[Ruth Dyson is concerned about the Government's tax cuts. She has worked out how much we will be getting in the Port Hills, and finds the policy expensive, unfair and underwhelming.]

This month many New Zealanders received tax cuts. I am concerned however about the facts of this tax policy for our electorate.

For New Zealand as whole, the top 10% of wage and salary earners get 42% of the tax cuts, while the the bottom 20% get just 2%. Looking at people on a $1,000,000 salary (according to the IRD, there are around 650 people who earn $1m or more), these have just received around $1,000 per week extra.

But what about the Port Hills? In our electorate the median wage is $25,500 per year. This means a tax cut of $3.79 a week after accounting for the GST increase.

[Fairness At Work rally: Come along to a protest against the Government's proposed changes to employment law. We did it for the National Parks, so let's do it again for our workforce! The second Christchurch protest is at 1.00pm in Cathedral Square, Saturday 21 August. They say "music and more" will be there, so check back here for more details.]

Many people will be aware by now of at least some of the National Government's proposed changes to the Employment Relations Act. These changes are a major attack on workers' rights, and if passed into law will make it even tougher for workers in New Zealand.

The Council of Trade Unions is launching a major national campaign to oppose these proposals. There will be major rallies nationally on 21 August and we will let you know more information about these rallies closer to that day.

But why are we doing it? Here are some of the many reasons you need to know about...

Christchurch's upcoming October local council elections would have given Canterbury people a chance to have their say on how their ECan councillors were performing. Instead, that chance was lost with the Government passing an Act to take away Canterbury's democratically elected councillors.

The Government's stated aim was to improve water management. In practice, it was more about accelerating irrigation development.

Water Conservation Orders (WCO) are our closest equivalent to national parks for rivers. They exist on the Rakaia, Rangitata and Ahuriri Rivers and a Special Tribunal had recommended one for the South Branch of the Hurunui. The ECan Act allows appointed commissioners to amend existing orders. It takes the Hurunui process back to square one with new decision making criteria which emphasise economic matters.

[Christchurch local council elections candidate, Islay Mcleod, is an Independent and endorsed by The People's Choice 2021. She is standing for the Hagley Ferrymead Community Board in the upcoming October elections.]

Once upon a time but within living memory, the residents of Christchurch appeared, from the outside, to be immensely satisfied and well looked after by the Christchurch City Council. The Council had arteries into every area of the community and that suited the values of the people of Christchurch.

As the CEO of the Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce once advised me, when I asked what it is about Christchurch that makes us so uniquely philanthropic, "Christchurch is a big small town." We live in a City community but still with small town values. And, as the Anglican City Missioner, Michael Gorman responded to the same question, "If the people of Christchurch see a need and they see that it's good, they will give."