By 10am yesterday, shop doors were opening along the previous mall. The pedestrian count was slow at first, but as the sun started to peek through the clouds, cars pulled into the new dedicated parks at $1 an hour.
In the new Tuam St car park, you could pay 10c and receive two hours and two minutes' allotted parking time.
Reopening Ballantynes was the major challenge for the central-city retailers, but now shoppers can browse in the family-owned department store while across the road such names as Kathmandu, Trelise Cooper, Barkers and Maher Shoes attract shoppers to the quirky but very effective precinct.
One of the few buildings still standing houses R and R Sports, from Dunedin. Work is hurrying along on the outside of the building. But on either side of Cashel St damaged buildings are still held together by metal ties and good luck.
For the Greens, progress is not coming fast enough. Co-leader Russel Norman said yesterday the people of Christchurch needed assurance that all New Zealand was backing the rebuild of their city.
"We consider that the fastest, fairest, and most economically sensible way to rebuild the livelihoods of those in Christchurch is to introduce a temporary earthquake levy on those who can most afford it."
The Government had created the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Fund to pay for the rebuild, but it was borrowing to cover it. The levy would fully cover the costs of the Recovery Fund over five years, he said.
The levy would cost less. Compared with borrowing, it would save taxpayers more than $660 million in interest payments over five years.
The Government's option of an earthquake bond offer had so far raised 0.2% of the $5.5 billion required from the Crown to pay for the Christchurch rebuild.
People earning $48,000 to $70,000 a year would pay an additional 1.5% income tax, while those earning more than $70,000 would pay an additional 3%. That would mean those earning $50,000 a year would pay an additional 58c a week, people earning $70,000 a year would pay an additional $6.33 a week, while people on $100,000 would pay an additional $23.59 a week.
