Keep Our Assets
Canterbury has consistently called for the Christchurch City Council/Government
Cost Share Agreement (entered into by the 2010-13 Council headed by Mayor Bob
Parker) to be renegotiated.
That is one obvious way
to alleviate the pressure from central Government for the Council to have to
sell public assets in order to pay for white elephant anchor projects (like the
proposed covered rugby stadium in the CBD).
In June it was
announced that just such a renegotiation is under way.
But the timing is all
wrong.
It’s too close to the
October local body election.
The motive for the Government
is clear – to tie the hands of the incoming Council before it has even been
elected (which is exactly what happened last time around).
By all means
renegotiate – but wait until after a new Council has been elected.
Current Councillors (not
all of whom are standing for re-election) have no mandate to tie the hands of
their successors.
Nor, for that matter,
do they have a mandate to sell City Care – because nobody campaigned to sell
public assets at the 2013 election.
That sale has failed to
meet the Council’s self-proclaimed June 30th deadline, which is even
more reason why it should be left for the new Council.