Kiwanis "Come Alive" 2005 Conference

Friday 2 September 2005

Good morning, bonjour, and bienvenue to delegates from Noumea and Tahiti.

Christchurch is, like many cities, in the process of becoming a much more multi-racial and multi-cultural city. Yesterday we held a citizenship ceremony where I welcomed some 380 of the new and varied faces and races who are becoming Kiwis.

As a city we have a number of great attributes. We have been voted the world's top Garden City, and Spring is a great time to visit the daffodils in Hagley Park and see why we won that title.

We are also a trading city that grows and manufactures items for the world market. We are the IT capital of New Zealand. We are also a prosperous city because of this trade.

Perhaps our best attribute is a spirit that has no real name. We are a city that cares.

Christchurch has the largest stock of low cost rental housing in New Zealand. We are second only to the Government-run Housing New Zealand for this.

I mention this because what we do here as a city is to look after our own.

We have kept the spirit of community alive in the age of rampant individualism. It is a spirit this city takes great pride in.

It is also why I take great pleasure in greeting and welcoming community building groups that also believe in strengthening our society.

I personally see the biggest threat to society is to surrender to the cynicism and defeat that seems to blight so many lives now.

As technology has improved, so too has our ability to see how much suffering there is in the world. The great thing is that I see so many more people in groups, like Kiwanis, who are willing to do something about it. Builders , not wreckers.

I believe that there is still an enormous supply of goodwill and optimism in our society. It does not get the headlines because it is seen as not exciting enough. Which is a shame.

Goodness, optimism and the wish to help out are exciting.

When that wish is aimed at the most helpless of the helpless, our young, it is even more worthy of support and respect.

While you are here I want you to enjoy our beautiful city. I also want you to do so knowing that what you are doing to improve the quality of life for children and families world wide is important and valued by me.