"Great news" Say Women Stepping Up For Christchurch
Wednesday 6 July 2022, 2:36PM
By RedPR
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“The best news I‘ve heard in quite a while!”
That from Innes Community Board Member, Ali Jones, who is running for council in the Innes ward in the upcoming local body elections.
Preliminary reports from the City Council today show that around 77% of submitters on the Te Kaha Multi Use Arena (MUA) consultation support it going ahead.
“Now we need to get on with it,” says Jones. “Of course, there are a number of key issues that urgently need addressing such as the additional funds required and there are options. Thankfully Christchurch people and Cantabrians didn’t get sucked into the scaremongering from some Te Kaha detractors, and this is a clear mandate to get stuck in.”
Jones’s colleagues also running in wards around the city in the upcoming elections, agree.
Renée Walker, running in Riccarton, says Te Kaha is the last big bit of the puzzle in the city’s rebuild.
“We are the second biggest city in New Zealand. We can build this and we will build this - our residents, businesses and visitors deserve to enjoy everything Christchurch offers and Te Kaha is an important part of that,” she says.
Victoria Henstock, running in Papanui, says one of the great things about Christchurch is the unique lifestyle on offer and Te Kaha will support that, 100%.
“Sports, entertainment and other events are important parts of living in a city. Te Kaha will add to that and is badly needed. It will add energy and buzz to the inner city, and of course will provide employment. I am really excited about the news today,” she says.
Kim Money is running in the Coastal ward, and says procrastination is the enemy of progress.
“Careful consideration and thought has to be given to major projects, to anything in fact that involves significant expenditure. The numbers out today make it very clear that the city wants Te Kaha to go ahead and it’s absolutely essential that there are no more delays,” she says.
Inner city ward candidate, Alexandra Davids, says the focus now can be on locking in the additional funds and putting the project on steroids.
“We understand from the preliminary results that a number of submitters have mentioned the importance of talking with our neighbouring district councils about contributing and to be frank, I am amazed this has not been done yet. From a Central ward representative perspective, where Te Kaha is going to be built, I would have thought that should have been advocated for around the council table over the last three years, at least. However, let’s look forward and focus on getting this amazing building built and open as soon as possible,” she says.
Banks Peninsula council candidate, Libby Ornsby, believes the high number of submitters is a sign that people really care about the city, and she’s keen to see that level of engagement at local body election time.
“Getting people out to vote is going to be a real focus of many of us. The passion shown on this issue demonstrates people are not apathetic and they want their voices heard. So I really hope they get out and vote come October as we need fresh faces, new ideas around that table and not voting won’t achieve that,” she says. “Oh and I am absolutely stoked about the submission result as well; bring it on!”
It's understood that the overall number of submissions could change slightly over the coming days as the data is confirmed. Most of the submissions – about 74% – came from within the Christchurch district.