Ngā mihi nui mihi nui ki a koutou katoa

May I begin with an expression of regret that I can’t be with you in person.

Although the announcement that I won’t be seeking a further term of office as our city’s Mayor has lifted some of the weight from my shoulders, there are still many issues to deal with.

This afternoon’s decision on what is going to be an awesome multi-use arena completing the suite of anchor projects that are the legacy of post-earthquake blueprint, is one of those, but it means I cannot be there.

I couldn’t think of a better way to spend time in Auckland than talking about the city I love, Ōtautahi Christchurch.

TIME recently listed our city in their list of the top 100 world’s greatest places.  They said:

“In many ways, our third annual list of the World’s Greatest Places is a tribute to the people and businesses at the forefront of those industries who, amid extraordinary circumstances, found ways to adapt, build and innovate. It shines a light on ingenuity, creativity, revitalization and re-openings in destinations across the world.” 

And that is exactly how our city feels to me right now. We have definitely turned the corner.

In my time as Mayor, I have invested considerable energy in developing and maintaining relationships.

In so doing, I have developed a deeper understanding of the obligation to honour the Treaty of Waitangi at a local government level. This experience alone has been both enlightening and enriching.

Ōtautahi is part of the rohe of Te Runanga o Ngāi Tahu, an iwi with a strong cultural and economic base across Te Waipounamu, committed to caring for the people and the environment.

Although we have established a good relationship with Ngāi Tahu, it is the depth and breadth of the relationships we have built with mana whenua, the six Papatipu Rūnanga across the city and Banks Peninsula, that has offered us a firm foundation for the future.

The rebuilt city centre positions Christchurch as a city for 21st century living, and we can see the stories of mana whenua now embedded in our physical landscape and buildings.

In many respects we are a new city with infrastructure and community facilities that exceed what a city our size would expect - the legacy of investment decisions made in the wake of a crisis.

The area we know as Greater Christchurch – the city together with the surrounding towns from Lincoln and Rolleston to Rangiora and Kaiapoi - is the fastest growing region outside of Auckland, and we have room to expand. 

We are working together collaboratively to reposition ourselves to respond to future challenges we know we need to confront: like climate change, sustainable growth and the need to maintain affordability of housing. 

Greater Christchurch 2050 is a plan for a future that has us thinking about inter-generational equity, something that lies at the heart of the Ngai Tahu whakatauki, mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei – for us and our children after us.

Although we are the international gateway and logistics hub for Canterbury and the South Island, with New Zealand’s second largest international airport and second largest export seaport, it is our role as one of only five international gateways to Antarctica that creates a unique set of opportunities for us.

Leveraging the spirit that is evoked when thinking of the heroic era of Antarctic exploration, coupled with the climate science that is vital to our future, we see enormous opportunities for our city’s place in the world.

We’re a region that supports innovation and education excellence. Six of the seven Crown Research Institutes are based in Greater Christchurch, we have four quality tertiary institutions, and we have excellent schools.

We’re breaking new ground in aerospace, trials of autonomous vehicles, including autonomous flying taxis, developments in food, fibre and agritech and health tech alongside other high-tech solutions.
We’re building on the strengths of our region to take advantages of global opportunities, something that is supported by progressive ecosystems connecting enterprise, education, and government.

And the great thing is that we’re small enough to be a real testbed: to be a place of experimentation where we can afford to take risks, while being big enough to be able to scale up for success.

In other words, we offer a place that’s ‘small enough to fail, and big enough to scale’ – the perfect environment for innovation and creativity to take seed.

It’s as if our DNA has changed through each crisis – we’re more prepared to take on the challenges each brings, because we have lived the reality, and we have become used to seeking the opportunities that crisis always offers.

Another legacy of the earthquakes is the area that was ‘red-zoned’, where thousands of homes once stood. It is now the Otakaro-Avon River Corridor, which is four times the size of Hagley Park, and which has created a pathway from the city to the sea.

The opportunities for co-governance and for restoration of the ecological values of the river are enormous, as are the regeneration opportunities that will be developed over many years.

Each and every one of these opportunities creates a world of possibility for partnerships and philanthropic giving which makes our part of the world a better place – and that’s the conversation the Foundation helps to lead, not on the Council’s behalf, but on behalf of the city and region.

Although the Christchurch City Council endorsed the setting up of the Christchurch Foundation in 2016 and have provided establishment grant funding to ensure it gets off to a good head start, it is an independent body, and has more than repaid the investment the city has made.

