MEDIA RELEASE … AWA PRESS … May 15, 2012

Christchurch protests will continue until there’s a new council, says Bowron

Jane Bowron, the Christchurch journalist who came to national prominence through her first-hand accounts of living through the earthquake and its aftermath, says dissatisfaction with the mayor and council is growing, and protests are likely to escalate.

On Sunday, several hundred Christchurch residents rallied outside city council offices about what they see as the council’s failure to take a strong leadership role in rebuilding the city. This followed a 5000-strong protest on February 1, with many people calling for fresh elections, something Mayor Bob Parker and his council have steadfastly resisted.

Bowron’s book Old Bucky & Me: Dispatches from the Christchurch Earthquake has been hailed as a classic for the honesty and clarity with which Bowron writes about everyday life in the shattered city. This week sees the release of a second edition of the book (Awa Press, $33, containing all Bowron’s dispatches for the twelve months following the devastating February 22 quake.

In the book Bowron writes: ‘The protesters are part of a growing revolution by people sick and tired of a narcissistic management ruling class that mouths jargon and platitudes instead of providing vision, swift commonsense solutions, and leadership.’
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