25 May 2017

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The Council has given its approval for the Mayor to travel overseas to visit some of Christchurch's sister cities.

This year the Mayor will lead a delegation to Seattle, visit Adelaide to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Christchurch and Adelaide's sister city relationship, and visit Songpa-Gu while she is in Korea for the New Cities Summit. Next year she will travel to Kurashiki, Japan to mark the 45th anniversary of that sister city relationship. She will also attend the World Cities Summit and Mayor's Forum in Singapore. In 2019 she will travel to China to attend the New Zealand China Mayoral Forum and to visit Sichuan - a province the Council's international relations team is looking to forge a formal relationship with. 

It is estimated the Mayor’s international travel will cost about $22,000 over three years but those costs will be offset, where possible, by combining her travel with externally funded engagements and by contributions from accompanying business people.

Memorandum of Understanding

The Council has given Mayor Lianne Dalziel the authority to sign a proposed Memorandum of Understanding committing Christchurch to working with the South Korean city of Busan on polar matters. Busan is a gateway city to the Arctic and the Council believes there could be benefits for Christchurch, which is a gateway to the Antarctic, from having a strategic relationship with Busan on matters of mutual interest.

Trustees appointed

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor have been appointed as the Council’s trustees on the Christchurch City Foundation, which was set up earlier this year to foster and promote philanthropy. The Foundation will actively collect, manage and distribute money for the betterment of Christchurch communities through endowments, corporate partnerships and other gifting programmes.