I could talk about each of the roles the Foundation has played since it began and the Funds it has established, but I will mention just one.

On the night of March 15 2019 I called Amy at around 10pm and asked if she could set up a fund – we named it in the morning Our People, Our City – and by close of play Saturday, this fledging organisation was the official recipient of donations flooding in from around NZ and across the world in the wake of the mosque shootings – fully endorsed by the government of NZ and the Christchurch City Council.

I was never more thankful for the decision we had made to set up the foundation. We could not have done what has been done, nor could we have developed the strength this experience gave the foundation and the legacy it has created, without it.

Whether it’s through one of the business partnerships or the Tui project, whether it’s one of the Funds – including the Kate Sheppard Fund, of which I am a patron – the Foundation empowered by the generosity of donors and business partners – is helping write the next chapter in the rich history of Ōtautahi Christchurch.

​And I am grateful for all of you who are helping to write that chapter with us.

​E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e rau rangatira ma, nau mai haere mai ki tenei kaupapa.
No reira tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou,  tēnā tatou katoa.
 
Thank you for the opportunity to welcome everyone here and especially to you Prime Minister.

It is always a pleasure to welcome you to Ōtautahi, Christchurch, and of course I don’t need to welcome our own local MP and Minister, the Hon Dr Megan Woods.

I wanted to be here today to acknowledge the government’s commitment to this and other significant projects in our city with the shovel ready fund.

Thank you, Prime Minister.

You have seen today, the fruits of your government’s decision to commit to our nation’s recovery. You can be proud of what that commitment has meant in terms of breathing new life into the YMCA and the creation of Hotel Give. And it’s only Stage 1 with more to come.
I also wanted to be part of today’s relaunch of an old familiar institution as our country’s first socially sustainable hotel.

We are a city of firsts – we were New Zealand’s first city established by Royal Charter and now New Zealand’s newest city.

The city is making real progress, and if there is a project which defines the word regeneration, then this is it.

And it’s only stage 1.

The YMCA has a proud tradition of playing a key part in making the city welcoming and relevant to young people. It is part of the wellbeing focus that your government has demonstrated a commitment to, and one where we see partnerships as the way of the future.

Reinvesting the profits of the Hotel in a maker-space environment that will encourage our young people to explore possibilities that they may not have otherwise considered is a powerful message to send everyone who stays here. By staying at the hotel, you are literally investing in the future.

I went to the certificate presentations for Start Me Up which was developed and funded by a partnership between ChristchurchNZ and MSD; and delivered by the Ministry of Awesome and ThincLab. Many of the participants were staring down the barrel of unemployment, and here they were unlocking entrepreneurial possibilities.

It’s another Christchurch first and demonstrates the benefit of partnerships. One of the participants said it had been life-changing.

And that’s what will make this model succeed - no programmes or prerequisites – it’s the opportunity to explore the potential that lies within using tools that wouldn’t otherwise be available to them - and I know the young people will find this equally life-changing.

So, to John and the Board of the YMCA and Josie and the team, thank you for your vision and congratulations on a job well done. You have been missed while this work has gone on, and I am hoping that the Duo sign on Rolleston Ave means one of my favourite little restaurants will also be back soon.

And I’m really looking forward to Stage 2 as well.
​
The Ngāi Tahu whakatauki speaks to today. Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei – for us and our children after us.
No reira tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

​Thank you for the opportunity to speak at this significant event to mark the end of Peter Davie’s tenure as Chief Executive of Lyttelton Port Company.
 
We’re here to acknowledge Peter’s 16 years as Chief Executive of the Company. However, I understand that his association with the port goes back many years earlier and started with his appointment as a marketing junior. He clearly had ambitions for greater things and went on to work in Australian ports for a number of years, for seven of those in the role of CEO.
 
Peter became Chief Executive of Lyttelton Port Company in 2003 and since then he has worked with two Christchurch City Holdings Chief Executives, Bob Lineham and Paul Munro, and three mayors, Garry Moore, Bob Parker and now me.
 
In Peter’s sixteen years with the port, there have been both great challenges and achievements. The greatest challenge was, of course, the response to the earthquakes.  Immediately following the February 2011 quake, the port was only closed for three days. That is an extraordinary achievement.
 
Since then he has led the Port through the development of the Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan and the business case for the redevelopment, which has included a significant component of reclamation.
 
During his time as Chief Executive container volumes have tripled, equating to over half of all South Island container movements.
 
As Peter leaves LPC it is positioned well for the future, with new Berths including the Cruise Berth and an expanded Container Terminal (thanks to the reclamation programme), not to mention the development of a successful inland port in Rolleston. 

