Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger has firmly rejected suggestions that Lyttelton Port Company is for sale, calling the rumour “categorically untrue” and reaffirming his commitment to keeping key infrastructure assets under Council control.
“I want to put the rumour mill to rest. Any suggestion that I plan to sell Lyttelton Port Company is categorically untrue,” Mauger said on Facebook.
“I will not support any move that sees the Council lose control of our key strategic assets. That includes the port, Christchurch Airport, and Orion. These are the jewels in our city’s crown.”
It follows a call from a local union urging residents to vote for “left leaning” councillors at the next election, while attempting to sow uncertainty in a newspaper article.
Mauger said the assets are essential infrastructure for the entire region and must remain in public hands. “I want to see them properly maintained, reinvested in, and strengthened so they continue to deliver for the long term.”
He said he is pleased with the current Christchurch City Holdings Limited (CCHL) Board and has full confidence in its ability to manage the city’s commercial assets responsibly.
“I’ve made it clear that these key assets should remain under Council control. I’m open to exploring opportunities that improve performance or resilience, but keeping the majority ownership and control is not up for negotiation,” Mauger said.
“To be clear, there are no plans, proposals, or even discussions underway about any changes.”
He also threw his support behind other Council-owned companies, saying “I’m also pleased with how City Care, Eco Central, and Enable are being managed by CCHL.”
Harewood Councillor Aaron Keown said “It’s very clear the Labour Party members of council are quite happy to deliberately spread misinformation for political gain.
“Unfortunately they don’t believe the people of Christchurch are smart enough to make any decisions on the cities assets.
That’s why they voted to not let the public have their say on increasing or decreasing assets. I was happy to hear from the public, they weren’t! Not very transparent and now they try this rubbish.”
However, Mayoral Candidate Sara Templeton said on Facebook “The Lyttelton Port Company is a hot topic at the moment with rumours and denials floating around in the media and on social media, so it’ll be good to get a briefing from LPC themselves; when I asked staff they said there was one planned soon.
“In the meantime, in contradiction to a recent statement on social media from the Mayor that, “there are no plans, proposals or even discussion underway about any changes,” there was an article in BusinessDesk last week on the Ports at Auckland and Lyttelton which says the opposite and it’s clear that there are not only discussions, but plans and proposals that LPC would like us to consider.
“It’s good to have timely and high quality information and I’m looking forward to the briefing and hope that it’s in public so that everyone is well informed heading into the elections.”
