The Star: July 06, 2017

The Star 3
News
Latest Christchurch news at www.
.kiwi
Thursday July 6 2017
Cathedral letter ‘wishy-washy’
• By Bridget Rutherford
WINSTON PETERS has
refused to sign a letter
supporting the restoration
deal for the Christ Church
Cathedral.
Leaders of National, Labour,
Act, Green, Maori and United
Future signed a letter to Bishop
Victoria Matthews on Tuesday
saying the offer represented a
clear and agreed way forward.
“We agree in principle to support
legislation that will enable
the reinstatement of the Christ
Church Cathedral should the
synod vote in its favour, to be
commenced once a new Government
has formed,” it said.
But the New Zealand First
leader said he did not sign because
it was “wishy-washy.”
“We agree in principle. What
does that mean?” said Mr
Peters.
“You’re either going to do it or
you’re not going to do it.”
Mr Peters said he was in
favour of the restoration of the
Cathedral, but the Government
should be offering more money.
“It’s not just a building, it’s
something far more important.”
Mr Peters visited Christchurch
in May calling for
the restoration of the
Cathedral, and slated the
Anglican Church for not
acting sooner.
On Tuesday,
Minister supporting
Greater
Christchurch Regeneration
Nicky
Wagner and
Mayor Lianne
Dalziel tabled
a new restoration
deal for
the Anglican
Church to consider.
The new offer
included a $10 million
pledge from the
city council – subject
to consultation – with
a Government pledge
of $10 million, and
a $15 million loan
that would not need
to be paid back if
restoration was done
within budget, and in
a reasonable time.
The deal also
involved setting
up an independent
STAND: New Zealand First leader Winston
Peters did not sign a letter alongside other
party leaders signalling support for the
Christ Church Cathedral restoration deal
because it was “wishy-washy.”
Fundraising Trust,
new legislation to
streamline project
consenting and approval
processes, and a
joint venture between
the Church Property
Trustees and the trust
to govern and manage
the restoration
project.
The Great Christchurch
Buildings Trust
would also pledge
$13.7 million.
The offer will be
considered by the
diocese’s synod – a governing
body made up of more than 200
parishioners and priests – before
it votes on the Cathedral’s future
on September 9.
Labour MP and Christchurch
issues spokeswoman Megan
Woods said the letter signalled
if there was a change in
Government in the September
23 election, the offer still stood.
Green MP Eugenie Sage
said it gave certainty to the synod.
“I think the offer is a really
good one. I hope the synod will
look on it favourably.”
•Nicky Wagner, p26
Probe reveals hospital fire safety issues
•From page 1
Said Mr Thomas: “You don’t
take a sick person and put them
outside at three in the morning,
so in a fire they initially do
a horizontal evacuation, past
smoke and fire stop doors. So if
they’ve gone past it, to what they
perceive is safety, but the wall
is compromised, it is possible
it (the fire) could come past to
where they are,” he said.
Fire Fighting Pacific Canterbury
service manager Charlie
Loughnan said he believed
working firewalls could have
prevented the fire in London’s
Grenfell Tower last month from
spreading.
“My opinion is that the cladding
burnt the building down,
but didn’t kill anyone. It was the
lack of fire separations inside the
building which was the cause of
the deaths: The fire getting from
the apartment into the lobby,
from the lobby into a stairwell,
then blocking the stairwell.”
He said a lack of firewalls was
also what allowed the 1947 Ballantynes
fire to spread so fast,
killing 41 people.
He said world-leading regulations
around firewalls were
brought in after the tragedy, but
they depended on the firewalls
not being compromised.
Ms Gordon said work was
being done to investigate and
rectify the issues.
She said all hospital buildings
had fire detection and suppression
systems, and the safety of
staff, patients and visitors was
her top priority.
“We don’t have any immediate
concerns,” she said.
She said the work was a “proactive
investigation done on our
own initiative,” not a requirement.
She said the Ministry of
Health was aware of the work,
and was “reviewing the systems”
as part of its planning process.
In Brief
CTV SITE PLAN
Families and friends of those
killed in the CTV building collapse
will be shown a final design
of how the site will be landscaped
next month. An Otakaro spokesman
said the area would be a
“peaceful place” made up of grass,
greenery and seating. The CTV
building, on the corner of Madras
and Cashel Sts, collapsed in the
February 22, 2011, earthquake,
killing 115 people. A survey of
the site and ground conditions
would be done in the next few
weeks to see what plants are best
suited.
BUSINESS LEADER RESIGNS
Canterbury Employers’ Chamber
of Commerce chief executive
Peter Townsend has resigned
after 21 years in the role. His
final day will be on November
30. Mr Townsend said he would
have stood down earlier, had it
not been for the September 4,
2010, and February 22, 2011,
earthquakes, which were the
most challenging years of his
career. Mr Townsend still serves
on a number of boards, including
Otakaro.
$18K ON RED ZONE SIGNS
More than $18,000 has been
spent on manufacturing and
installing new street signs in the
residential red zone. The city
council, in conjunction with the
Avon Otakaro Network, installed
94 street signs and 26 wayfinding
signs using special brackets so
they can’t be removed without a
special tool. Many of the original
signs were taken by people as
souvenirs.
NEW COURT SECURITY
The new Justice and Emergency
Services Precinct will have
permanent security screening
stations for all visitors to the
courts. Ministry of Justice
health, safety and security
general manager Melissa Gill
said an operational security
working group had been formed
to develop consistent and
appropriate security measures
across the whole facility.
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