The port has also been opened up to the community with the completion of the Te Ana Marina, which is a fantastic facility, of which you can be very proud.

So Peter, I would like to thank you on behalf of the people of Christchurch for your 16 years with Lyttelton Port Company.

And I want to acknowledge Wendie – behind every succesful man I’ve ever known lies an equally successful partner. And you have been no exception.

I wish you both well for the future – I understand sailing may have a significant part to play in that – which feels a perfect way to bring this part of your career to a close.

Recognising too the leadership role you have also played with the Chamber of Commerce, you have made a significant contribution to your city and region, and we are the richer for that.
​
So congratulations on all your achievements and we wish you clear skies, calm seas and a kind wind forever at your back, wherever life takes you.

​Thank you Bishop Peter. 
 
Your Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales,
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and distinguished guests.
 
It is a privilege to welcome your Royal Highness to Otautahi Christchurch on an occasion that is one of celebration.
 
As a city we have all experienced the profoundly personal touch and support from the Royal Family in our times of tragedy, and helping us get through our darkest days.  This has meant more to us than words could ever say.  
 
And today, knowing that Your Royal Highness has taken the time to visit Christ Church Cathedral, which is our direct connection to the Royal Charter of 1856 that gave us our city status, is very special indeed.
 
As well as its spiritual role, this Cathedral has become one of our most important civic places, hosting significant events that have shaped us as a city. 
 
And here we are in our award winning Turanga, our city’s newest civic asset, and whose name speaks to our history before the arrival of the European settlors, looking out at one of our city’s oldest assets. And we are so pleased it is being reinstated.  
 
As we are reminded, when we look at images of the Cathedral when it was first completed, building a Cathedral was a priority for those early European settlors.
 
I feel very strongly that we owe it to their memory to see her reinstated to her former glory.
 
Christ Church Cathedral may not be one of the world’s grandest Cathedrals, but it is intrinsically linked with our city’s identify, and has rich stories embedded in its stonework.
 
Many people say that until the Cathedral is reinstated, the city will not be fully healed. 
 
It is literally the heart and soul of our city.
 
And the reinstatement will breathe new life into Cathedral Square, both preserving an important part of our heritage and enabling the city to move forward.
 
Your Royal Highness, we are deeply grateful for your visit and excited about what the future holds.  Thank you.
 
It now gives me great pleasure to introduce His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales.
 
 

Over the past 20 years SCAPE has worked tirelessly to establish a body of public art that has put Christchurch on the map. This has not been done in isolation but rather in collaboration. Without question it has helped to build our city’s identity and never more so than after the Christchurch Earthquakes.

Public art is something that's available to everyone, not just individual art lovers, which is one of the reasons why I love it. It forms part of a city's identity and offers useful way finders and symbols that just feel like home.

We all have those special works of art that we connect with on a personal level, as we pass them on our way to work or, during our lunch breaks or days when we wander around the city.
So many of these have been brought to us by SCAPE.

Deborah McCormick has been at the helm since its inception – well supported by the incredible teams who are highlighted in this book. Looking at the photos I find it hard to believe that this all started 20 years ago.
 
Magic things have happened as the programme evolved from the ‘unholy alliance of art and commerce’ to the annual festivals we enjoy in spring, and which bring opportunities to explore new artworks in new sites across this city.
It is in this context that we can see the power of art to inspire us and at the same time to challenge us - both personally and as a city.  
The wonderful thing is that our response to art invites us to engage with others, which can lead to conversations about ourselves, who we are and what we value.

SCAPE Public Art brings to our urban landscape a mix of public artworks that reflect diverse cultural origins, reflecting the way we are evolving as a city, and made even more poignant in the face of the tragedies we have experienced.

By embracing diversity - whether in our reaction to art or simply in the way we are open to hearing the stories of our neighbours, both near and far - we foster connection with each other and help build a sense of community that transcends all boundaries.

We know that art has the power to draw us closer to each other and to help us heal when we need to.

So please enjoy the stories in the book that so many of you here tonight have been and always will be part of.

Thank you, Deborah McCormick, and thank you SCAPE Public Art for all you do for our city.

To Warren Feeney, this book is a wonderful record of SCAPE and the rich history of Christchurch’s public art – so far.

We all look forward to seeing what the future of SCAPE has to offer.
And on that note:
​
It gives me great pleasure to officially launch this book; Out There: SCAPE Public Art 1999-2018.
I would now like to welcome forward the author, Warren Feeney.

