Surely Social Development Minister Paula Bennett summed it up when she said, of the artists- for-dole scheme, that "as valuable as the arts are to our society, now is not the time to be turning down available work to follow an artistic dream". I'm not so sure Paula is right (and what available work is she talking about?). During the terrible siege of Leningrad, the local symphony orchestra premiered Shostakovich's Leningrad symphony. Half the orchestra were malnourished, but the performance to packed audiences inspired and galvanised a battered and starving people, who were eventually victorious. When the Nazis bombed the village of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, I'm glad no well-intentioned Social Development Minister told Pablo Picasso that if he really wanted to help the victims of the atrocity, fixing water pipes was more important than painting murals. In Germany after World War II, at top of the list for reconstruction in its bombed cities were historic churches and opera houses. This helped humanise a population that had overseen the grossest acts of genocide in the 20th century. That's why Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker is absolutely right to call for the rebuilding of the Christ Church Cathedral as a top priority. I hope our Government and the citizens of Christchurch put back that spire brick by brick, even if it does cost money that could be spent more "practically" elsewhere. The citizens of Christchurch rebuilt their cathedral spire back in 1888 after an earthquake so surely they can do