News 
The Press-News column July 29
Christchurch’s future promise. One of the greatest game-changers the legacy of the quakes has wrought on Christchurch is the break-up of the city’s nepotistic old powerbase – the clicky and over-blown old boys club. No where better exemplifies that than the Canterbury Young Professionals ( CYP) , a vibrant organisation, open to all degree graduates… Read More ›
The Press-News column July 22
Short-term Commuter Rail gets the Red Light Thomas, Percy and Edward won’t be tootling down the train tracks with commuter rail passengers anytime soon. At first blush, Friday’s rejection of commuter rail on the Main North Line could be damned as a short-sighted defeat for sustainable Greater Christchurch. But the ECan-commissioned investigation of commuter rail… Read More ›
The Press-News column July 15
Christchurch Town Hall on Shaky Ground. It is a carbuncle of Costa Concordia proportions. Run aground on Kilmore Island and cut adrift from the emerging new city centre, the previous council’s decision to fully restore the Christchurch Town Hall now appears to be on increasingly shaky sand. I was amused to read Warren and Mahoney… Read More ›
The Press- News column. July 8
Political Spotlight Set to Head East. As the pulse rate of the central city rebuild starts to beat with purpose and vigour, expect the political spotlight to head East in the coming weeks, with higher wattage bulbs to boot. A welcome appetiser emerged on Friday, with a city council-appointed advisory group selecting a hot salt… Read More ›
The Press-News column July 1
Going European with our Air Quality. My inbox has been huffing and puffing with feedback, and a bit of blowback, to last week’s opinion piece, in which I argued that ECan should declare the National Environmental Standards on Air Quality an unreasonable, unachievable imposition on Cantabrians. Unless our little regional fiefdom stumbles upon a Harry… Read More ›
The Press-News column June 24
Clearing the Air in Christchurch. When will ECan pull its head out of its chimney? When will our little regional fiefdom come to its senses, stop terrorising low emission log-burning Cantabrians, and declare that the National Environmental Standards on Air Quality are an unachievable imposition? The Ministry of Environment’s edict on air quality standards, passed… Read More ›
The Press-News column June 17
Why a Sugar Tax is a lemon. With New Zealand weighing in as one of the leading lard-arse nations in the developed world, would a tax on sugary drinks help combat the obesity crisis? The Medical Association’s call for such a politically unpalatable tax has been swiftly rejected by the government, who also reject the… Read More ›
The Press-News column. June 10
Do e-cigarettes have a role to play as NZ pursues being “Smokefree by 2025?” Since returning home from overseas, it’s been heartening to catch up with the headway the city council is finally making in confronting the flood threat, plaguing some pockets of Christchurch. On a walk last week along the banks of the Heathcote,… Read More ›
The Press-News column. June 3
Change of Guard at Christchurch Airport. What a difference a new broom can make. With the city council’s new chief executive, Karleen Edwards, commencing work in a fortnight, the change of guard at Christchurch Airport exemplifies the potential transformative effect. The airport’s new CEO, Malcolm Johns, who succeeded Jim Boult in January, appears to have… Read More ›
The Press- News column May 27
Encouraging Private Health Insurance Uptake. Ryman Healthcare is undoubtedly one of Christchurch’s stellar business performers, with the company’s after tax profit soaring to $195 million. The Christchurch-based retirement village powerhouse, which admirably pays its care staff more than the market average, has been spreading its wings beyond our shores, commencing a successful expansionary programme in… Read More ›
Mike Yardley News and Travel 