Thank you for coming along to this event, part of the Christchurch Conversations programme – a series of free public talks that bring us together to get inspired and explore ideas for our city’s future.
 
I am delighted to welcome Dr Antwi Akom to Ōtautahi Christchurch.
 
Dr Akom spoke last week at the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects conference held here in Christchurch and has spent a few days exploring the city.
 
Dr. Antwi Akom has an extensive background in building collaborative, community-facing technology projects and new models of urban innovation that help cities become smarter, more equitable, just and sustainable.
 
He is a Distinguished Professor and the Founding Director of The Social Innovation Lab - the first joint research lab between the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF Medical School) and San Francisco State University.

In 2016, Dr. Akom co-founded Streetwyze—a technology and human centred design firm which supports equitable community development.

His forthcoming book will be published by Routledge Press and is called Re-imagining Smart Cities: Place-Making and the Power of Innovation.
 
The title for this evening talk is Creating equitable neighbourhoods.
 
Dr Antwi Akom’s presentation will address a number of key issues including what designing for equity looks like in the 21st century, how planning and design can break down social inequalities and increase participation, and the role technology plays.
 
This is a timely conversation for our city as we realise a city of opportunity for all. Continuing to build our economy, attract and retain talent, and create great places in which everyone can belong.
 
We’re very fortunate to have Dr Akom here with us to share some of his experience and prompt ongoing conversations. I’m very much looking forward to this conversation, thank you for joining us this evening.

It is really exciting to be here to celebrate the success of Tūranga just over a year since it opened.  We all know what a buzz Tūranga created from the very first day and the enthusiastic way the people of Christchurch embraced its opportunities – from the traditional books to Imagination Station, creative technologies and the spaces for meeting, connecting and sharing ideas. I’d like to share a few numbers with you:

• There were over 1 million visitors in the first year
• 25,000 people have attended library programmes and events
• And there have been over 21 million taps/touches on the Discovery Wall 

Tūranga was always planned to be a key anchor project for the city, a destination in its own right and a means of enlivening the surrounding area – and that is precisely what it has become. It is always humming with people – people who have come in specially to borrow a book, work on a creative project or attend an event, those just passing through, who can’t resist popping in for a few minutes, kids who get to enjoy the slide,  Imagination Station and the Margaret Mahy playground on a weekend outing and those who combine their visit with a bit of shopping.
 
Tūranga is also a  21st century centre of knowledge and innovation.  A world-class facility which will remain at the forefront of developing knowledge, technology and experiences, fostering life-long learning and enabling all our citizens to participate fully in what is a constantly changing world. 
 
It is helping to redefine what libraries can be in the 21st century, both in terms of the opportunities it provides but also the design that allows those opportunities.  And these achievements have been recognised in the many awards and accolades that Tūranga has received in the last year – I counted ten in all (from the Library website).
https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/turanga/turanga-about-the-building/
 
The success of Tūranga would not have been possible without the combined vision of our community (expressed through Share an Idea) and our library team, and the organisations that made that vision a reality – the Christchurch Foundation, our 3 strategic partners -  TSB, Spark and Southbase Construction - and Matapopore and Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga. I would therefore like to thank you all for the part you have played in making Turanga a treasured place in our city.

I would like to begin by acknowledging the Whadjuk Noongar people, the traditional owners of the land where we meet and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. I pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
 
Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today about our recent experiences in Christchurch and how they have helped us to think about the importance of building resilience to future challenges.
 
I was attracted by a great theme. Be Unstoppable. Join forces now!  That phrase speaks volumes to me.  And it says two things.  Never give up and you can’t go it alone.  It’s about perseverance and collaboration, and it is also about courage. 
 
Placing our recent challenges in this context, describes the best of what emerged from the devastation, and identifies the building blocks for a more resilient community better prepared and able to take on future challenges.
 
This is not about me telling you ‘we’ve got this’. We haven’t, and in fact after the experiences of 15 March, we know we have a long way to go.
 
That’s why I talk about resilience as a journey, not a destination.  I am not here to tell you that Christchurch is resilient – it’s not – but we are on that journey – our future depends on it. 
 
Community resilience however is, at its heart, built on trust.
 
I’m going to talk today about the reality that we have forgotten how to trust each other. 
 
And yet, in times of crisis, we always learn just how much communities can do when left to our own devices to both identify the capability within our neighbourhoods and to act. 
 
We always see community leaders come to the fore at such times (as we do when communities organise neighbourhood events and festivals), and we have seen them harness all that innate capacity to get things done when the need is there.
 
