MEDIA RELEASE

Sunday 19 April 2015

Christchurch ratepayers urged to fight to keep assets

In her address to a local meeting today, DSC leader Stephnie de Ruyter urged Christchurch ratepayers to fight to retain full ownership of strategic infrastructure assets by lobbying the government for a more creative solution.

“Christchurch City Council’s proposal to sell or partially sell strategic infrastructure assets to meet the forecast $1.2 billion rebuild shortfall is a desperate measure, and an unnecessary one too.

“Christchurch is New Zealand’s second largest city, home to 500,000 souls. The rebuild is a key driver of NZ’s economy. Surely those are reasons enough to consider a more creative solution than the tired old “sell assets” mantra?

“On the CCC chopping block are strategic assets built up by generations of Christchurch

ratepayers: Christchurch International Airport, the Lyttelton Port Company, and electricity supplier Orion. These assets generate revenue, and serve the interests of the public. Only a very short-sighted government would sit back and leave the Christchurch City Council with so few options to meet the forecast shortfall.

“The circumstances which have led to this proposal are extraordinary: catastrophic natural disasters resulting in large scale rebuilds are a challenge seldom faced by local authorities in New Zealand. And so an extraordinary solution needs to be offered by the government to support the Christchurch City Council.

“There is no reason at all why the government cannot use the provisions of the Public Finance Act to offer a Reserve Bank funding package (part grant, part interest free loans) to the CCC to meet the shortfall, alleviate the rates burden, and get Christchurch back on its feet.

ENDS

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