Mayor’s budget plan carries a ‘wimpy whiff’

The average rates demand will be still racked up by an extra $10 a week, as will rental housing costs. It’s crudely ironic that for all the hand-wringing and rhetoric by councillors about unaffordable housing, they are wilfully choosing to drive up rents.

I canvassed the views of councillors over the weekend about the Dalziel "compromise".

Cr Ali Jones welcomes the plan as a great starting point but is acutely concerned that the rates hikes are inflating housing costs. She’s vowing to push hard to drag down the rates rises.

Ditto from Cr Jamie Gough, who wants the "unsustainable" rates track reduced further, to ensure prospective and existing residents aren’t financially turnedoff from living here. Gough is right. The current trajectory will still see the Christchurch rates bill become the second highest of any New Zealand metro council, after being one of the lowest.

Meanwhile, Cr Raf Manji says we are "bending our backs a bit... and there have to trade-offs". He wants a downward sloping rates curve followed by a rates cap.

Dalziel’s proposal to elongate the asset sales process over three years, with special consultation for any selldown of the airport, seaport or Orion, is a big fat sop to those po-faced People’s Choice councillors, who remain ideologically incontinent about divestment and are increasingly mindful that their jobs go on the line next year.

There’s not a lot to show from the first 20 months, beyond commissioning financial reports and exhaustive rounds of consultation. When is this council actually going to make some hard calls? Slowing down the big hairy decisions on asset sales carries the wimpy whiff of self-preservation and political expedience. Q. Where is the Woodend Corridor at? A. The Waimakariri District Council has received the commissioners’ recommendation to NZTA on the SH1 Woodend Corridor. NZTA now has 30 working days from the issue of this recommendation (until July 21, 2015) to make a decision on whether they accept or reject the recommendation of the commissioners, in whole or in part. Once NZTA has made a decision on the recommendation, the council will provide the decision, within 15 working days, to all submitters and landowners directly affected by the decision. Any submitter or the council may appeal that decision to the Environment Court within 15 working days. – Waimakariri District Council

Dalziel’s proposal to elongate the asset sales process over three years, with special consultation for any selldown of the airport, seaport or Orion, is a big fat sop.