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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 7 Hansard (24 June) . . Page.. 1983 ..

MR HIRD (continuing):

The third initiative I want to mention, Mr Speaker, relates to the very close link between economic development and local social development. Christchurch authorities stressed to us that it is not desirable for the business community to gallop on while leaving the general community behind. They view economic development as closely linked to initiatives to assist the unemployed and to provide education and training for the community generally. Consequently, the Christchurch City Council is involved in a number of innovative employment initiatives. These initiatives include Actionworks, the Wai Ora Trust, Aranui High School and Super Grans. I will say just a few words on each of these.

Actionworks is sponsored by the council, the Canterbury Development Corporation and the central government. Actionworks case manages all unemployed youth aged 16 to 24 years and includes assistance with life issues such as accommodation and finance as well as training and post-placement support. The Wai Ora Trust is a non-profit organisation which helps the long-term unemployed gain employment through horticulture and other employment programs. These programs include a nursery which specialises in native plants and a wood cutting and delivery unit. Aranui High School offers an employment preparation program which provides life skills to disadvantaged youth through participation in sport. Super Grans is a scheme where women volunteer their time to help educate and coach young people, in particular young mothers, in life skills. These skills include home budgeting, cooking, parenting and cleaning.

The fourth initiative concerns Christchurch's approach to encouraging businesses to set up in or relocate to Christchurch. There seemed to be universal agreement amongst the people the committee met with that offering incentives creates bidding wars with other locations in New Zealand and overseas. They argued that offering incentives did not produce long-term solutions because the company moved for the wrong reasons. If another city offered greater incentives in the future the company often relocated again and the council's investment could be lost. On this basis, the council made a deliberate decision to allocate funds which would have been used as incentives to improve the city's infrastructure so as to make the city a better place in which to live and work.

Instead of business incentives, Christchurch uses a strategic approach to enticing businesses to Christchurch. The Canterbury Development Corporation identifies industries or companies which will complement rather than compete with existing industry. The committee was given the example of the emerging film industry. It seems that there are no production companies in Christchurch, so the Canterbury Development Corporation is looking for a production company to relocate to or establish in the city.

The committee was interested to learn about Christchurch's involvement in the management of important regional transport infrastructure, namely, the airport and Lyttelton Port. The Christchurch City Council, Mr Speaker, owns 75 per cent of the Christchurch International Airport. The national government owns the remaining 25 per cent but is keen to sell its share to private shareholders. The council also owns 65 per cent of the Lyttelton Port Co. Ltd, which is listed on the stock exchange. The council is keen to retain majority ownership of the airport and port, as they are so important to tourism and business and they are major employers.

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