The Star: May 26, 2016

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Thursday May 26 2016 15
The Big Question
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editor@starmedia.kiwi or comment on
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The Budget will be revealed today which will shape New Zealand for another year. We asked
Christchurch residents what areas they would like to see prioritised in Government spending
Bernadette Brown,
73, retired, St
Albans:
“Welfare for
children would be
my biggest priority
for the Budget, and
a lot of that is to do
with good housing.
Having overcrowded
houses can
cause problems and
there are related
health issues with
overcrowding as
well. I think they
need to spend
money a bit more
wisely, it seems
to be wasted on
things like flag
referendums and
what have you.” ​
Edward Green, 82,
retired, Hoon Hay:
“Schools, health and
houses would be my
top priorities. There
also needs to be
more funds towards
supplementing
pensions and
providing home
help. On the
pension you really
don’t have much to
live on.”
Sophie Booker, 19,
student, Ilam:
“I definitely would
say health needs to
be at the top of the
list. Recent budget
cuts for mental
health funding
in Christchurch,
especially
considering the
earthquakes and
all of our stats
rising, means that
mental health is a
huge problem and
something they
need to look at. I
need to know I can
get help if I need it.”
Kim Macfarlane,
58, currently on a
sickness benefit,
Woolston:
“Health definitely
needs to be
prioritised. I
suppose I know
because I’ve been
through the health
system so I know all
about long waiting
lists. Health for
children should
also definitely be up
there, and housing
too.”
William Tebbutt,
18, student,
Lyttelton:
“More money
should definitely
be put into jobs
and getting more
people employed.
They were talking
about raising the
minimum wage as
well I guess, which
is a good thing, and
more money should
be put into health.”
Nandakishore
Kantamaneni,
30, production
assistant, central
city:
“Jobs should be a
big focus, I am an
immigrant and it
is really hard to
find information
and help to get into
good jobs.”
Paul Robinson, 71,
retired, Woolston:
“Obviously health
should be a big
thing. I’ve had
health problems
and I believe this
is the priority for
most people, as
well as housing.
I’d like to see them
focusing on getting
young people into
their first homes,
and also looking at
child poverty and
preventing violence
against children.”
Peter Mullany, 48,
security guard, St
Albans:
“There needs to
be more spent on
health. I end up in
hospital more at
this time of year
and they’re underresourced.
There
also needs to be
more housing for
people like me
because I’m renting
and its really hard
to buy a house.”
Capturing the experiences of people on the street
FOR THOSE of us who have
lived through the last five years,
its often hard to explain to
people outside of Christchurch
how drastic the changes for our
city have been.
Statistics will get us some
of the way – the thousands
of homes that have had to be
rebuilt, the billions of dollars that
are being spent on the recovery,
the thousands of people who
have left the city for good.
What these numbers don’t
capture though is what it’s been
like to live through all this
change. What it’s been like for
people who have seen the neighbourhoods
they lived in totally
transformed. What it’s been like
to watch friends and neighbours
leave the city forever or to fight
tooth and money with EQC for
money you know you are owed.
That’s why I’m so impressed
with the work that’s gone into
John Patterson’s ‘The story of a
small street’ project. Hosted on
the Rebuild Christchurch website,
the project is a grass roots
survey to capture the experiences
of the people on one street and
what’s happened to them since
the earthquakes.
The results of the survey are
confronting. Of the 63 houses on
a single street, 16 needed to be
rebuilt, 17 needed to be repaired,
15 have been sold ‘as-is, whereis’
and four households are still
waiting to be repaired, having
had no work done since the
earthquakes.
One very sad thing noted
by the project is that of the 63
houses on the street, seven of
Megan Woods
them had elderly occupants who
died while still battling EQC or
their insurers. Others have had
to have repairs redone because of
shoddy workmanship, and some
have even had to have their rerepairs
re-repaired.
What I find so admirable about
this project is the way it perfectly
captures the very personal experiences
so many people in our
city have been through.
Hearing the story of one street
drives home just how drastic
the changes we have all lived
through have been. It shows
clearly how much delay and
frustration has been caused by
problems at EQC. It shows us
where we have been, where we
need to get to, and what we need
to do better.
It’s exactly the kind of grass
roots project I’d love to see more
of in the future, to make sure
that the story of people who
lived through the earthquakes
isn’t lost.
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