The Government did well in Christchurch at the last election, nine months after its worst earthquake. National is said to be less popular there at this election, which probably explains the announcement this week that the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority is to be brought into the Prime Minister's department. "Cera" was supposed to last five years, time enough presumably for its fast-track powers to have the city reconstructed. Growing impatience among business leaders and citizens at slow progress undoubtedly lies behind the decision to wind it down from February, more than a year early.
Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee put the decision in the best possible light, calling it a transition plan for returning responsibility to local government and other agencies. The announcement was laden with administrative jargon and talk of imminent progress, like all of Cera's output of the past three years. It could point to no completed projects.
Chief executive Roger Sutton, heralded as someone who would make things happen, reckons that despite the discontent the rebuild is on schedule. "In broad terms, we're about where we expected to be," he said recently. "The big anchor projects now are under way and will start coming out of the ground this year. The worries about the CBD not coming back, I think those have almost entirely dissipated."
Well, yes. There are enough signs of life in the devastated central business district to suggest the city's commercial hub has not decamped permanently. But the area still looks like a wasteland with demolitions still not finished. The blueprint for its revitalisation looks too reliant on government projects and planned "precincts" of distinctive character. While some catalyst developments may be helpful, the plan needs to let business return as and where it is willing to build.
