Brownlee’s paradoxical legacy
Six and a half years after it started, one of the more remarkable tenures in New Zealand politics is over. Next week, Gerry Brownlee will no longer be in charge of the Christchurch rebuild. He is relinquishing all of his ministerial roles except one to become the next foreign affairs minister.
Cabinet reshuffles happen all the time, but it’s not overstating things to say that this particular transition is the end of an era.
The earthquake job made Brownlee as close to omnipotent as a politician can be in New Zealand. No other portfolio afforded such a close managerial hand, or such a concentrated impact on one corner of the country.
Whoever took it would inevitably leave an indelible, personal mark.
That this person was Brownlee, among the most forthright politicians of his generation, further entrenches the legacy.
But he swaps the Christchurch stage for the global one more political paradox than ideologue.
As Earthquake Recovery Minister, Brownlee endured sustained criticism – much of it personal and unfair – and never once publicly complained, only to issue breathtakingly tone-deaf responses when asked to comment on a person or issue that displeased him.
He once referred to former Christchurch mayor Sir Bob Parker as a ‘‘clown’’ over comments about possible rates rises and accused rebuild critics of ‘‘carping and moaning’’. His public tolerance for dissenting views was never high.
This meant that no Brownlee character assessment was complete without a parade of synonyms on his personality – brash, blunt, forthright, combative – but there was tact beneath that veneer.
If he was a liability his bosses would have cut him loose years ago and they definitely wouldn’t have given him the foreign affairs portfolio. Prime Minister Bill English said: ‘‘He’s shown the ability to be blunt when he needs to be but also diplomatic when he needs to be’’.
It’s hard not to think that Christchurch might have benefited by the balance being redressed a little, though. In such a high-stakes role, there is a tendency for such traits to become overbearing; for staffers to ask themselves ‘What would the minister think?’ before acting on even the smallest decisions.
Boil Brownlee’s earthquake legacy down to two things: the residential red zone and the central city rebuild. Most of the successes and failures of his tenure can be found in there.
The central city blueprint may yet be the founding document of the rebuilt Christchurch. Released in 2012, it provided certainty and a clear path for the future.
Nearly five years after it was unveiled, many of the projects within it are yet to be finished. Some are yet to be started. The ribbon-cutting of a big-ticket anchor project – a convention centre, stadium or metro sports complex – would have been a sweet note on which to sign off.
The red-zone payout offers, though fraught with problems, gave people options where they had none. The Canterbury Home Repair Programme ensured that tens of thousands of earthquakedamaged homes were repaired in good, managed order (the matter of 5000 inquiries for remedial repairs excluded). The Earthquake Commission (EQC) was a giant, shuddering mess for much of the recovery but, in the end, it did its job. Brownlee will have time to fix that. EQC is the one job he is keeping.
He will give up the rest –
. . . no Brownlee character assessment was complete without a parade of synonyms on his personality – brash, blunt, forthright, combative – but there was tact beneath that veneer.
Christchurch Regeneration, Defence, acting Civil Defence, Leader of the House – next week. Foreign affairs, the most diplomatic of portfolios, beckons.
If any part of Brownlee’s character lacks paradox it is his habit of making up his mind and sticking to it. ‘‘If he comes to a position he’ll have thought through it a lot,’’ an adviser once said. ‘‘To change him from that position is not necessarily easy.’’
There may be room for more contradiction yet.