A decision has finally been made about this potential restoration of the Christchurch Cathedral.

What’s curious is that I could have sworn we’d already decided what was going to happen…

Think back around five years to when the church in question was reduced to ruins; now come forward a year or two and remember the $5 million cardboard monstrosity that the Christian community decided would be a useful temporary replacement – a location for them to worship their saviour while they decided what was going to happen to their other church.

…I was sure that everyone – Christchurch’s City Council, Christchurch’s band of religious zealots, also Christchurch’s remaining taxpayers who I believe were expected to foot the portion of the bill not covered by insurance after so much of that insurance payout was wasted on litigation costs discussing this very subject – was in agreement that either the insurance money was to be spent on this temporary place of cardboard worship, or, it was to be used, as initially planned, to rebuild the cathedral.

Typical though of zealots, fanatics, radicals, idiots or whatever one calls them; however one perceives them, rationality or indeed logic of any variety, is not a prominent feature of their world…

Five years of deliberation; five years of time wasting, money and resource wasting, and now, it seems we’ve gone full circle. Once deemed damaged beyond repair only to be reassessed as fixable then again, later, irreparable, now, most assuredly, they’re going to fix it once and for all.

…Forget the fact that an entirely new, modern, plush, heated and air conditioned cathedral could be built for less than half the cost of the restoration bill of this existing edifice – estimates are varied but somewhere between $100 and $200 million ought to cover it – these pious devotees want their old cathedral back.

Right, so they’ll likely talk some more, make some more decisions, then work should be underway somewhere around April next year.

All you atheistic ratepayers better get saving.

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by Gob Body-Riz

Photography by Wepae Fua Yhu