Labour MPs Christchurch Earthquake Bulletin Edition Twelve

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Fri Mar 25 2011 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Labour MPs Christchurch Earthquake Bulletin Edition Twelve

Friday, 25 March 2011, 1:31 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

Christchurch
LABOUR MPs
Friday 25 March

Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition twelve

The Labour Party’s Christchurch electorate MPs, Clayton Cosgrove (Waimakariri), Ruth Dyson (Port Hills), Lianne Dalziel (Christchurch East) and Brendon Burns (Christchurch Central) have started a regular bulletin to keep people in their electorates and media informed about what is happening at grass roots level.

CLAYTON COSGROVE: Canterbury people are used to getting things done, and getting them done fast. We have extremely able business leaders and community leaders who have very clear ideas where Canterbury needs to go. I hope I am proved wrong, but my very strong fear is that the Government’s new authority, however it is set up, is going to mean that Canterbury will get heaps of Wellington bureaucrats telling us what to do and tripping over their own red tape.

My lack of confidence has been provoked firstly, by the number of times Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has reneged on briefings. And secondly, because it has taken weeks before the Government started to listen to business concerns about getting access to their businesses, where safe to do so, in the red zone. All businesses want is to get equipment and material they need to carry on their businesses in the future The last thing Canterbury needs is top-heavy Wellington bureaucracy stifling local initiative. Canterbury needs support, but the Government hasn’t been listening to what Canterbury people have been telling them since September.

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We want cool-headed, detailed and efficient planning where the community gets a large say in what their city and province looks like going forward. We don’t need clipboards and pens. We need action. Half my Waimakariri electorate is covered by the Christchurch City Council and the other half by the Waimakariri District Council.

The district council provides a blueprint of the way things should be done. Without resorting to bureaucracy, the council has talked to people at grassroots level, formulated their plans based on what they have learned, and then gone back to local people and detailed timelines for the recovery process. Canterbury people need support, but they must be allowed ownership of the rebuilding process.
LIANNE DALZIEL: This morning we had another meeting with the Civil Defence Controller John Hamilton. I raised some issues around the EQC rapid assessment process, namely;
• What timeframes are in place for those properties over-cap
• Clarity around emergency repairs. People should be told emergency repairs means weather-proofing, sanitary and security, and told to ring EQC Damage and their hub. There needs to be a statement that structural engineers are now available through the hubs to do a safety check.
• People need to be told that they can ask for a rapid reassessment if they believe that structural damage has been missed or assessed incorrectly.

Another issue which has caused undue stress for constituents is the process around homes which were already earmarked for demolition/rebuild. 3500 houses had already been classed as such. What is the point in reassessing them? Here is a typical quote from the blogs:

“EQC came and did an assessment inside our house today and told us it was buggered. No really!? And I thought that the 2nd giant earthquake would have undone all the previous damage! What a waste of time and human resources.”

“So.. I see that EQC have started the rounds of full assessments in Pacific Park. I really don’t see the point in doing all of this! Nothing happened since the last time they came through and said our houses were buggered. I’m sure they think it has magically fixed itself somewhere between the two quakes! Let’s skip that crap and put the resources into finding out whether we still have a piece of land that is still viable to live on!”

I raised other issues on behalf of my constituents from a legal perspective and expect that these concerns are promptly addressed.

Further to yesterday’s bulletin here are links and copies of my last Earthquake Information Updates:

http://labour.org.nz/news/earthquake-information-update-february-22nd-2011
http://labour.org.nz/news/earthquake-information-update-march-23rd-2011

RUTH DYSON: Yesterday I attended the first community engagement meeting driven by the Spreydon-Heathcote Ward Community Board. The meeting was attended by community leaders and individuals keen to inform the rebuild of their community. The grassroots discussion focused largely on practical issues, giving people information on services and assistance available so they can make better choices in driving their own recovery.

Many people were angry about talk of a new governance structure. There has been no community consultation here and many were concerned about how such a structure would interact with the forums and boards already established. The way the government has handled the issue is poor and without real consultation there will be a poor outcome for the people of Christchurch.

ENDS

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