My question is why not every other day, week, month or year?
How can we in local government become the enablers, the facilitators, the convenors, who help restore to communities that all-important sense of agency so that they can determine their own future?
 
Be Unstoppable. Join Forces now! That is precisely the challenge we must set.
 
I have used this slide to remind us that the challenges we face come in different guises.  Some can be predicted and prepared for – this slide reminds us that many cannot.
 
We have had earthquakes in Christchurch before, but not even the September earthquake prepared us for the earthquake on February 22, 2011. 185 people died that day, hundreds more were injured, and thousands were displaced.
 
The flooding has happened in these streets before, but three 1-in-a-100-year events less than 8 weeks apart left the community reeling. 
 
The Port Hills Fire reminded us of our proximity to a rural landscape that posed a threat that those of us living on its fringe should have been alert to.  We didn’t see the wood for the trees – literally.
 
And the mosque shootings of March 15 this year – nothing could have ever prepared us for this – I still cannot believe that it happened in Christchurch or even in New Zealand.  We are a safe place, a haven, and someone made a conscious decision to travel to New Zealand to take that from us at the same time he took 51 innocent lives.
 
How does a city recover from that when we still haven’t fully recovered from the earthquakes?
 
The words, which actually come from the San Francisco emergency management website, are spot on.  The good news is that we are always more prepared than we think.  And the truth is that actual emergencies do look like people coming together than cities falling apart.
 
These images are the Christchurch story.  People came together and were supported by the wider community throughout the city and beyond – no matter what the crisis was.   
 
So, what does this mean in the context of building resilience?
 
Let’s start with the word resilience because in Christchurch it’s like a red rag to a bull.
 
Cantabrians are so resilient – yeah right. People came to Christchurch and said – you’re so resilient when they meant stoic.
 
But for a lot of people – even today – it means “you have no idea how much I am struggling to settle with my insurer or the fact I’m living in an unrepaired home in a damaged street”.
 
And in New Orleans, ‘ok they’re resilient’ meant the authorities could do something else to me. “Stop Calling me Resilient” and “I am not resilient” were as much a plea for agency as they were for help. (CLICK)
 
I have put up this word cloud, to remind us that resilience doesn’t mean strong – look at the words – flexibility, creativity, adaptation, diversity, community, respect, change, cooperation. And there are other important words, including reciprocity and gratitude. It’s all there. 
 
I usually refer to the standard definition – the capacity to absorb and maintain system function in the face of catastrophic events – followed by the standard phrase to bounce back or to recover. 
 
However, I have come to understand resilience from a community perspective to mean much more than that.  The opportunity to bounce forward was the first expression I heard that introduced the concepts of adapting and growing.  And then the word thrive – opening up the possibility of Transformation and Co-Creation.
 
The key to these however is Trust.
 
But how can we possibly engage communities in transformation and co-creation, when they don’t trust us (meaning people in positions of authority) and, more importantly, we don’t trust them.
 
I have put up a picture of an overflowing rubbish bin.  A similar image similar was put on Facebook – who was to blame – the Council of course. Not the people who dumped the rubbish.  And who was responsible for cleaning it up immediately – the Council – not the people who had time to take photographs of the mess and post them on Facebook.
 
And that’s the issue. Not only have many communities ceded responsibility to governments – both local and central – they have also ceded power.
 
I pay my taxes and my rates – so that’s someone else’s job now. I don’t have to worry about anything in my community anymore.
 
And we in local and central government fully agree - we really do have to do it all for these helpless communities who are incapable of doing things for themselves.
 
Trust is missing every which way.  We simply don’t trust each other.
 
But we know that’s not true in times of disaster so why is it true the rest of the time?  We need to find a way for governments and communities to relearn how to trust each other.
 
There’s lots of literature on social capital – and the good news is that it doesn’t matter why communities come together – it’s enough to be part of a campaign against something.  However, I haven’t yet seen any evidence that suggests that posting on Facebook without even investing the energy needed to turn up builds social capital.
 
Communities coming together for a purpose builds trust and trust is the glue that holds it all together. And we saw this time and time again in the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes. 
 
Communities found purpose in all that they did. And communities were empowered as they proved their competence to act, and on the flip side, (Click) when communities felt they were excluded, they became frustrated and disillusioned.
 
The good news is that there are many communities where trust is high, and they take full responsibility for their own future and they dream big.  They already trust each other, and they have developed trusted relationships with the council and the government.  It hasn’t always been that way.
 
