Christchurch mayoral candidates face off in a debate today.
Councilor Phil Mauger and former Canterbury District Health Board CEO David Meates have thrown in their hats.
They joined Canterbury Mornings around 10am with John MacDonald on Newstalk ZB.
Topics of debate included what should be done with the stadium and whether they think Selwyn and Waimakariri districts should be merged with Christchurch to create a super city.
The candidates were asked what they think is the biggest challenge for the city at the moment.
Meates said he wants to be mayor and sees a city with so many opportunities.
He said they have lost a lot of confidence and that the council needs to be relevant to the community and that the community is heard.
Mauger said he is neither a politician nor a bureaucrat and wants to regain the trust of the council.
About the stadium, Meates said his stance on the project has not changed.
He said he has raised a number of questions, in terms of funding sources, and finds it difficult to understand why talks with neighboring councils and the Canterbury Environment are starting at this late stage.
“It can’t be a stadium at all costs. We’re at $680 million now and we see stadium growth of another $200 million in the future.
“I am stunned after 12 years that we haven’t actually built a stadium and frankly we are in this situation.”
If a decision is made next week to build the stadium, “That was something, as a community, we will have to stand behind us and deliver,” Meates said.
“I absolutely support a new stadium for Christchurch. That has been promised for the city and it has to be delivered.
Meates said what he has done raises a number of questions.
“The council added 5,000 seats and that added $50 million to costs at a time when it was clear there would be further significant cost escalation.
“We need to have a stadium being built and frankly, if the stadium doesn’t go ahead, it will continue to be a complaint for Christchurch.
“This is the kind of thing this community needs to know and understand.
“That’s what it’s committing to, that’s the impact it’s going to have and this is the operating cost, so we have the certainty as a city to plan ahead.”
Mauger said he will talk to the delivery company and they guarantee it will be a fixed price of $683 million.
“They’re dealing with the consortium right now and they’re 99.99 percent confident it’s a fixed price,” he said.
Meates said: “Having been involved in many major contracts and delivery projects, they are always damn hard to deliver.”
The biggest challenge for Christchurch, according to Mauger, is the vulnerable people in Bromley.
“They need to ask themselves what they did to deserve this.”
He would move the organic processing plant as soon as possible, Mauger said.
According to Meates, Bromley is the biggest challenge for Christchurch, which must be solved and solved immediately.
When Christchurch became a super city and the townships of Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri merged, Mauger said, “is bigger always better?”
“Both of our neighbors are doing a fantastic job, but if it does happen I’d love to see solid evidence that it worked in Auckland.
“If someone could prove to me it’s a good thing, I’d go with that, but I’d say no.”
Current mayor Lianne Dalziel announced in July last year that she would not stand for re-election.
Her husband Rob Davidson passed away in 2020.
At the time, she said she would have needed her late husband by her side to get back on her feet.
“The reality is that the only person I need by my side to do that, my husband Rob, who died last year, has passed away.
“It’s time for a new direction in my life. I don’t know where this will lead, but I will always be proud of what has been achieved and of the solid foundation for the future we have built together.”
Dalziel has served as mayor for three terms and was first elected in 2013.