Keep Our Assets - Christchurch

Congratulations To City Council

For Promising Not To Sell Christchurch's Public Assets

Keep Our Assets Christchurch congratulates the City Council for promising not to sell Christchurch's public assets. This announcement shows that the Council is well in tune with Christchurch public opinion on the subject.

There are compelling economic reasons to keep those assets in public ownership. But KOA calls for the Council to go further and pledge that it will not sell, fully or partly, any of the council's equally vital portfolio of social assets, such as housing, parks and libraries, etc, etc.

These Councillors are only in office until the local body election in October. KOA calls on all candidates to pledge that, if elected to the City Council or Community Boards, they will not support selling publicly-owned Council assets.

And KOA tells the Government to respect this City Council decision and not to use it as an excuse to mount an undemocratic coup, as it did with ECan, and then install puppet commissioners to run the city and sell our assets in the process.

The people Christchurch have already seen plenty of evidence of the Government using the quakes' emergency as an excuse to impose "shock doctrine", whether in imposing decisions about the central city rebuild or "restructuring" the public school system. Don't try to get away with stealing the assets which belong to the people of Christchurch.

Speaking Truth to Power

Christchurch marches in support of its schools –

February 19

Find out more

Rally against asset sales

Rally against asset sales held in Frank Kitts (Wellington) Park last Wednesday

Speakers included Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, Maanu Paul from the Maori Council, Professor Jane Kelsey from the University of Auckland, Dr Geoff Bertram from Victoria University of Wellington, BERL Chief Economist Ganesh Nana, Justin Duckworth the Bishop of Wellington, Peter Love from Te Atiawa, and his granddaughter Kaia Love, and representatives from Greenpeace and Grey Power NZ. Musical interludes were provided by Tribal Rizing, Lucky Ngauere and guests.

A wide variety of arguments against the government’s proposed assets sales were put forward by the speakers, addressing the issue in ethical, political, economic, ecological and social terms. Across the range of speeches, clear lines were drawn between partial privatisation and the economic problems facing ordinary New Zealanders; the range of knowledge and variety of approaches was a powerful counter to the government position.

Full Coverage (with audio) from Scoop click here

Rally to Support Our Targeted Schools

show solidarity with the Christchurch schools affected by Governments Plans

4pm

Tuesday

(19 February)

CBS arena

(Map)

More information

KOA Activists at the Back to Work Picnic

Activists from Keep Our Assets - Christchurch were at the Back to Work Picnic held in Heathcote Domain today collecting signatures for the Keep Our Assets petition and distributing a flyer that addresses the possible sale of Christchurch City assets – below some pictures from the event and links to both the flyer distributed at the event and to the latest newsletter.

One hundred and five years ago, January the 27th 1908, the Blackball mine manager stood over Pat Hickey with a stopwatch mine timing his lunch break - thus started the struggle to improve working conditions in the New Zealand mining industry - an event well worth marking.