Aranui is one of the lowest socio-economic areas in Christchurch. The largest landlord is Housing NZ – in other words the government.  They were ravaged in the 80s by social blight, mass unemployment and gangs, followed by the 1990s which saw the dismantling of the underpinnings of the welfare state and the introduction of market rents for their state houses.
 
I became their MP in 1999, nine years after I first elected to Parliament, which coincided with becoming a Cabinet Minister, alongside two reforming Ministers – one in Housing and the other Social Development. 
Community Renewal the Housing NZ initiative empowered the community to have a real say about the way the new houses that would replace the duplexes that were part of the problem.
 
And the Strengthening Communities Action Fund was a Ministry of Social Development funding model that empowered communities to make their own choices about what was needed. The government didn’t set the terms.  They just resourced the community to do what they needed to be done. 
 
And the agreement that was signed was between the government, the Council and the Community Trust, which they formed as an incorporated society so they could sit at the table as an equal partner. This is when I saw what could be done by letting communities take ownership of their own challenges to.
 
I became a champion of asset-based-community-development, and they have been practising it in Aranui for nearly 20 years.  When they have an issue with the council, they don’t post it on Facebook, they talk to the right people to get it fixed. 
 
They turn up and make submissions on our annual plans when they have something to say.  That would never have happened in the 1990s.
 
Rachael Fonotia, who is the Manager of the Aranui Community Trust, hates the word resilience, but Aranui truly has become my poster child of the resilience journey.
 
This is their annual Affirm Festival that they have been running for 18 years this year – 5-6000 people turn up every year.  You just need to look at this picture to see the strength lies with the people. 
 
We have just entered into a partnership with ACTIS based on community resilience and resourced them to activate their community centre. It’s no longer seen as a community centre sitting on the Council’s asset register earning a financial return on the investment – it’s a community’s centre in the true sense of the word, with the return on investment going straight into community outcomes.
 
To build back better after a disaster, you need to know a city’s pre-existing vulnerabilities to ensure that they are not re-entrenched in the rebuild.
Pre-existing strengths are the same – they are the building blocks of recovery and resilience. Always start with your strengths.
 
We know that in a time of crisis, there will always be existing and emergent community leaders. The trick is to connect with them in a meaningful way in order to establish trusted channels of communication both ways.  But what about before a crisis?
 
I’ve just mentioned Rachael Fonotia in Aranui.  We already knew her before the earthquakes, and she has demonstrated the kind of leadership that has enabled Aranui to be a much more connected community than many of the more affluent suburbs in Christchurch.
 
Pamela Jeffries, who was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list last year is a community leader in Lyttelton, the port town on the other side of the Port Hills. Project Lyttelton is a non-profit grassroots organisation committed to building sustainable, connected community - they run their own Farmers Market, community gardens and timebank among many other activities. It didn’t take long to work out that you don’t need a civil defence team in a community that has a time bank – and that’s because the community already knows who is willing to help, what skills they have, and that they all respect each other’s contribution hour for hour not dollar for dollar.
 
As with the Aranui Community Trust, we are partnering with the Lyttelton Project to further grow their capacity to build community resilience.
We don’t need to do it all as a council, and there is so much more we can achieve when we enable and resource communities to do it for themselves.
 
The second image was an emergent leader at the time of the earthquakes.
Sam Johnson was one of the founders of the Student Volunteer Army – having been declined for volunteering by Civil Defence and Red Cross due to a lack of training he posted on Facebook advertising a meet up for students who wanted to volunteer – on one condition – no training to be a volunteer - and the rest is history.
 
The students were heroes, alongside the Farmy Army that dug thousands of tonnes of silt from our backyards and streets.
 
The spirit the SVA engendered has become an integral part of the University of Canterbury’s curriculum; and the SVA today is the single most popular club on campus. Sam has continued down the social enterprise path since that time, including setting Community Guardians, a collaboration with the city-owned company responsible for maintenance. It is an initiative that is creating meaningful volunteering opportunities for people to give back to their communities.
 
These are just two examples – there are many more.  You may not know the Sam Johnsons, but you should know how to recognise them when they offer to help, and the Pamela Jeffries’ and Rachael Fonotias, you should know them really well already.
 
So, what stands in the way of us using our community networks – our community leaders and our strengths - in a way that builds resilience?
 
It may be different here in Australia, but in New Zealand, we sometimes we come up against rules and regulations, often imposed in the wake of disaster, which limit what we can allow the community to do.
 
