Christchurch and Canterbury has simply not gotten enough attention this election. Besides all the general reasons we want every region of the country to get a fair hearing, Christchurch has particular needs as the second-largest city and after the disasters that have rocked us. Christopher Luxon took the first opportunity to duck the Press debate, a proud fixture of the political scene where Christchurchers produce a livelier audience that puts the would-be Prime Ministers under more scrutiny than any other audience in the country. We saw this with Dale Stephens advocating for a police helicopter the other day that neither of the major parties support - regardless of your opinion on whether we should have one, it's a clear example of how good local candidates will not be paid heed by the major parties regardless. And now we have this episode, also from Christopher Luxon, who, remember, is the presumptive next Prime Minister, and probably for the next 6-9 years.
The only policy the party leading the next government have for Christchurch and Canterbury that any other government wouldn't also do (e.g the second Ashburton bridge, which both sides of the aisle agree on) is the $270 million Belfast to Pegasus motorway and Woodend bypass. That's it. That's the sum total. $270 mil - for comparison, less than 2% of the cost of National's tax cuts even if they've calculated them right. This is from a leader who spent over half of his formative years in Christchurch, who I have noted in the past flashes his Christchurch credentials in front of a Christchurch crowd to claim he cares about us, then left and never looked back. And he can't even be honest about it.
I wouldn't mind if anybody wants to openly make the case that other regions need certain investments more - Canterbury is relatively rich by the standards of rural New Zealand compared to the struggles in many regions, and areas affected by Cyclone Gabrielle in particular need the most urgent assistance. What's so galling to me is that this is an attempt to sneak by the voters a lack of policy ideas for a key engine of the country's success. It's a shocker, and I don't think any party is going to hold them to account on this, nor any other party not doing enough for the region.
This isn't just a National Party problem - ACT, for one, have weirdly low South Island representation, demoting their one Christchurch MP and nominating a poor candidate in Banks Peninsula. When did you last hear the other parties speak specifically to us, let alone develop policy for, by or about us? I like that the Greens have Lan Pham in Banks Peninsula and Kahurangi Carter in Christchurch Central (though the latter is only on the edge of making it in on the list) and National have Mr Stephens (and credit for a good list placement there); I can't think of anything that NZFirst or TPM have to do with us.
As I've said before, I like Christchurch's Labour MPs, but they are setting aside Christchurch for the national interests of their party, just like Matt Doocey will probably have to do for the Waimakariri to focus on mental health programs. We need better options for Canterbury and, for what is closest to my heart, Christchurch. In my case, that's a strong preference for the chance of having Manji and his billion-dollar plan get in and making the major parties pay up in return for his support. All around, it's worth thinking about for Cantabrians and Christchurchers when you go to vote.
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