Campaigners opposed to any privatisation of Lyttelton Port will gather outside the offices of Christchurch City Holdings Limited on Friday, as the council-owned company nears a decision on a proposal involving Dubai-based DP World.

The Keep Our Port Public campaign said its activation will run from 8am to 10am at the CCHL offices at 151 Cambridge Terrace.

New Zealand Democratic Economy co-chair Dr Nathan McCluskey said there was no public mandate for privatising strategic infrastructure, and that CCHL should not make decisions affecting the security and economic development of the city without transparency and democratic oversight.

“With nearly 1300 signatures on our petition calling on the Council and the Mayor to uphold the public mandate for full public ownership and control of our strategic infrastructure, coupled with strong turnout at local community meetings and activations concerning the Port and its development, there is a palpable mood in Christchurch that is demanding greater transparency and community input,” he said.

McCluskey said the event will go ahead regardless of the outcome of the CCHL deliberation, and raised concerns about Enable, the fibre broadband network company owned by CCHL.

“Enable is still in the sights of anti democratic forces that want to privatise our public assets, and the conduct of CCHL continues to be cause for concern in appearing to disregard the wishes of the significant majority of Christchurch residents.”

Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger told Chris Lynch Media on 20 July the council had been explicit with CCHL about what it expected.

“Our letter of expectation is bloody clear. We don’t want them to sell it or lease it out,” he said. “I stood in my campaigning saying we shouldn’t lease it out, we shouldn’t sell it, and that stuff still stands in my head.”

Mauger said he did not see the bid as a cause for concern, and that he had to be careful not to appear predetermined while making clear he intended to stick by his stance.

Put to him that DP World appeared to be seeking social licence through a partnership with local iwi, and that a strong proposal would not need it, Mauger said that was probably true.

He said the parties had reportedly been working together for around 18 months, and that an earlier unsolicited bid to buy all of CCHL had not made it to the council.

“I think it would be a very hard road to hoe to get that across the line,” he said.

Asked what the three rūnanga stood to gain, Mauger said he expected they would have money in the deal along with seats on the board, but he had left the detail to CCHL.

“I leave that for Christchurch City Holdings to sort the wheat from the chaff,” he said.

DP World’s proposal is being advanced through Tōnui, a consortium made up of the ports and logistics company and three Ngāi Tahu rūnanga, which is seeking a long term licence to operate the port.

Tōnui spokesperson Dr Liz Brown has engaged public relations firm Shanahan Partners to handle the consortium’s media.

Questions from Chris Lynch Media about the proposal have been directed to the firm’s Peter Murray, who has not answered them.

Keep Our Port Public organiser Harry Robson said the campaign’s concerns extend beyond the DP World proposal to the port’s planned expansion.

“We understand CCHL will also be deliberating on the proposal to fund the reclamation and expansion program at Te Awaparahi Bay to the tune of almost a billion dollars without public consultation or input,” he said.

“This reclamation carries with it significant consequences for the health of the harbour, including its impact on mahinga kai (customary fisheries) for Ngāti Wheke, and, without due consideration, imposes a significant debt burden on the City when rate increases have already been capped, putting pressure on CCC to privatise assets to fund the project.”

Robson said the business case for the expansion had been criticised over what he described as a lack of transparency and inaccuracies in the projections underlying it.

A website launched earlier this month allows people to sign a petition opposing privatisation of the port and to email the offices of the mayor and the CCHL chair directly. It also sets out how the DP World proposal came about and who is involved.

“Together, we can show that Christchurch stands for public ownership and a future that puts people before profit,” McCluskey said.