Media Statement:

Phillipstown School: A victory for the community and democracy

Christchurch City Councillor Yani Johanson has today welcomed the decision by the High Court that the Crown acted unlawfully in deciding to merge Phillipstown School with Woolston School.

"It is a welcome vindication that the High Court has found what many of us in the community have said from the start, that the decision to effectively close Phillipstown was not being done in a fair and transparent manner. I commend the School for its strong stance on this issue and am proud to have stood alongside them in challenging the right for Government to make such changes without due process. Sadly this has been a common theme in post quake Christchurch whereby the Government has acted unlawfully on major issues such as land use, the red zone, and the school closures. I hope that this sends a loud and clear signal to the Government that the citizens of Christchurch deserve to be engaged and involved in democratic decisions about their future. The decision today is not just a victory for Phillipstown but a victory for democracy."

ENDS

© Scoop Media