I think of communities who wanted to fix their local community facilities or in this example earthquake damaged jetties – utilising the resources and skills they have within their own communities
– and finding themselves up against a set of rules that make us incredibly risk adverse.
 
I cannot believe that that the Health & Safety in Employment Act, rightly tightened after the death of 29 men at Pike River Mine, was designed to also stop communities doing things they could otherwise do if the asset wasn’t publicly owned? 
 
We have sold the Governor’s Bay Jetty to the community for $1, (the deal is being signed today), we have provided funding and they are raising the balance.  It is a project that has galvanised the whole community.
 
And that is my point, doing things for communities – no matter how well-intentioned – can undermine the very characteristics we need communities to have if they are to build resilience.
 
The truth is we don’t know what will happen in the future. We need to be prepared for the unexpected.
 
I remember reading Judith Rodin’s book The Resilience Dividend, which ended with this statement:
 
“There is no ultimate or end state of resilience. But, by working together to build resilience to the greatest degree possible, we can reduce our reliance on crisis as a driver of change and, instead, deliberately take the future into our own hands – for the well-being of our families, our communities, our cities, and indeed, the planet we all share.”
 
I raised this at the beginning of my talk.  Why is that it seems to be only in times of crisis that we learn just how well communities can come together and respond to the needs that arise.
 
So why not every other day, week, month or year?
 
How can help restore to communities that all-important sense of agency so that communities can deliberately take the future into their own hands, as Judith Rodin put it?
 
As I said before, nothing could have forewarned me of the events of March 15. Not in Christchurch. Not in New Zealand.
The Christchurch Multicultural Strategy Te Rautaki Mātāwaka Rau Our Future Together was released in 2017.
 
It had four goals, the first three focussed on the Council as an organisation and how communities can engage in an equitable way and participate in decision-making.
  
But it is this one that has taken on such meaning in the face of what has occurred:
 
Christchurch is a city of cultural vibrancy, diversity, inclusion and connection
 
The community outcomes we were to achieve were:
A safe place that people are welcomed into
A commitment to welcoming all & a commitment to reciprocity
A place where we can achieve common goals, working together
 
The intention was there, but without the events of March 15 highlighted more than how blind we had been to the reality that an act of terrorism could happen here.
We all said ‘this is not us; this not who we are’ – I said ‘he was not from here; his hatred was not born here or nurtured here; he came here with hate in his heart and the intention to kill already formed in his mind.’

But in the quiet time I knew, he could have been born in Christchurch or anywhere in New Zealand.  His hatred could have been nurtured in Christchurch, in New Zealand, anywhere in the world – the internet with its dark places has no place to call home other than anywhere and everywhere.

I am now looking to what I have learned about asset-based community development and building social capital, to find the answers to how we make this goal of our Multicultural Strategy real.
And as I have already indicated, I have started with our communities’ strengths and our community leaders, both existing and emergent.
 
And that starts with the response.  I was inspired and uplifted, as were people throughout our city, our country and across the world.  We are so thankful for the support we have received.
I believe there were three elements to the impact the response had – strong leadership from our Prime Minister, whose response was instinctive and intuitive. Her empathy was real and really helped the community cope with the trauma it imposed.
 
Next there was the overwhelming support of the people of Christchurch – we have seen the floral tributes beamed across the world as people came to together to grieve and to stand in solidarity with out Muslim communities.
 
But it is the image at the top which resonates with me – it shows thousands of residents who turned up to the Call to Prayer one week after the shootings not to pray but to offer protection to their fellow citizens. 
 
Their collective support spoke volumes – we’ve got your back, we are with you.  That’s the message that was heard by our Muslim communities. 
 
But the most powerful of messages came from the Muslim community themselves - Imam Gamal Fouda, leading the Call to Prayer, said: "This terrorist sought to tear our nation apart with an evil ideology that has torn the world apart.
But instead, we have shown that New Zealand is unbreakable, and that the world can see in us an example of love and unity." 
 
And Farid Ahmed, whose wife was killed at the Al Noor Mosque, spoke with resolve, grace and humanity, as well as an infinite capacity for forgiveness.
 
“I want a heart that is full of love and care and full of mercy, and will forgive lavishly, because this heart doesn’t want any more life to be lost. This heart doesn’t like that the pain I have gone through, that any human being should go through. That’s why I have chosen peace, love and I have forgiven.”
 
And the message that resonated across the world was this is how to respond to terrorism - not with retribution, but with generosity of mind and spirit, as we build bridges across cities and across the world. 
 
