Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee is questioning if Christchurch will identify itself with the same cathedral in the future and says the city's greatest asset is the Avon River.
The Anglican cathedral of Christchurch in the city's Cathedral Square was severely damaged by earthquakes and the church's plan for a "cardboard" temporary cathedral a few blocks away has met with resistance from those who want the cathedral rebuilt on the existing site.
"I think we've got to be very careful about that," Mr Brownlee, who is a Christchurch resident himself, said on Q+A.
He said there were many other calls on funds to "put life into a city".
The land was made available for the Anglican Church to have a cathedral there and that was reaffirmed by parliament in 2002 with the Church Trust Property Act.
He said a discussion about saving the cathedral was appropriate but there was no work programme currently.
"But I would be very confident that in the long run there will be a cathedral there. It's a question of whether it's the old one or is it something new?"
He said it was interesting that Christchurch had identified itself with the cathedral.
"That's a great thing, but is it that cathedral, or is it the fact that we have a cathedral in the centre of the city? I'm not able to work that out myself in any strong way.
"I think the greatest asset that we've got here in the city is the Avon River, the Otakaro, which, of course, will be part of the recovery plan."
Mr Brownlee is presiding over a launch tomorrow of a blueprint for the city.
NZN