Christchurch’s psyche has changed. Resilient beyond anything  you could ask, there now seems to be a mood to take action, and a dawning realisation that this won’t  and perhaps can’t come from the authorities.

 Perhaps actually they can’t do the things we want them to do. Perhaps that has to come from all of us. Maybe it just needs to come from groups of citizens.

Everyone no doubt knew many of the people killed and so many of the community lost in one go is so hard to take. For those who were their closest it must continue to be unbearable, especially as they see how many of the deaths seemed to be so avoidable. Whatever lessons other cities learn from this it needs to be about safe buildings. The sticker on the entrance that tells the buildings compliance with earthquake standards seems the most transparent way of doing this …a bit like the energy efficiency sticker …only more immediately life threatening if its low..

While the Council has public spats and makes decisions that anyone would wonder at, it has far more serious issues lurking. It has no insurance on great chunks of the city’s infrastructure and strangely seems to be fixated on seeking that in Europe, which to an untrained observer seems about to undergo its own major financial turmoil – again .

Then there is the question of where it gets the money from for rates. Until the end of this financial year building owners are still paying 60% of the rates even when their buildings no longer exist. That can change on July 1 and the loss of capital value from about 1000-1300 commercial buildings in the CBD and about 7000 homes will be enormous. Enormous !

Put alongside that the battles with insurance , which we all know and love. Settling insurance claims has become a hugely long and drawn out business here. And the Council has huge assets that it needs to replace. Most of the CBD and much that is not so visible , as well as major facilities such as QE2 Park , and suburban swimming pools and more. That is a vast task. And not one to be envied.  

Interestingly we hear nothing about finances, or insurance or where the new Convention Centre may go so others may know where to build hotels and other tourism related facilities. This needs to get a move on soon. And if ever there was a time for real transparency it is now. The people of Christchurch have shown a maturity and a calm that demands that the authorities take them into their confidence. 

All of us have grown so weary of the EQC. The people who come to your house arepleasant, decent, and affable, but the system itself is unbelievably and unsustainably complex. It’s as if  a claim gets into a process and becomes part of a whirlpool and there is no plug for that whirlpool and it stays there forever . Weekly calls to the EQC don’t create any motion there whatsoever. One part of EQC is not allowed to talk to the other and so no matter what you do nothing seems to happen.

Its amazing how tolerant people are of such ineptitude. Older people seem to be the most stoic “not wanting to make a fuss”, and although the look and feel of the eastern suburbs is now like a movie set…there are many other people still in limboland. Where the Port Hills Fault ripped through on February 22^nd , the white zone and orange zone owners can’t fix their houses even. Rent insurance has , or will very soon ,run out so they get rental payments and rates and mortgages .

And yet, everyone seems to have the capacity to be philosophical about it. The fact that there is an EQC scheme is awesome. And while it’s a shame that the operation of the system is so badly flawed the feeling of support and help from the rest of the country has been superb.

The reopening of the entire CBD planned for April will not happen. The earthquake in December has seen to that. Major buildings such as Westpac are only just starting a long demolition process, and others’ futures have still to be determined. So there is no date now and no certainty.

And in amongst this , schools , offices and shops, are now undergoing serious engineering inspections. The results are not good. 

The residential  Red Zone looks like a movie zone, but beyond the loss of homes and communities which we grieve there are possibilities untold. Urban farms, walk around supermarkets, the city's foodbasket, so many parks, skating, biking, and things we can almost begin to imagine.An area that needs to capture the imagination of the young particularly. And an area that can start to become the sort of thing cities would love to have the chance to create.

But what will happen here ? Amazing things are already happening .There is a newcommunity strength and I am sure we will see that express itself in ways that are unbelievably exciting and bold. There is a creativity that is palpable.

I have the feeling that the people of Christchurch have realised a strength they didn’t know they had . A fierce determination. A humour that is delightful - and it sustains others, and in turn themselves as we take turns on the emotional rollercoaster that follows any such event. And I have the feeling that a new political system will need to be created to capture that spark and energy as it emerges from the exhaustion.