The people of Christchurch are not to be envied. But neither are they to be pitied nor patronised.
Many of them have suffered incalculable losses, personal and financial, over the past 18 months, such that it is a wonder so many have elected to remain in the city.
Some, of course, with their major assets - be they homes or businesses - still locked in the no-man's land of the post-quake-scape, have little choice. Others have consciously chosen to remain to help re-create the city they love.
In the Government's establishment of a new unit to spearhead the plan for the rebuilding of the central business district of the city, bypassing the Christchurch City Council - arguably the elected conduit of the people's will - there is a danger of at least the perception long-suffering citizens are being locked out of decisions critical to the shape and nature of the city's new centre. Against that must be balanced the need for decisive and swift action lest the notion that progress on rebuilding the heart of the city has become terminally bogged down amid uncertainty, wrangling, insurance issues and diverse opinion.
The formation of the Christchurch Central Development Unit (CCDU), which has been given 100 days to formulate a blueprint for the rebuild, would seem to have the advantage of a clear mandate. It is not constrained by the baggage of a council which, in recent times, had become both fractured and fractious. But it - and its parent body the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) - will need to be mindful of taking the people of Christchurch, as far as is practicable, along for the ride.
The new unit which is proposed to have upwards of 25 staff - some of whom will be brought in from the city council and Environment Canterbury - has a brief to speed up the consents process, attract investment capital and identify and prioritise projects critical to the entire redevelopment process. The site and shape of a new convention centre is one such key project.
It will take as it starting point the city council's draft centre city plan arrived at through the contribution of Christchurch people during the Share An Idea consultation process. But already it seems clear that various features will be cherry-picked and others put to one side in an effort to attract investment and get the ball rolling.
Certainly, the move has been welcomed by business leaders, on behalf of developers and investors, who have watched in frustration as delay has been succeeded by delay and what some have seen as unnecessarily stringent new restrictions. But others are critical, including Labour MP Lianne Dalziel, who has been vocal on the city's future. She sees in the peremptory formation of the CCDU yet further evidence of diminishing opportunities for the people of the city to have a voice in important aspects of its future.
On the day the unit's formation was announced, Ms Dalziel was in Wellington addressing the city's Employers' Chamber of Commerce on Christchurch's response and recovery, and what lessons might be drawn by any other city - the capital, for example - from the experience.
In fact, Ms Dalziel's criticism stems from the formation of Cera and the lines of authority that required. Rather than a department of the Government answerable to a Cabinet minister, in this case Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee, she points to the view put forward by the Opposition at the time that an independent state-owned enterprise would have been preferable.
This would have been more capable of harnessing cross-party, multi-sector interests, and facilitating their passage into the final mix for the city's future. It would have provided channels for constructive dialogue between all such interests rather than descending into sniping from sidelined and politicised camps.
She has a point, but it is one that belongs in the past. The CCDU has been charged with progressing the city centre's future. It must act promptly and effectively. But it must also be wary of favouring the interests of certain sectors above those of others if it is to enjoy the confidence of entire city.
