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Good afternoon.

Today I want to speak on the government’s achievements in transport over the last three years and our future plans.

But before I do that, we are just 64 days from a general election, and I want to quickly give you a few reasons why the John Key-led Government’s economic plan is helping Kiwis get ahead.

Introduction

Thank you for that introduction, Arlene.

It is my pleasure to extend to all the delegates a warm welcome to New Zealand, and specifically to Christchurch.

Christchurch is one of New Zealand’s largest cities and has a rich and varied history, including becoming New Zealand's first city by Royal Charter in 1856.

Since the major earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 and the thousands of subsequent aftershocks Christchurch has re-emerged at the forefront of New Zealand’s economic recovery.

Thank for inviting me here today; it is a pleasure to be in Blenheim.

The strong export focus in this region means you are well placed as the global economy recovers from the worst economic conditions since the Second World War.

Your regional economy is currently estimated at $2 billion dollars.

The recent ANZ regional trends survey recorded 3.5 per cent annual growth in Nelson/Marlborough, one of the fastest rates in the country.

Over the past four years the Government has embarked on a wide-ranging programme of sensible economic and fiscal management.

Thank you all for being here today, inside the CBD cordon.

Rather than being known as the Red Zone – which denoted dangerous buildings and subsequent demolition – this will now be known by the CERA team as the Rebuild Zone, because frankly, that’s what’s going on.

I want to talk to you today about what’s happening in the city and what will happen over the coming years. First I’ll spend a little time reminding you why we’ve done some of the things we’ve done.

Today’s launch of the Economic Recovery Programme is an opportunity to reflect on how far Canterbury has come since the earthquakes, and the many reasons we have to be optimistic about the region’s future.

It’s an incredible testament to the resilience of the business community that based on recent estimates regional GDP for Canterbury has bounced back to pre-earthquake levels.

Economic activity data has shown Canterbury to be the fastest growing region in New Zealand over the past 18 months, and the rebuild proper is only just beginning.

We’re now just a few days shy of the second anniversary of the first earthquake, when we were so lucky that no one was killed.

I want to provide you with an overview of the recovery process to date and the significant progress that we are making.

But first, I want to thank the rest of New Zealand for the incredible level of support and assistance that the Canterbury region has received over the last two years. From all ends of the country, New Zealanders came to our aid and continue to support us.

Good morning everyone.

First let me introduce who is here this morning for this announcement.

I would like to very warmly welcome Mayor Bob Parker.

Also with me are CERA Chief Executive Roger Sutton and CERA Operations Manager Warwick Isaacs.

The reason we’re here today is because the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act required the Christchurch City Council to prepare a draft CBD plan, which was presented to me as Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery on the 21st of December 2011.