Content Archived on the Web

This content has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please check our menus for latest news items.

Last modified: 29 Jul 2020 10:45am

Mayor Sam Broughton in a suit outside the Council buildingsAs we reach a new milestone in New Zealand from the impacts of COVID-19, Mayor Sam Broughton has shared a message reflecting on the past months.

We did it – and when I say we, I mean Team Selwyn. No part of our community was untouched by the effects of COVID-19 and every one of us played our part in getting through the most extraordinary three months in New Zealand’s modern history.

From the outset our Council stuck to a simple plan—keep essential services going, respond to immediate needs and look out for the vulnerable.

While we were busy keeping on top of these basics, our community pulled out all the stops. I was humbled by the countless acts of kindness, ingenuity and compassion shown in Level 3 and 4. A great example was local vegetable farmer Allen Lim inviting volunteers to pick excess stock for food banks. He has now offered a section of his property where he will grow vegetables exclusively for foodbanks on an ongoing basis.

Reflecting the gargantuan community effort, our Community Response Teams mail dropped information on support services to over 1500 isolated members of our community, and our welfare team called 3000 vulnerable people across Canterbury to see if there was anything they needed. Much needed food parcels were delivered and we manned a 24/7 help line.

As we all become more reliant in the internet our library staff called their over-70s members to check in on them and offer support with online services. We are all ‘Zoom experts’ now.

As a Council we rapidly adapted, setting up online tools and other ways to keep services going. We learnt many lessons from this experience that help us deliver a better service to you. I urge you to do the same.

As we pick up the pieces, it is evident that there is still much hardship to come. The impact on our households and businesses is still not fully understood. We will continue to do all we can to support those in need. You can do your bit by supporting local, that’s what I’ll be doing for the foreseeable future.