Phil Mauger is back on board the climate change bandwagon today – just like he was before the last election.  

I remember asking him three years ago what he thought the most pressing issue facing Christchurch was and he said climate change.  

And he’s at it again today. So is current city councillor Sara Templeton, who also wants to be the city's next mayor. 

It won’t be any surprise to anyone that Sara rates climate change as a top issue or a top priority. And good on her for saying so, because I agree. I think we’ve had our heads in the sand for too long.   

So she’s talking today about the need for the city to get on with solid planning for dealing with climate adaptation. Which is easier said than done, of course. Especially with all this talk coming from Wellington about central government washing its hands in terms of helping local communities dealing with things like sea level rise.  

As for Phil Mauger, I’ll believe his commitment to climate change when I see it.   

He’s talking today about wanting to reduce greenhouse gases and is saying that converting trucks and other vehicles to hydrogen will make a difference.  

But, no disrespect to Phil, anyone can bang-on about that and it probably sounds good. But like I say, the proof’s in the pudding. My message is the same for Sara Templeton.   

But thank goodness they’re talking about it because I agree that climate change needs to be a top priority. But it does raise the question as to whether you agree with these two that addressing climate change has to be top of mind. Whether you think addressing climate change is a top priority for Christchurch.  

We can bang-on about getting the basics done well, but what good is that going to be if we have city leaders who are quite happy to kick the climate change can down the road?  

So it’s full marks from me to both of them for at least putting it out there as a top priority for the city.  

Especially Sara Templeton, with her view that we need to get on with deciding how Christchurch is going to adapt. But she is bang on because the council already knows that $14 billion worth of property in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula could be at-risk from sea-level rise.   

That’s the figure that came out a couple of years ago when the council made a submission to Parliament’s environment select committee.  

And since then, what’s happened? What’s been done about it? Next to nothing.   

The only person around that council table who has said anything of substance since is Sara Templeton herself who, in February last year, floated the idea of a new ratepayer levy to help with the cost of adapting to climate change.  

Her argument was simple. How can we say it’s fair to expect future generations to not only live with the consequences of climate change, but to pay for it as well? To carry the financial burden?  

As you might expect, that didn’t go down too well with a lot of people. Because a lot of us are focused on the here and now and don’t give two hoots about what might be on the way.  

Not to mention the people who don’t believe climate change and sea-level rise even exist.   

What’s more, climate change doesn’t win elections, does it? Which is why you get people wanting to be mayors and councillors only talking about rates and rubbish and sticking to the basics.  

Whereas what we really need are city leaders who will get out of the weeds and not worry about the minutiae of every little thing and actually get on with the job of ensuring we are ready.  

Ready for the day —whenever that day might be— when $14 billion worth of property in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula is more than just at-risk from sea-level rise.