Government failing earthquake victims
new-zealand-labour-party
Thu Jan 27 2011 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Government failing earthquake victims
Thursday, 27 January 2011, 9:48 am
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
Clayton Cosgrove
Earthquake Recovery Spokesperson
MP for Waimakariri
27 January 2011 Media Statement
Government failing earthquake victims
The government’s on-going failure to provide victims of the Canterbury earthquake with any certainty about what assistance will be available to them when their temporary accommodation insurance runs out is now putting people’s health at risk and is nothing short of disgraceful says the Opposition Earthquake Recovery spokesperson and Member of Parliament for Waimakariri Clayton Cosgrove.
“For months now Canterbury based Labour MPs have been calling on Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee to get his act together and find a solution for those families whose temporary accommodation insurance is about to expire,” Clayton Cosgrove said.
“To date Gerry Brownlee has failed to front up and outline exactly what the government plans to do for earthquake victims reliant on short-term temporary accommodation insurance.
“For many families that insurance cover only lasts for 6 months and for some families it could expire as soon as 4 March 2011. They now face the prospect of having to make mortgage re-payments on their earthquake damaged homes while having to pay for temporary accommodation with no insurance cover available to them and so far they haven’t heard a whisper from the government. That is disgraceful management from the government and shows contempt for people whose lives have literally been turned upside down,” Clayton Cosgrove said.
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“Reports in the media that some families are choosing to move back into their earthquake damaged homes as a result of this uncertainty despite those homes being deemed uninhabitable is a damming indictment on the Government’s handling of this issue,” Clayton Cosgrove said.
“Repeated calls by Canterbury MPs prior to Christmas for the government to provide certainty for those families have fallen on deaf ears. This issue should have been sorted well before Christmas to give those families worst hit by the earthquake some sort of relief, yet nobody seems to have any idea what’s going to happen for those families.”
“One option open to the government would be to widen the mandate of the EQC so that the EQC could provide monetary assistance to the 2000 families the government estimates have been displaced from their homes. The EQC has $6 billion in reserves and some of that money – at no cost to taxpayers - could be used to cover temporary accommodation assistance where needed.”
“Under the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act the government has the power to alter the EQC’s mandate at a stroke of a pen and all they would need to do is sign off the paperwork. That’s why the opposition supported the government in passing this legislation so that the people of Canterbury would be supported by the government.”
“While this issue is being resolved, and the sooner the better for the sake of our communities, we believe that the government should make structural engineers available to homeowners considering returning to their properties - at no cost to those families - so that their properties can be properly assessed.
“If their houses are deemed safe to live in then obviously that is to their advantage so that they are not eating into their temporary accommodation insurance cover but surely their safety needs to come first. An inspection would at least give some families the peace of mind that they are so desperately seeking,” Clayton Cosgrove said.
ENDS
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