and ensure continuance for future generations

Question 5

wai tapu

Answer 5

sacred water - Maori likely to seek absolute protection

Question 6

wai tonga

Answer 6

treasured water - Maori likely to protect quality and quantity

Question 7

rahui

Answer 7

prohibition, often temporary, on use of a natural resource

Question 8

Special Features of pre-industrial perspectives

Answer 8

• need for reciprocity between people and nature
• view of time as circular rather than linear
• spiritual belief that spirits and natural forces influence natural events and even human thought and communication
• profound empathy with other forms of life

Question 9

How to avoid bad consultation

Answer 9

• do not be too helpful
• do not withhold information
• do not dominate public gatherings
• do not overconsult with squeaky wheels
• do not try to solve problems before understanding the issues
• do not overconsult
• do not ask people how much money they would accept to settle
• do not use anti-consultation ploys

Question 10

Anti-consultation Ploys

Answer 10

1. Faster is Safer
2. The Stone Wall
3. Divide and Rule
4. The Bogus Choice
5. Markmanship
6. The Misdirection
7. Pass the Buck
8. Jam Tomorrow, Jam Yesterday, but never Jam Today
9. The Lullaby Letter
10. The Cotton - Wool Wall
11. Wave a Red Flag
12. The “I’m-your-friend” Bluff
13. The “Have-pity-on-me” Bluff

Question 11

1. Faster is Safer

Answer 11

• simplest and best ploy

- construct everything as quickly and quietly possible before they notice

Question 12

2. The Stone Wall

Answer 12

• if someone finds out before project finishes ignore them and give them a stone wall
• look for excuses that will get the project done before objectors realise
• make use of busy schedules, budget constraints, natural disasters, personal tragedies

Question 13

3. Divide and Rule

Answer 13

• an old favourite dating back to Roman times
• “choose a route” trick for new highways: designed to split up highway objectors into three or four little camps, all at one another’s throats

Question 14

4. The Bogus Choice

Answer 14

• take all possible options, eliminating the ones you don’t want people to think about
• add a few dummy ones to add up teh numbers
• offer them to the public as the only options

Question 15

5. Markmanship

Answer 15

• give long winded speeches, being careful to say nothing of substance
• opponents will be so worried they missed something you said they won’t comment
• others will hear no comment from your opponents and assume they agree with you

Question 16

6. The Misdirection

Answer 16

• involves long, detailed, specific response to points that are almost (but not quite) the ones the objector has raised
• hope that the objectors feel guilty their point was unclear and you spent a great deal of time answering the wrong question
• otherwise, you can hope that they do not have the time to listen to another long (but still not appropriate) answer

Question 17

7. Pass the Buck

Answer 17

1) Crude Buckpassing - “thats not our responsibility, it is the responsibility of…”
2) Refined Buckpassing - staff blame elected representative, elected representative blame staff

Question 18

8. Jam Tomorrow, Jam Yesterday, but never Jam Today

Answer 18

• would-be participator told either that the scheme is already committed and the person should have said something earlier, or that the scheme is a long way off and too soon for comments
• magic moment for participation is always in the past or future

Question 19

9. The Lullaby Letter

Answer 19

• write a soothing letter to worried persons, assuring that their views will receive fullest consideration
• assure them of anything that will make them go to sleep

Question 20

10. The Cotton-Wool Wall

Answer 20

• for use if the lullaby letter doesnt work
• meet with objectors and treat them with utmost courtesy and consideration
• practice insincerity
• go ahead as if nothing happened
• be sure not to commit yourself to anything in writing

Question 21

11. Wave a Red Flag

Answer 21

• ” we always listen to responsible comments, but we are less likely to do so when they are accompanied by insinuations of the kind contained in your letter”
• doesn’t matter if the original letter was responsible
• your hope is that objectors will now send back a rude letter which you can use to discredit them

Question 22

12. the Im-your-friend Bluff

Answer 22

• invite objectors and say it is in their interest to withdraw their objections (they will become a laughing stock etc)
• not recommended except against the most inexperienced objector
• say that you will personally see that the project is modified after it is approved if they will withdraw their objection
• they might be gullible enough to believe it

Question 23

13. The Have-pity-on-me Bluff

Answer 23

• tell objectors that your career or health will suffer if they do not withdraw their objections
• desparation has set in if you are considering this ploy

Question 24

Use of Anti-consultation ploys

Answer 24

• avoid using these as a proponent : the loss of trust will add great risk to the project
• be prepared for others to use these when you are a stakeholder

Question 25

Franklin's Fulcrum

Answer 25

" although there are no guarantees, the potential for public acceptance of your project is directly proportional to the amount of control you are willing to relinquish, and inversely proportional to the walls behind which you try to hide."

Question 26

KEY POINTS

Answer 26

- stakeholders become involved when they are potentially affected, interested, have relevant information or represent people - consultation more effective if begun early, properly resourced and conducted sincerely - proposed developments more likely to be accepted by the public when developers develop trust and relinquish control - consultation is a response to a need to build trust, and relates to the history of past events