John MacDonald: Is this the answer to the Cathedral question?

Finally, someone has come up with an idea for the Anglican Cathedral in Christchurch that makes a load of sense. 

It doesn’t involve running to the Government cap-in-hand. And it doesn’t involve asking ratepayers to fork out more money. 

Sound too good to be true? I know - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

But I think this is an exception. And a brilliant exception, at that. 

So, what’s happened, is business leader Humphry Rolleston has told the Christchurch City Council that what it should do, is sell its Enable broadband company to pay for the cathedral and get the square back to life again. 

Not only that - it could also pay for other heritage projects around town that are in desperate need of money. 

Before you go thinking that I've done some sort of U-turn and become a cheerleader for the cathedral, I haven’t. But I think we just have to accept that about $100 million has been poured into it, and so we’re stuck with it. It would be criminal to pull the thing down. 

Even though I think that the cathedral doesn’t have the same level of community support that it used to have. Even though I don’t buy into this notion that the cathedral was and, could again be, a tourist attraction. 

I still feel the same. But, despite all that, we have to decide if we want to be stuck with it in its current state forever or whether we want to look for a practical way forward. 

And this is a practical way forward.  

So the back-of-an-envelope numbers say that the council could sell the broadband company for somewhere around $1 billion.  

Which, Humphry Rolleston says, could be used to set up a trust, and the interest earned on that money could be used to pay for the cathedral and other heritage projects. 

These are the other three, as well as The Cathedral, that are short of cash. The Arts Centre, Canterbury Museum and the old Provincial Chambers. 

A few more numbers for you. 

Humphry Rolleston says the fund could be operating by Christmas - that’s assuming that the council could sell its broadband company that soon - and could generate about $42 million a year. 

Which is around about the amount the Cathedral project needs.  

Humphry Rolleston says: “I think this is an elegant and simple financial solution that will enable us to restore the buildings without calling on direct rate-paying support.” 

Amen to that. Pun intended. 

And the reason why I think this is such a good idea, again, comes down to numbers. 

In the last financial year, the Enable broadband company paid out a $25 million dividend to the council. And that is expected to increase to $35 million a year in 2028.  

That’s a 3.5 percent return on our money. Which is chickenfeed. 

Now, you consider what the return might be to the city if the cathedral, especially, was fixed up and the square able to be returned to its former glory?  

More than $25-to-$35 million. And you imagine all of that happening without more ratepayer money going into it. 

It is an absolute no-brainer, as far as I'm concerned.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Finally someone has come up with an idea for the
Anglican Cathedral in christ Church that makes a truckload of sense.
It doesn't involve running to the government cap in hand,
and it doesn't involve asking rape payers to fork up
more money. And yeah, yeah, you know it sounds too
good to be true. I know, if it sounds too

(00:33):
good to be true, probably is.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Right.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
This is an exception, and it is a brilliant exception
at that. So let me tell you what's happened. Claire
was mentioning it before as well. Business leader Humphrey Ralston
has told the council that what it should do is
sell its enabled broadband company to pay for the cathedral
and to get the square back to life again. Not

(00:59):
only that, it could also pay for other heritage projects
around town that are also in desperate need of money. Now,
before better do this, before you think that I've done
some sort of U turn, and before you think always
become a bloody cheer leader for the cathedral. Now, but
I could trust him, No, I haven't. But I think

(01:23):
we just have to accept that about one hundred million
bucks has been poured into it, and we're stuck with it,
aren't we? And it would be criminal to pull the
thing down, as some people think we should. And even
though I think that the cathedral doesn't have the same
level of community support that it used to have, and
even though I don't buy into this notion that the

(01:45):
cathedral was and could again be some sort of tourist attraction,
I mean, I don't buy into that. Still feel the same.
But despite all that, we've got to decide, don't we
that what do we want? Do we want to be
stuck with it in its current state forever or do
we want to look or do we want to find

(02:05):
a practical way forward? And this is a practical way
forward in my book, So back of an envelope numbers,
they say the council could sell the broadband company Enable
for somewhere around a billion dollars, which Humphrey Rolston says
could be used to set up a trust, and the
interest earned on that money could be used to pay

(02:27):
for the cathedral and other heritage projects. These are the
other three as well as a cathedral, that are shorter
of cash. We've got the Arts Center Canterbury Museum and
the old Provincial Chambers. Few more numbers for you. Humphrey
Rolston says the fund could be operating by Christmas. That's
assuming the Council could sell a enable that soon, and

(02:50):
he reckons it could generate about forty two million dollars
a year, which is around about the amount that the
cathedral project needs. And Humphrey says, quote, I think this
is an elegant and simple financial solution that will enable
us to restore the bills bildings without calling on direct
rate paying support end of quote. And amen to that

(03:13):
and yes, pun intended. And the reason why I think
this is such a good idea again, it comes down
to numbers. In the last financial year, the Enabled Broadband
Company paid out a twenty five million dollar divodendo the
council and that's expected to increase the thirty five million
a year by twenty twenty eight. What is that? That's

(03:33):
a three point five percent return on our money. How
would you classify that? You classify that as chicken feed
a three point five percent return. Now you consider what
the return might be to the city. I'm talking about
the city broadly. What do you think the return might
be if the cathedral especially was fixed up and the
square was able to be returned to its former glory

(03:56):
more than twenty five to thirty five million dollars a year,
I bet. And you imagine all of that happening without
more rate payer money going into it. It is an
absolute no brainer as far as I'm concerned. But what
do you think? Would you support the council selling its
enable broadband network and using that money to set up

(04:17):
a trust to pay for the cathedral and other heritage projects.

Speaker 1 (04:21):
For more from Caterbory Mornings with John McDonald, listen live
to news talks It'd be christ Church from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio