Hard News: What Now?
914 Responses
First ←Older Page 1 … 14 15 16 17 18 … 37 Newer→ Last
-
David Hood, in reply to
From Fendalton. You know all that guff about social stratification in Christchurch? Well…
My wife (from Christchurch) and I have been adopting a certain amount of black humour about the suggestion we heard that people from the better, less damaged, parts of town could adopt one of the hard hit poor streets.
"What, them? Well, I suppose I could deliver some bread, or perhaps some Cake" -
Matthew Poole, in reply to
From Fendalton
Yeah, I heard rumours that he was going to use his powers of dictat to order the suburb's name changed to Fendahlton, so that the plebes would have no excuse for mispronunciation ;)
-
Matthew Poole, in reply to
perhaps some Cake
Could they have it, or eat it? And would you let them eat it?
-
Greg Dawson, in reply to
perhaps some Cake
Could they have it, or eat it? And would you let them eat it?
Unfortunately like so much else with Mr Brownlee, the cake is a lie.
-
Russell Brown, in reply to
“What, them? Well, I suppose I could deliver some bread, or perhaps some Cake”
Y'know what's funny? My friend in New Brighton was enthusing to me on Friday that they'd just been given some Louise cake -- by the Army.
-
Sacha, in reply to
From Fendalton
Ah, so an eastern suburb would be Merivale - or Sumner if you're really pushing it
-
nzlemming, in reply to
Brownlee is the walking exemplification of the saying “there are none so blind, as those who cannot see.”
Umm, "none so blind as those who will not see"
Otherwise, yeah.
-
I still think a relocation package would be a sensible, if not popular, idea. govt. management is needed in situations of national importance. relocation of people would pave the way to build a city that more people would want to live and work in.
imho -
Matthew Poole, in reply to
Unfortunately like so much else with Mr Brownlee, the cake is a lie.
That's a bit rough. The cake is real, but there's no need to consider the long-term sustainability of producing cake and we should look at whether the standards to which the cake was produced couldn't be eased a little. For the purposes of ensuring cake is produced more quickly, of course, since quantity is more important than quality.
-
Matthew Poole, in reply to
relocation of people
Would require that money be put into the areas to which they would be relocated, and we've already established that Auckland, which will be the prime destination for many of the IDPs from Christchurch with or without official government assistance, is on its own for improving infrastructure to support the refugees. Potentially there's a multi-percent jump in the long-term population going to hit Auckland over coming months, but heaven forbid that any money be spent on Auckland.
If there's no money for Auckland, there's probably no money for anyone else, either, even where they're in worse positions to cope with floods of refugees. -
BenWilson, in reply to
Check again in another month or three..
Sure will, although it's unlikely to be apples with apples if a billion dollars has been spent rebuilding the city instead of the suburbs.
The devastation is so total, that much though I prefer big solutions to big problems, it seems to me that Christchurch really needs lots of little solutions right now. Prioritization has to start with getting the main residential areas livable quickly. In other words Christchurch needs to become shower city, pronto. Then getting the economy cranking again becomes viable - you just can't do it if people can't live there. The sooner it's cranking the better, and if that means finding suburban/industrial zone offices for every business, do it. That prevents thousands of businesses from going straight to the wall.
Getting the CBD rebuilt seems way down the list to me. Whatever can be used in there should be, but whatever can't should wait, and be done properly. It should all go through normal processes, with an increased emphasis on compliance, especially the most obvious one, quake-proofing. If this is to be sped up, it should be done with more money, not just by dropping standards.
-
Sacha, in reply to
The cake is real
though I fear it has already been eaten..
-
Would require that money be put into the areas to which they would be relocated, and we've already established that Auckland, which will be the prime destination for many of the IDPs from Christchurch with or without official government assistance, is on its own for improving infrastructure to support the refugees.
This is a thread for discussing the ideas, though. Your "given", that money can't be spent in Auckland, is not a given, it's an assumption. Relocation is very much on the table as a concept. There are lots of ways that such a refugee population could be accommodated. Lots of ideas could work.
One that leaps to mind is house swapping. If someone has lost their employment in Christchurch, or the business has relocated, it might make big sense for them to swap houses with a tradie who is needed in Christchurch.
-
David Hood, in reply to
though I fear it has already been eaten..
