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We cast our eyes over the PGDB 2014 Annual Report where the current public equity is $2,942,370.00 and look at the surplus remaining after actual costs have been removed for discipline and prosecutions. It shows the surplus taken for the last three years as $3,105,657.00 from discipline and Offences to support overheads!!!
So is the Board’s financial position because of “careful management of expenditure in the face of below budget income, ” or is it simply playing the system to over tax the industry? You be the judge.
We look at discipline vs. Offences and find the average cost/fine to licensed practitioners is 250% more than to non licensed people. Where is the fairness in that?
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If I recall correctly - the PGDB ran a pretty economic ship under Wally Weaver when it was located in the Hutt - NO lawyers on staff, they actually had real technically capable people on the staff then and then it all started to change under the Registrar Colleen Singleton and Chair Phil Routhan. The decision was made that many of the staff were to be made redundant and replaced with administrators who did not understand the trade and how it worked. They also decided they needed to be nearer their stakeholders (read Government) - hence the shift to a very expensive office on the Terrace and the explosion of staff. (In days gone past they hired in temporary staff around examination and registration time). What I want to know is how the number of disciplinary items and offences has changed from Mr Weaver's tenure to now i.e. is there ANY justification in the increases in costs and overheads? Are we getting MORE for our money, are we getting BETTER for our money - or are we propping up an empire building machine hell bent on living the high lift at the expense of tradespeople with no tangible benefit?
Everyone who is the recipient of tax money (and make no mistake this is a "tax" by another name) should be highly accountable for its expenditure.
Also - can you tell me if the PGDB have met the Charities Commission requirements in regards to timing and format of accounts? And the annual report?
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hi guys, Jax you are quite correct (then it all started to change under the Registrar Colleen Singleton and Chair Phil Routhan). The road show conducted by these people pre C.B. Licensing for gasfitters only(2004) (plumbers/Drainlayers didn't give a dam but they do now).Was in Ch-Ch where we went along to get 4 points for attending, we were also informed that a fee of $15.00 would be added to licence fee to cover cost of prosecutions of non qualified people doing our trades. Apparently councils had stopped doing it as it was too expensive. Halfway through the spiel of b.s. i walked out claiming my 4 points from Ms Singleton and informing her of my opinion that was: Deregulation of the trades within 10 yrs. as what was proposed was unworkable. Well looks like i was wrong as 10 years is nearly up. So you can see that after 10 years things have snowballed out of control and will presumably keep going so all trades people should brace themselves for more pain,cheers
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I remember asking what Ms Singleton knew about plumbing, because she seemed to know very little by what she was saying to me on the phone, she said she didn't need to know anything about plumbing because she was a nurse and it all came under health, LOL.