Collaborative approach needed for recovery says Mayor

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel is calling for a collaborative approach to the city’s post COVID-19 recovery.

In a report prepared for Thursday’s Christchurch City Council meeting, the Mayor proposes the Council work with mana whenua, strategic partners and communities on an overarching recovery plan for Christchurch.

“In the same way that it was recognised that the health response to COVID-19 would have to involve the team of five million, we as a city and a region need to work together as a team to both recover and reposition ourselves and our region for the future,’’ the Mayor says.

“That will require Councils, government agencies, iwi, mana whenua, communities, NGOs, businesses and neighbourhoods to work together collaboratively; we need to break down the silos within our organisations and between them.’’

In the report Mayor Dalziel notes the impacts the COVID-19 lockdown and the border restrictions have had on New Zealand’s social and economic fabric and acknowledges that the crisis is far from over.

“COVID-19 is a significant and evolving shock, from which the full extent of the impacts are still uncertain and it may take years to recover,’’ she says.

“However, there may also be positive effects associated with the response to COVID-19 and, as with the Canterbury earthquakes, the recovery provides an opportunity to do things differently, to avoid recreating the same pre-existing vulnerabilities and re-imagine a better long-term future for our communities,’’ the Mayor says.

"This will enable us to reposition ourselves for a sustainable future, taking into account the impacts of climate change and advances in technology changing the future of work.''

Read the Mayor’s full report.