New challenges for post-quake south

Nelson Mail editorial, March 23, 2011
It would be wrong to pretend that there is any kind of silver lining to be found in the wreckage of the Christchurch earthquake, but it has always been obvious that the extent of the damage there would trigger a profound reshaping of the South Island's established order. There should be no argument that Christchurch's interests and the need to get the Mainland's economic powerhouse back to full health will remain the nation's No. 1 priority, probably for years to come. But the re-ordering of life in the South Island presents a whole new range of challenges, demands and, yes, opportunities which other communities need to prepare to meet, and quickly.
Uppermost of these is the desire or need of many Christchurch people to re-establish homes and businesses in a new place. Christchurch faces a prolonged spell of depopulation and business loss, whether because people are too jittery or traumatised to remain, or because there simply isn't the infrastructure to support them in the foreseeable future. Such a trend will carry all manner of complications including the possibility of the newly-jobless being left adrift, roaming far and wide in search of work in a tight job market. But there will also be those with capital and determination casting about for a new home. Other cities should not be coy about promoting themselves to those seeking a new base, and doing what they can to make themselves attractive to the economic refugees.
It is not all about self-interest, although there will be benefits for a Timaru, a Dunedin or a Nelson if they end up hosting new investment and experience population growth from displaced Christchurch people. More important is the wider interest in all communities doing what they can to get fractured businesses and lives as near-as-possible back to normal as quickly as possible.
For Nelson, the immediate question is whether the city and the wider region has its act together to respond to those demands. On the surface at least, the answer would seem to be no. Since gearing up for the initial influx of quake refugees a month ago, the region appears to have been at best reactive to those cases where people have arrived looking for a new base for their home or business. A complacent or even dismissive attitude to newcomers will do Nelson no favours. While the region, with its current tight job market, cannot pretend to be any kind of salvation, neither can it can afford to turn its back on either the challenges or the opportunities.
There may well be a case for a local agency to take a high-profile lead in both pushing Nelson to present itself as a viable alternative to Christchurch while that city takes stock and re-establishes itself; and to monitor market behaviour, including being prepared to blow the whistle on rapacious or opportunistic price-gouging if there is a demand spike for, say, real estate.
Those who are dismissive of the situation have badly under-estimated both the need and the challenges. It is not a case of treating the fallout from Christchurch's misery as a goldrush but of recognising a gaping hole in the established order which it is in everyone's interests to plug as quickly and firmly as possible.