<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> Thursday <strong>January</strong> <strong>23</strong> <strong>2020</strong> 14 OPINION <strong>The</strong> coming week in our history <strong>January</strong> <strong>23</strong>, 1855: A huge magnitude 8.2 earthquake hit Wellington, having a profound impact on the development of the city. Land raised from the harbour – along with additional reclamations – formed much of modern Wellington’s central business district. <strong>The</strong> earthquake also drained notoriously swampy areas in the Hutt Valley and Wellington, including the site of the Basin Reserve cricket ground. <strong>January</strong> 24, 1980: <strong>The</strong> government ordered the Soviet Union‘s ambassador, Vsevolod Sofinsky, to leave the country within 72 hours after he allegedly delivered money to the pro-Soviet Socialist Unity Party. <strong>January</strong> 25, 1974: <strong>The</strong> opening ceremony of the ‘Friendly Games’ featured performances by schoolchildren and a Māori concert party. Next day, Canterbury runner Dick Tayler ensured the success of the Games with a surprise victory for the host nation in the 10,000m track race. <strong>January</strong> 26, 1984: A record one-day total of up to 84.8mm of rain caused extensive surface flooding in the streets of Invercargill, Riverton, Ōtautau, Tūātapere and Bluff. <strong>January</strong> 27, 1962: Peter Snell breaks the world mile record at Wanganui’s Cook Gardens, shaving 0.1 seconds off Australian Herb Elliott’s 3½-yearold record. Snell ran 3.54.4. <strong>January</strong> 28, 1901: Wellington blacksmith William Hardham served in South Africa with the fourth New Zealand contingent. He was the only New Zealander awarded a Victoria Cross during the South African War. <strong>January</strong> 29, 1842: Auckland’s Anniversary Day commemorates the arrival of Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson in the Bay of Islands in 1840. IT’S AMAZING what a kick in the backside can do sometimes. Late last year Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier gave the city council a rip snorter of a kick up the bum. It was in the form of his findings into an investigation into culture at the city council and concerns over the release of information to the public. Firmly in his sights were senior managers. Boshier’s report was scathing, leading to many more kicks in the backside for the council, namely from the news media. <strong>The</strong> report was released in November; probably lucky for some who had sought reelection in the October local body elections. But as reporter Louis Day reveals in today’s <strong>Star</strong>, the city council appears to be well on the way to rectifying many of the problems identified in Boshier’s report. This is being led by the new council chief executive Dawn Baxendale who through no fault of her own was highly scrutinised when she got the role last year. Twenty-eight of the 90 action points identified in Boshier’s report have been completed, 44 have been initiated, 17 are yet to start and one has been delayed. <strong>The</strong> two key issues in Boshier’s TWENTY TWENTY marks the beginning of the first year of what is an incredibly significant decade for our city and region. Not only will we mark the 10th anniversary of the first of the earthquakes that changed the course of our city’s history, we will see many more milestones achieved. It was a great to start the year seeing Christchurch at number 24 in the New York Times top-52 places to visit in <strong>2020</strong>. This ties in well with the announcement that American Airlines will connect North America Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz When a kick up the bum works report were a culture of fear and the flow of information from the former chief executive’s office to and our region later in the year with direct flights between Los Angeles and Christchurch three days a week. <strong>The</strong> new convention centre, Te Pae, will open in October this year. This will reinstate Christchurch as a world-class conference destination, as well as From the editor’s desk Barry Clarke Mayor Lianne Dalziel councillors and the public. Boshier found rank and file staff and middle managers were serving as an entree to the wider region. Delegates adding in extra days to look around while they are here, bringing partners who book tours and events, or bringing the whole family back for a holiday, not to mention all the word of mouth too frightened to raise issues with their bosses. He also found the system of staff reports which should have gone to publicly-elected councillors for perusal and onto the public was flawed to a point information was being withheld. <strong>The</strong> finger was pointed clearly at the former CEO’s office. That situation was rectified in June of last year as Boshier progressed through his investigation. So overall, the city council deserves credit for acting fairly swiftly on Boshier’s recommendations. It’s amazing what a kick up the bum can do. barry@starmedia.kiwi Send us your views. If you have an opinion on a Christchurch issue, email barry@starmedia. kiwi and put ‘Opinion’ in the subject line. Emails should be kept to about 150 words A lot happening for Christchurch in <strong>2020</strong> recommendations they will make to friends. We are quickly reclaiming our status as the country’s friendliest and most helpful host city and region. He Puna Taimoana hot pools will open in New Brighton in March, bringing a real boost to this seaside village. And there is a lot more happening too in <strong>2020</strong>. We can see the way ahead, and we can take on the remaining challenges we face with optimism, recognising that they are also opportunities. 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Thursday <strong>January</strong> <strong>23</strong> <strong>2020</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> 15
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