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Christchurch’s small number of opponents has raised concerns that the government’s lack of accountability could further slow the city’s recovery.
In Saturday’s elections, the rural areas of Selwyn and Waimakariri became the only largest constituencies in Christchurch still in the hands of non-governmental MPs. National Party Deputy Leader Gerry Brownlee, in a roster position after losing his seat in Ilam, remains the sole deputy of the urban opposition from Christchurch.
On Monday, business leaders and Brownlee urged the city to keep a close eye on both the incoming government and the city council.
The “diminished influence” of the opposition was “certainly a concern,” Brownlee said.
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“In the last three years there has been great criticism of the previous seven years, but not much progress.”
Iain McGregor / Stuff
Abandoned land in the Christchurch waterfront red zone.
He said getting downtown homes installed quickly enough was the main concern, and that the government should have opened up the eastern framework, which Fletcher Living is developing on behalf of the Crown, to other developers.
The city was building a scaled-down metropolitan sports complex, while there were “signed papers but no turf was removed” at the stadium site, he said. He also criticized the slow implementation of the riverside red zone and the rejection of plans to build a lake.
“It’s just following the pain East Christchurch has been through.”
JOSEPH JOHNSON / Things
Gerry Brownlee says that in three years, Labor has made a lot of criticism but little progress in Christchurch.
In the run-up to the 2017 elections, the Labor Party pledged $ 300 million in government cash for the city council to spend on the Christchurch stadium, rebuilding infrastructure and regenerating the red light district.
Despite this, construction of the stadium is not expected to begin until 2021, little development has been done in the red zone and many roads remain in poor condition.
Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Leeann Watson called for investments in “quality infrastructure” to encourage private investment in Christchurch.
CHRIS SKELTON / Things
Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel, left, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Christchurch Labor MPs Megan Woods and Duncan Webb at the site of the city’s unbuilt stadium.
“We want to see a change in focus, we want things to accelerate. We want to see more for Christchurch to unlock our potential for jobs, skills and productivity. “
The city and the region had to do more to explain their potential to the government, but the government had a responsibility to listen.
Watson said the lack of opposition politicians in Christchurch, and the possibility of the Labor Party ruling alone, puts pressure on the chamber and other groups to pressure the government.
“The coalition meant that there was a diverse thought… With the ability to govern alone, a greater expectation of fulfillment arises.
Joe Johnson / Stuff
Canterbury Emplyers Chamber of Commerce Director Leeann Watson wants to focus more on Christchurch.
“We need policies that are good for business and the public. And we want to see progress as quickly as possible in the central city, both from the central government and the City Council.
“Part of our role is to keep both feet on the fire,” he said.
Central city property owner and developer Richard Peebles said that while the national and Labor governments supported reconstruction, he wanted more emphasis on the South Island.
Voters in Canterbury and the South Island had strongly supported Labor, and the incoming government should reward it, he said.
After initially not liking National’s Christchurch central rebuilding plan as it cost him land, he was now very pleased to see the “bold plan” come to fruition.
“Success is measured in decades, but I think it will be very, very good.”
Peebles said the rest of the rebuilding was “now in the hands of the private sector,” but the city council needed to allow progress, not act as a gatekeeper.
“We need the advice to be more empowering so that we can attract investment to the CBD and not let personal agendas get in the way.”
Iain McGregor / Stuff
Richard Peebles, photographed at one of his properties, the Guthrey Center, says the rebuilt city will be “very, very good.”
Brownlee also criticized the city council, saying there was an urgent need for local government reform across the country.
He said the council had a reputation for “the computer says no” [a reference to an unhelpful customer services rep in the TV skit show Little Britain].
“Some departments are understanding, but when it comes to consenting and that sort of thing, the rules are complex, very complex. Many parts of the council are too paralyzed. “
When asked if he would remain in Parliament until the next election, Brownlee said it was “too early” to say.
“I am thinking about things for the next short time. I can’t make predictions about what I’m going to do in the long term. “
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
Sarah Pallett, who took the Ilam seat from Gerry Brownlee on Saturday night.
Philip Burdon, a national cabinet minister in the 1980s and 1990s and leader of the campaign to rebuild Christ Church Cathedral, said he believed city residents would hold government accountable and that Labor had so far proven to be “more constructive” in the execution of the reconstruction than the.
Wigram Labor MP Megan Woods, the minister in charge of rebuilding Christchurch for the past three years, said Labor had built a significant momentum in the city.
“The reality is that there were projects over budget, overdue and without funding when we came to government.”
Labor had also made progress in addressing the “insurance disaster and failed home repairs that National left us,” Woods said.
