Brownlee simply can't say he hasn't had time
new-zealand-labour-party
Mon Apr 18 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Brownlee simply can't say he hasn't had time
Monday, 18 April 2011, 10:33 am
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
Brownlee simply can't say he hasn't had time
Labour says that it is totally unacceptable for the Government to claim today that it hasn't had time to look at options like power subsidies to cope with home heating problems in Christchurch.
Labour's Canterbury Earthquake Recovery spokesperson Clayton Cosgrove says: "Winter waits for no one. Labour raised the issue of health risks around home heating well before the 22 February earthquake, and it's simply not good enough for the Government to claim it hasn't had time to prepare a response.
"Yet that is exactly what Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said this morning," Clayton Cosgrove said. "He claimed he had been focused on getting the power back on. Well, actually, there are hundreds of people doing that for him. Mr Brownlee has had months to focus on how people, particularly elderly people, are going to pay for that power as winter bites.
"We had single-figure temperatures last night. People are living in homes with cracks in the walls and ceilings, and draughts that were never there before. Even if they have means of heating their homes --- such as heat pumps--- they can't work as efficiently as they might otherwise do because the homes have been damaged.
"All this means that the cost of home heating will soar for many people who are struggling to cope with the bills they face anyway," Clayton Cosgrove said. "Misery is piling on misery, and Gerry Brownlee says he hasn't time to focus on it.
"He's had months to do so, and he's got an army of bureaucrats to help him focus."
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Clayton Cosgrove says there are enormous health risks associated with cold, damaged homes. "Gerry Brownlee says power subsidies are out of the question. That's not acceptable when there are already reports, before winter even starts properly, of elderly people having to wrap themselves in blankets to keep the cold out.
"The strong likelihood is that severe health consequences will result. Gerry Brownlee says he hasn't time to think about that. It shows how out of touch he really is with how badly many Canterbury people are struggling."
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