PM on flying visit

Bill English’s visit to Christchurch yesterday was like a cup of tea with grandma – safe, sensible and subdued.

The biggest upset of the day was fog at Christchurch Airport delaying the Prime Minister’s flight by an hour and causing mild consternation at Ara polytech’s engineering faculty, which he was due to open.

When he arrived just after noon the crowd of staff and students parted like the Red Sea and English walked softly up to the podium, where he was greeted by a kapa haka group.

English opened his set with a gag, which the crowd enjoyed: ‘‘At least you know with National the party leader you invited a week ago is the one who showed up.’’

The next stop was a muddy construction site where the new $240 million Government-funded Christchurch convention centre is due to be built.

Then came a visit to the opening of Kilmarnock Enterprises, a social enterprise service that helps get intellectually disabled people into work. The Prime Minister showed enthusiasm for the enterprise and a personal interest in offering the right to work for people who would otherwise not have the opportunity.