John MacDonald: Who isn't talking to who at Christchurch City Council?

At one point after the earthquakes, I had the insurance company telling me that it wanted to replace the driveway before the sewer line that ran under it had been repaired. 

When I explained to them that, maybe, that wasn’t the most practical way of doing things —that it might make more sense to wait until the underground work had been done before putting the nice new driveway down— they agreed.  

If only the Christchurch City Council had someone giving the same advice. Because it very obviously needs it, with news that it’s digging up a road it spent just under $1 million re-sealing 10 months ago, to replace a water main.    

Last October the council spent $936,000 re-sealing Glandovey Road, in Fendalton. It's now digging up the road to replace a water main and that work is going to cost ratepayers $1.9 million.     

Mayor Phil Mauger says it’s an “embarrassment” for a council trying to build public trust and confidence. Is it ever. 

He’s saying: “It’s an absolute embarrassment to me and the council. It really is not good. The shit is going to hit the fan.”  

But it’s a bit more than an “embarrassment”. It’s yet another example of why all those council candidates around the place are wasting their breath, and wasting their advertising, and wasting their signage costs telling us to vote for them to keep the rates down.  

They can bang-on about that as much as they like but, when their council does stupid stuff like this, they can forget about keeping the rates down.  

The council’s infrastructure general manager, Brent Smith, says the upcoming water main and sub pipe renewals were "unforeseen" and that, where possible and practical, the council tries to do capital and maintenance work at the same time. But when Glandovey Road was resealed, there was no water main work scheduled.  

Not needed, scheduled, there’s a difference there. Because wouldn’t you think that if you were going to spend close to $1 million re-surfacing a road, you’d check a few things to make sure there wasn’t anything else that could be done at the same time? 

Roger Cumming, who lives on Glandovey Road, thinks so. He reckons the council must have known about the state of the water main before it did the re-sealing work back in October, because pipes were bursting there quite often.  

Roger says sometimes there were two blow-outs in one day. This was happening before the council re-sealed the road and afterwards. 

He says it’s a waste. Mayor Phil Mauger says it’s an embarrassment. But I’d say it’s incompetence.   

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Episode Transcript

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

Speaker 2 (00:13):
At one point, at one point after the earthquakes, guess
what happened? I had the insurance company telling me that
it wanted to replace the driveway before the sewer line
that ran under it had been repaired. Seemed a bit
weird to me, and when I explained to them that

(00:33):
maybe that wasn't the most practical way of doing things,
and maybe it would make more sense to wait until
the underground work had been done before putting the nice
new driveway down. When I suggested that, I thought, oh yeah,
good point. Good point. If only the Christchurch City Council
had someone saying the same sort of thing to them,

(00:55):
because they very obviously need it. With this news today
that it's going to dig up a road that it
spent just under a million bucks reseiling just ten months
ago to replace a water maine. So last October, which
wasn't that long ago, ten months ago, the council spent

(01:17):
nine hundred and thirty six thousand dollars resealing Glandovy Road
in Fendleton, and what's he going to do now, just
ten months down the track. Answer. It's going to dig
up the road to a place of water, Maine, and
that work is going to cost right payers one point
nine million dollars. Part of that money will be resealing

(01:39):
the road again. Now, meyfil Major, he says that it
is quote an embarrassment. It's an embarrassment for a council
trying to build public trust and confidence. And is it ever?
Phil Major is saying today, quote it's an absolute embarrassment

(01:59):
to me and the council. It really is not good.
The shit is going to hit the fan end of quote.
And he's right there, he's dead right. But it's a
bit more than an embarrassment, Phil. It is yet another
example of why all those council candidates around the place,
they're wasting their breath, and they're wasting their advertising, and

(02:21):
they're wasting their signage costs telling us to vote for
them to keep the rates down. You know, I think
that they can bang on about that as much as
they like, but when their council does stupid stuff like this,
well they can forget about keeping the rates down, can't they.
As someone is already pointing out the people, the shit

(02:42):
is going to hit the fan. Fill. You're right, there is.
Someone is already pointing out that's nearly three million dollars
of rate payer money spent inside ten months, all because
the left hand at the council doesn't know what the
right hand is doing. It's pathetic the council that they'll say, oh, no,
it's not pathetic. The council will deny that of course.
Oh and look look it is already and we've got

(03:07):
Council Infrastructure General Manager Brent Smith. What's he saying. He's
saying this morning that the upcoming water main and subpipe
renewals were quite unforeseen. He says, we're possible and we're practical.
The Council does try to do capital and maintenance work
at the same time. Be saying to that that when
Glendovery Road was resealed, there was no water main work scheduled.

(03:32):
Now let's just pick those words apart for a second scheduled,
not needed scheduled. There's a difference there because wouldn't you
think that if you were going to spend close to
a million bucks resurfacing a road, wouldn't you think that
you'd check a few things to make sure there wasn't
anything else that could be done at the same time.

(03:54):
I mean, maybe checked that there's nothing lurking underneath that
might need a bit of attention first, or a bit
of attention while you're doing the resurfacing or digging the
place up, digging the ride up to do the resurfacing.
You'd think so. And Roger Cumming, who lives on Glandov Road,
he thinks so as well. He reckons. He reckons the

(04:14):
council must have known about the state of the water
main before it did the resealing work back in October.
Why is that because pipes were bursting there quite often.
Roger says, sometimes there were two blowouts in one day.
This was happening before the council resurfaced the road and afterwards.
And he says absolutely the underground work should have been

(04:35):
done before the road was made. All pretty at a
cost of just under one million dollars. Roger of Glandovery
Road says, quote, it is a lot of money wasted,
is it ever? Meyfield Major says it's an embarrassment. I
would say it's incompetence and that's been generous.

Speaker 1 (04:59):
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