The Star: March 15, 2018

16
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday March 15 2018
Viewpoint
Paralympians inspire respect
I HAVE just returned from the
Winter Paralympics in Korea.
I was there to support the
Kiwi team of course, but also to
highlight the contribution these
athletes make to inspire respect,
equality and inclusion of disabled
people in our society.
The 2018 Winter Paralympics
span nine days and finish on Sunday
in PyeongChang.
Over 650 of the world’s best para
athletes will compete in 80 medal
events over six sports. These include
alpine and cross-country skiing,
snowboarding, para ice hockey,
wheelchair curling and biathlon.
New Zealand is represented by
three impressive athletes, Adam
Hall, of Dunedin, in the alpine skiing
standing, Corey Peters, of New
Plymouth, in the alpine skiing sitting
and Carl Murphy, of Wanaka,
in the snowboarding.
At the time of writing Corey
Peters had won a well deserved
bronze medal in the downhill. He
won a silver in Sochi in 2014, so his
Dad says he only needs one more
to have a complete set. And Adam
SEVEN YEARS on from the
quakes, Christchurch is a city that
has changed so much.
For people who come to visit
who remember it only as it was
before the earthquakes, there
are whole chunks of the city you
wouldn’t even recognise.
While it’s really great to see
wonderful new areas of our city
that the community loves springing
up, it’s also often sad to reflect
on the memories that go with
places that have been lost.
That’s why it was so great last
week to be able to go along to
the opening of the new Victoria
Square – which as much as possible
has returned the area to what
it was like before the earthquakes.
This is a part of our city with a
very rich history – for Ngai Tahu
it was an important gathering
place, and for early Pakeha settles
it’s housed everything from police
barracks to post offices and dog
pounds.
Nicky Wagner
SUCCESS: Corey Peters and
Nicky Wagner at PyeongChang.
Hall has won a bronze medal in the
Men’s Super Combined.
The Paralympics is an exciting
and important sporting event
but it’s also a movement with
wider objectives. The values of the
Paralympics are courage, determination,
inspiration and equality,
and the athletes, teams and
organisation committees really live
up to these expectations. So much
so, that today the Paralympics is
considered the world’s number one
sporting event for driving social
inclusion.
The census shows that 24 per
cent of all New Zealanders have
some sort of disability. And disabled
people tell me that they want
more choice, more control and
more opportunities in their lives.
The Paralympics are just one way
of illustrating just what disabled
people can achieve, if they are
given a chance.
•Nicky Wagner is a National
list MP based in Christchurch
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Orbiter Bus stops Innes Road
Like most Cantabrians, I have
really fond memories of that part
of our city. From primary school
singing competitions at the Town
Hall to waiting as a 16 year old
to get autographs from Bono and
the Edge of U2 at the Park Royal
Hotel when they toured. Everyone
who’s grown up in Christchurch
or lived here for a period of
time will have their own special
memory of this place.
What’s really nice to think
about is that there is now a whole
group of young Cantabrians
growing up who will never have
got to come into this space since
the earthquakes who will now be
able to make their own memories
in this part of our city.
I want to pay tribute to all the
people who worked so hard to
restore this space and add new
touches. It’s another sign of progress
in our city and somewhat
unique for a construction project
to be all about returning something
to what it was instead of
building something new.
It’s great that even after all we’ve
been through, this is a city able
to preserve our memories and
history while providing excellent
public spaces for future generations
to enjoy.
•Megan Woods is the Minister
of Greater Christchurch Regeneration
YOU WOULD have heard
by now that Zephyr Airways
has unveiled the world’s first
self-piloted electric flying taxi,
(called Cora), and that our
city and region are playing an
important role in ensuring that
it can be trialled and tested
before it enters the transport
market.
Before I go any further, let
me answer the first question I
knew would be asked – no, we
are not putting any ratepayers’
dollars into this venture. But it
is important for our future.
At the beginning of this
term, we sat down as a new
council and we worked out
what we wanted to achieve –
what our aspirations were for
the city as we continued the
rebuild and created opportunities
for regeneration.
We started from the premise
that we were city of opportunity
for all – a place that was
open to new ideas, new people
and new ways of doing things
– a place where anything was
possible.
Within that vision, we captured
the essence of what this
announcement means for our
city and region – a place where
we and others can explore and
realise new ideas.
Yes, we need to focus on
getting things fixed, (the road
cones are the ever-present
reminder of the work we still
need to do), however, at the
same time it is vital that we are
open to all the opportunities
that will come from the challenges
the world will confront.
The future of transport will
be so different to what we are
Local
News
Now
Lianne Dalziel
The Star
Fire rages, homes at risk
Exploring and
realising new ideas
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used to today. I read an article
the other day that said by
2025, 80% of the world’s buses
will be electric. We have none
operating in Christchurch
today, and New Zealand has a
clunky contracting model that
is not controlled by the city,
which could stand in the way
of significant progress towards
electric fleets.
Christchurch sees itself at the
forefront of future transportation
with other projects in the
city such as the Ohmio autonomous
vehicle trail at the airport
and the Yoogo electric car
sharing scheme, which is now
available to residents. These are
the way of the future.
I have had the privilege of
seeing Cora, which also represents
the future. Cora rises
like a helicopter and flies like a
plane, eliminating the need for
a runway and creating the possibility
of taking off from places
like rooftops. Cora will use
self-flying software combined
with human oversight, making
the future of flying possible for
people without training. And
of course Cora is powered by
the same kind of technology
that helps electric cars contribute
to a more sustainable
world.
It’s a great opportunity for
our city and region as we
become known around the
world as the place where ideas
become reality and dreams really
do come true.
•If you want to ask Ms
Dalziel a question, email
mayor@ccc.govt.nz. Put
Reader’s Question in the
subject line
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