The Star: September 17, 2020
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could linger<br />
“I feel more significantly now<br />
than ever the reality of being just<br />
one vote around the table.”<br />
Dalziel said failing to invest in<br />
the city’s future could leave it in<br />
an “infrastructure deficit.”<br />
“I think any council, not just<br />
this council, any council that<br />
didn’t seriously look at the state<br />
of its infrastructure and invest<br />
for the long term, it would face an<br />
infrastructure deficit.”<br />
Baxendale also believed the<br />
conversation between the city<br />
council and the public needed to<br />
change under an environment<br />
largely constrained by the<br />
implications of the pandemic.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> conversation, I don’t think<br />
it has really been there in the past.<br />
<strong>The</strong> conversation has been the<br />
public says we want x, the<br />
council goes and generally does it,<br />
not actually the budget has been<br />
this big and you are actually asking<br />
for that [something bigger].<br />
“You can’t reduce your rates<br />
and deliver absolutely everything,<br />
you can’t.”<br />
City council staff are currently<br />
working to have the budgets,<br />
possible savings and the draft<br />
capital programme finalised for<br />
city councillors by the end of this<br />
month.<br />
From there, staff will work<br />
with councillors in developing a<br />
draft plan that will be sent out<br />
for public consultation. Once the<br />
public’s feedback is both received<br />
and considered, a finalised plan<br />
will be signed off by councillors.<br />
Baxendale said an ideal outcome<br />
for her would be a plan<br />
that is cohesive, deliverable and<br />
cost-effective.<br />
“If we get all of those things, we<br />
will have done that because we<br />
would have engaged the public<br />
and be able to have a mature<br />
conversation about what this<br />
council does.”<br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
• By Louis Day<br />
CATHERINE CHU has shown<br />
her commitment to becoming<br />
MP for Banks Peninsula<br />
by buying a house in<br />
the electorate but has<br />
insisted her duties as a<br />
city councillor still take<br />
priority.<br />
Chu, who is currently<br />
the city councillor representing<br />
the Riccarton<br />
Ward, attracted criticism<br />
when it was announced<br />
she would be running for Parliament<br />
only eight weeks into her<br />
tenure on the council.<br />
Catherine<br />
Chu<br />
<strong>The</strong> 24-year-old, who had lived<br />
in Riccarton all her life, said<br />
she has moved to Mt Pleasant to<br />
show how serious she<br />
was about becoming the<br />
MP for the peninsula.<br />
“I think leading up to<br />
the election, because I<br />
really want to represent<br />
the community, I<br />
thought it was important<br />
to actually live in the<br />
community,” she said.<br />
However, she insisted<br />
fulfilling her duties as a<br />
councillor remained a priority<br />
for her.<br />
“I have always said, even when<br />
NEWS 9<br />
Mt Pleasant residence for Chu<br />
• By Louis Day<br />
A LABOUR-aligned political<br />
group is remaining coy over<br />
whether it has been polling for<br />
the mayoralty ahead<br />
of the next local body<br />
elections, which are<br />
more than two years<br />
away.<br />
<strong>The</strong> People’s Choice, a<br />
centre-left group which<br />
contests the local body<br />
elections in Christchurch,<br />
has denied it has<br />
been polling Christchurch<br />
residents about the coming<br />
mayoral race in recent weeks<br />
Keir Leslie<br />
but has not been able to rule out<br />
asking questions about potential<br />
candidates.<br />
This comes after <strong>The</strong> Press<br />
reported people had been receiving<br />
calls, asking if they<br />
would prefer to see city<br />
councillor James Gough,<br />
Mayor Lianne Dalziel or<br />
Deputy Mayor Andrew<br />
Turner elected mayor<br />
following the October<br />
2022 elections.<br />
While <strong>The</strong> People’s<br />
Choice chairman Keir<br />
Leslie said the group had<br />
not conducted or commissioned<br />
any polling on the mayoralty in<br />
Thursday <strong>September</strong> <strong>17</strong> <strong>2020</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong><br />
I am campaigning, my priority is<br />
to be a councillor for Riccarton.”<br />
Chu’s election to Parliament<br />
would trigger a by-election for<br />
the vacancy left around the<br />
council table. <strong>The</strong>se can cost the<br />
council between $60,000 and<br />
$65,000 to conduct.<br />
When asked if she would move<br />
back to Riccarton if she failed to<br />
gain election to Parliament she<br />
responded: “<strong>The</strong>re are probably<br />
many scenarios I have thought<br />
about and I think I will make my<br />
decision as they come through, I<br />
don’t think it is helpful to dwell<br />
on hypotheticals.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> People’s Choice tight-lipped over polling<br />
particular, he admitted it does<br />
conduct research to “keep its<br />
finger on the pulse.”<br />
When asked if any research<br />
had been done on the favourability<br />
of Gough, Dalziel and Turner<br />
for the mayoralty, he responded:<br />
“That is probably the point where<br />
I can’t really confirm or deny<br />
what we poll about.”<br />
Independent Citizens, a centreright<br />
political group, has denied<br />
any kind of polling.<br />
City councillor and member<br />
Sam MacDonald said the group<br />
had not engaged anyone to<br />
conduct polling as it was “far too<br />
early in the term.”
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