I don't think that I can take it/'Cause it took so long to bake it/And I'll never have that recipe again
-
I have to say too, that going on about Darth Brownlee isn't really helping. I don't think the government has been incompetent. They've been human. Disaster management is not something any of them are trained for. Even the people who are trained haven't usually had any actual experience with something this big. Civil defense is about keeping people alive as the first response, not about how to rebuild suburbs.
The case that the Eastern Suburbs are still hurting real bad just hadn't been put loudly enough. The blog that put it out has done those suburbs a tremendous service, by casting off the strictures of the traditional media and getting the message through. I really think the big media people just hadn't realized too, and that's easy to hassle them with 20:20 hindsight, but I can't claim that I knew before yesterday that it was that bad.
Another idea that seized me by the brain today was that the main political parties already have large bases of amateur people who could be pounding the pavements of Christchurch finding out what everyone needs, and giving them whatever information they know, if those people are cut off. They don't need to say what party they're with unless they want to, but just going to houses, talking to people, and finding out what they need most urgently strikes me as incredibly valuable work, and something they have an incentive to do anyway.
Is this already happening? Does anyone know?
-
Auckland, which will be the prime destination for many of the IDPs from Christchurch
Wellington. At least for tech businesses anyway, 'prime' is Wellington. It's many Chch people's 'second city'.
-
Cake
The Irony.
I should wait for Friday? I don't think waiting is good right now. -
Just listening to John Key... All the passion of someone reading a Cake recipe.
:-( -
JLM, in reply to
Another idea that seized me by the brain today was that the main political parties already have large bases of amateur people who could be pounding the pavements of Christchurch finding out what everyone needs, and giving them whatever information they know, if those people are cut off. They don't need to say what party they're with unless they want to, but just going to houses, talking to people, and finding out what they need most urgently strikes me as incredibly valuable work, and something they have an incentive to do anyway.
Is this already happening? Does anyone know?
The Greens have been doing this all week, though not with a huge base. No doubt other parties have as well.
-
Sacha, in reply to
Relocation is very much on the table as a concept.
How do you respond to the objections we've been raising above about what relocating its people would to to Christchurch's local economy?
-
JLM, in reply to
The Greens have been doing this all week, though not with a huge base. No doubt other parties have as well.
Actually, I should have used this link.
-
Sacha, in reply to
The case that the Eastern Suburbs are still hurting real bad just hadn't been put loudly enough.
...easy to hassle them with 20:20 hindsight, but I can't claim that I knew before yesterday that it was that bad.
It's not your *job* to know that. However, poorer areas having fewer resources and therefore needing more intervention is not exactly rocket science for emergency management professionals or those who purport to govern them. CDEM is increasingly aligned with ongoing community development activity in local councils, which does bring some focus on equity.
You could argue that media were only reacting, sure, but if Brownlee and co claim the power and the attention then they also get the responsiblity - and the expectations of competence that come with it.
-
Steve Barnes, in reply to
How do you respond to the objections we've been raising above about what relocating its people would to to Christchurch's local economy?
At this point in time Sacha, there is no local "Economy".
This is a national disaster. The private sector will not be expected to support those in need, that is the job of our Government. Getting people to a stable and supportive environment is far more important than supporting what is left of the Christchurch business community. What is needed for the economy of Christchurch is a functioning infrastructure so that business can return to a rebuilt city. At the moment the Government is pouring money into businesses to help them pay their workers, a good gesture but not as productive as assisting those businesses to relocate and be productive in a functioning area.
Difficult times require difficult decisions and courage.
Shoot me down if you like, I'm used to it.. -
Sacha, in reply to
I think you're overstating the damage - the local economy is bigger than the CBD, and the private sector has to continue to play its part as well. No way the government can fully fund everyone's lives.
-
How do you respond to the objections we've been raising above about what relocating its people would to to Christchurch's local economy?
Well if we're talking about swapping houses, the net effect would be positive because it would be trading an unemployed person for an employed one, who will be spending money locally. Also the unemployed person stands a better chance of getting employment somewhere that isn't destroyed (depending on their skills), so the national economy is doubly improved.
People who have to move because they've lost their house are another matter. I've got to bail now, but I'll think on it. I just wanted to point out that taking things off the table just isn't constructive debating at the moment. Get the ideas out and amassed before lasering the stupid ones down. We're all new to colossal disasters, and solutions could present themselves that just haven't come up before.
Post your response…
This topic is closed.