At the National Remembrance Service: Ko Tatou Tatou We are One the Prime Minister said this:
 
“Because we are not immune to the viruses of hate, of fear, of other. We never have been. But we can be the nation that discovers the cure.
And so to each of us as we go from here, we have work to do, but do not leave the job of combatting hate to the government alone. We each hold the power, in our words and in our actions, in our daily acts of kindness. Let that be the legacy of the 15th of March. To be the nation we believe ourselves to be.”
 
My eyes have been opened to the reality of those who have lived experience of intolerance, prejudice and racism growing up in Christchurch as I’ve truly listened to what people from a range of communities have had to say. Communities cannot build resilience where some of its members are treated this way.
 
So, our collective challenge is to keep the unity real; to be a community that stands up for and celebrates diversity, where unity is the norm, where all are treated with decency and respect no matter our gender, language, ethnicity, or religious beliefs.
 
Where there is no room for intolerance, prejudice and racism.  Where we take on the reality of the unconscious bias that undermines our capacity to connect with all people. And that we demolish the structural barriers that prevent people being the best that they can be.
 
And we will initiate courageous conversations about those things that stand in our way of being an inclusive community that values the true worth of diversity.
 
And to do that we will rely on our strengths and call on all our community leaders, as we deliberately take our future into our hands for the well-being of our families, our communities, our cities, and indeed, the planet we all share. 
 
I remember reading Judith Rodin’s book The Resilience Dividend, which ended with this statement:
 
“There is no ultimate or end state of resilience. But, by working together to build resilience to the greatest degree possible, we can reduce our reliance on crisis as a driver of change and, instead, deliberately take the future into our own hands – for the well-being of our families, our communities, our cities, and indeed, the planet we all share.”
 
I raised this at the beginning of my talk.  Why is that it seems to be only in times of crisis that we learn just how well communities can come together and respond to the needs that arise.
 
So why not every other day, week, month or year?
 
How can help restore to communities that all-important sense of agency so that communities can deliberately take the future into their own hands, as Judith Rodin put it?
 
So, I come back to where I began – resilience is all about people and their communities.  Nothing about us without us – is the community mantra. We must listen and learn from each other.

The images here are from the Share and Idea campaign which the Council at the time used as the basis for developing a draft central city recovery plan after the earthquake. 

It attracted over 100,000 ideas and engaged over 10,000 people over one weekend alone.

But that wasn’t all.  There were local and national speakers, community leaders, experts, architects, placemakers, engineers and scientists across a range of disciplines, geotechs, seismologists, scientists; and there were international speakers with a wide range of experiences of post disaster financing, recovery and reconstruction. It was an amazing process. We all felt part of it and there was enormous support for the draft plan which was signed off by the end of 2011.

The award was the Co-Creation Award 2011 and hangs in my office to this day, and I imagine it will always be there as a reminder of the importance of co-creation.   

Unfortunately, the government of the day decided that they would completely rewrite the draft, announcing what was referred to as the Blueprint some months later, with no community input or feedback allowed.

Despite that I will always promote the ‘share an idea” approach.  True community engagement requires meaningful exchange, and if we are to become more resilient, we need to be adaptive and open to co-creating our spaces around us.  That means we have to talk to each other.

And the same is true of making the Multicultural Strategy real. Tackling the tough issues in safe environments where people can share their lived experience of our city from the diverse backgrounds that they represent.

And sharing those stories that respect the confidence of those who have a different lived experience from the majority of those who call Christchurch home.

I found this slide on the last page of a recovery best-practice seminar which was held after the September 2010 earthquake – it was adopted by the Canterbury Community Earthquake Recovery Network - CanCERN – as their motto: “The wisdom of the community always exceeds the knowledge of the experts.”
 
After everything we have been through, I would now say this
 
“the wisdom of the community when combined with the knowledge of the experts always exceeds what one can offer without the other.”
 
And that’s what must be remembered throughout this Conference and beyond – if it’s not about the people, it’s not about anything that matters.
 
So to conclude, I asked a question at the beginning of my talk:
 
How can we in local government become the enablers, the facilitators, the convenors, who help restore to communities that all-important sense of agency so that they can determine their own future?
 
It isn’t easy but it is imperative that we do if we really want to promote resilient communities.
 
I’ve listed the key elements: Trust, Value Diversity and promote Inclusion, know your communities, know your strengths, know your community leaders, be alert to potential emergent leaders, value local knowledge and remember to engage in meaningful exchange.

Remember your ABCDs – Asset Based Community Development!

And if we do that together with our communities and cities across the world – we will be unstoppable – so join forces now.