Bob Parker- Marryatt pay rise | Canterbury Opinion | Local Voices from Canterbury, New Zealand

All of our lives changed on September 4 last year when that first great earthquake ripped across the Canterbury Plains and for 40 seconds or more our lives felt like they hung the balance.   

We picked ourselves up, grateful that although we all lost something, we had not lost someone. Just as we began to think life was heading back to normal the February quake shattered our community. This time the tragedy was so much greater, the damage even more intense, the loss of life and injury unbearable.  

Then again in June another massive quake, more damage, more uncertainty and again back to square one with the recovery. Again we picked ourselves up. Since that time, although enduring thousands of frightening aftershocks, we have begun the daunting task of rebuilding our lives, our communities and our city.  

In February the council organisation, like so many others, was fragmented into dozens of smaller parts. We operated out of 27 temporary offices in warehouses, libraries, the art gallery and portacoms. More than 1600 council facilities were damaged.. Our staff, fellow citizens, performed outstandingly for the community whilst trying to cope with their own personal losses and uncertainty. Many took on new and unusual roles in the Civil Defence and CERA organisations.  

For the man tasked with holding our council structure together, chief executive Tony Marryatt, it has been an unprecedented challenge. Leading a team of 2500 staff he set about assessing the state of this massive organisation, and the damage to our community owned infrastructure.  

Not only was close to 50% of our infrastructure severely damaged or destroyed but our organisation, which he had painstakingly been reshaping, had taken a battering.   

All the time, thousands of repairs needed to be identified, prioritized and put in place for essentials like water, wastewater and roading. Parallel with this council would be tasked with mounting a public process to plan for the rebuild of the Central City and many of our suburban centres.   

All of this whilst balancing unknown and unbudgeted costs against the need to maintain systems not severely damaged but also under extra stress from heavier than normal loadings.. The chief executive's responsibilities had grown exponentially and overnight.   

And so his salary review fell due. Like any employee he has a right to a fair assessment and the offer of an appropriate salary for his job. His last salary review was more than two years ago and since then our whole world and his job had changed. Council sought external professional help in determining where the salary range for a local government CEO of his experience and responsibility lay.  

On this basis council has offered him a recalibrated salary commensurate with his increased responsibility. It is a significant increase in difficult times and this has upset many. I can understand that, but we need to remember that hard times are also vitally important times for the City. Now more than at any previous time much of our City's future rests to a significant degree Mr Marryatt's shoulders.  

His salary sits in the same range as several other key public CEO roles in this city. That is appropriate.   

Mr Marryatt is not a politician, he is an employee. We need his skills and total commitment to the job. His outstanding work has been recognized by his employers, and his future will be measured by the results of the coming year.  

I wish you all the best for a peaceful and restorative Christmas and New Year.