Mike's Minute: How awesome is Christchurch?

Christchurch is so awesome.

I told the room that on Friday. It was a fun hour with a bunch of Christchurch businesses and a panel of local experts and, basically, we just chatted about what an amazing story Christchurch is.

It's not perfect and a few issues remain. I note on the same day I was there Winston Peters was there promising money for the cathedral, which as I drove through the square is a shame beyond shame that it remains in the state it's in.

Just a few blocks down, also on the same day, was the Prime Minister opening the stadium.

That's Christchurch - so forward thinking and successful, and yet, bits remain that remind you that if you want to be bogged down in drama and angst you will be left behind.

Anyway, interesting part of our discussion, which by the way was at the Town Hall which remains to my mind one of the great architectural triumphs of modern New Zealand artistry, was when I asked the room about the war.

I said give me a number around angst. We settled on six or seven out of ten. The angst is real.

As much as the day was filled with the joy of the stadium, and as much as Canterbury as a region is booming, no matter how good life is there is nothing like the prospect of running out of diesel to send shivers up a collective spine.

By the way Canterbury is a good study in the art of remembering your blessings. They told me traffic is bad - it isn't.

They told me they need more positivity and they need some spending decisions. Do they?

I mean everyone probably does. But from a person who flew in from another city, outside looking in, it's easy to simply enjoy your success so much and to become possibly even complacent in your “up-beatness”.

Yes, there is always more to do. But my word, if I was the Government I would look at handing out day passes to Christchurch for everyone who wants a blueprint on what the future looks like.

For every town, suburb or city that is stuck in some sort of infrastructural quagmire, spend time in Christchurch. Drive it, look at it, soak it up and talk to a few locals.

Yes, they want more. But that’s what happens when you're on a roll.

Cheap-ish housing, good education, decent weather, access to city and country, open spaces, international air connections, new facilities everywhere you look and you're already in the South Island.

Christchurch is what New Zealand can be.

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