2787 days ago

Christchurch Cathedral

Mark from Belfast

I do feel strongly about this subject and wonder how many others out there feel the same way. but have not spoken up. I am very upset the the Christchurch Council are to give ten million dollars of rate payers (our) money to help restore the Christchurch Cathedral. In this age of user pays why should this happen? How can this happen?

What would ten million dollars do for the homeless, the sick or the elderly? What would it do to help those still suffering the effects of earthquakes both physical and mental? This is insane!

At a time when all our social services are woefully under funded how can it be right to waste so much public money on this crazyness. What would Jesus say and do? Even the most pious know the answer to that one.

This is not about religion or the belief system, I do not want to get into that long winded and unprovable argument, this is about doing the right thing with public money by the people that need it.

It is simply a case of needs versus wants, no more, no less.

The rate payers are not a bottomless pit of cash for churches, statues or new cars for council staff. Next time you are in town go into the West End car park, lift to the top floor and take a look at the amount of nice shiny vehicles that are lined up with the council logo on them...it is astounding.

I for one will not be paying any part of my rates to support this self indulgent project, anyone else feel the same way?

More messages from your neighbours
1 day ago

Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? ๐Ÿ›ป๐Ÿšจ๐Ÿš“

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?

What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?

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If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? ๐Ÿ›ป๐Ÿšจ๐Ÿš“
  • 36.2% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
    36.2% Complete
  • 63.8% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
    63.8% Complete
329 votes
8 days ago

Some Choice News!

Kia pai from Sharing the Good Stuff

DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.

Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, weโ€™re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.

For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.

Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature โ€” and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?

We hope this brings a smile!

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8 days ago

Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!

William Hansby Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.

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