A time to remember

Today the nation remembers the traumatic events of a year ago in Christchurch; it grieves for the 185 people lost in the tragedy; it celebrates the overt heroism and quiet stoicism of the people of that city who, with lives turned upside down - sometimes quite literally - have, with remarkable fortitude and equanimity, faced their uncertain futures.

There are lessons in grace, patience and positivity to inspire us all. There is something to give every New Zealander pause when, at 12.51pm, during the Civic Memorial Service in North Hagley Park and elsewhere throughout the country, two minutes' silence is observed.

Of late, the headlines have alighted on the various dissatisfactions attendant upon the rebuild of the city, and of the shortcomings of the administrators responsible for various aspects of it. Much space has been devoted to a supposedly "dysfunctional" Christchurch City Council, the activities of which are said by some not to have met the flimsiest requirements of democratic process. Outrage, which often seeks a totemic issue, has cohered around the persona and pay rise of the city's chief executive, Tony Marryatt, which in turn has led to the outing of other issues.

The quaking earth has intermittently - notably in June and December last year - put paid to, or seriously set back, best laid plans for advancement on that which now concerns almost all who remain in Christchurch: how to progress the city's future with certainty.

It is in fact a mark of the tenacity of Christchurch residents that so many remain committed to the city, but also a reflection that for others there is at present no choice. For as much as the performance of the city council, central Government, and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) are under constant scrutiny and, sometimes, criticism, it is the insurance limbo in which many people find themselves trapped, that is the real bain of their lives, blighting the present and the future, obscuring visions and dampening optimism.

For all that, optimism endures inspired partly by the example of many ordinary people in Christchurch who, refusing to be cowed by seismic threat, nor insurance inertia, have got on with their lives in the most trying of circumstances. Amid that optimism is a spirit of adventurism and possibility not un-akin to that of the original pioneers of Canterbury who, after all, created their capital city, and all its now "munted" monuments, out of nothing more than vision and hope.

With a fair wind and generous assistance Christchurch can be a new model city for the 21st century. That will take time, perseverance, good will and sensible, even-handed governance. But when and as it happens, Otago can raise a quiet cheer. The fates, and economic wellbeing, of the two provinces and their major cities are interdependent. Christchurch and some of its businesses and residents may now need Dunedin, but in the long term, the southern heartland has much to gain from a robust, go-ahead Christchurch.

The two cities need to remain in close communication, with Dunedin offering what support it can.

Today, the country should stop to think about, and empathise with, all those who have lost loved ones; those whose livelihoods have been destroyed; those whose homes have been badly damaged but not so badly as to warrant demolition.

They all have a story to tell, even those who might choose to remain silent.

Nobody is untouched: neither the displaced schoolchildren who have had to travel substantial distances to new classrooms; the residents of rest-homes relocated in the quake's aftermath; the owners of businesses who struggle against the odds to rebuild and provide wages for their employees; those who carry scars and permanent physical disabilities from this day a year ago; those for whom the memory of February 22, 2011, inspires the nightmares that still wake them in the small hours.

Even with the best of wills, with all bickering abolished and the somewhat inevitable roadblocks to progress dismantled, the way back for Christchurch is going to be long and arduous. We should spare all its people a thought, wherever possible extend the hand of help and friendship, and accompany them on their journey.