Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 30
new-zealand-labour-party
Wed Apr 20 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 30
Wednesday, 20 April 2011, 1:16 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
Christchurch
LABOUR MPs
20 April 2011
Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 30
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: Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce tried to claim in a radio debate with me today that there are hundreds of places available for skills training in Christchurch ---- this from a minister who has cut $50 million out of the ITO apprenticeship training sector, and who has demonstrated no evidence of any cohesive and comprehensive plan to develop skills training in Christchurch in the wake of the quake. Well, we have news in Christchurch for Mr Joyce --- he says, without any proof to back him up that I know of, that there are 100s of training places available, but the reality is that we actually need thousands. Steven Joyce is trying to dupe Cantabrians into believing he is on top of the situation by saying that all prospective students need to do is to make enquiries at their local polytech now about places. He should have been out there saying that after the September quake hit, and it became immediately apparent that many thousands more skilled tradespeople would be needed than were currently available. Instead there has been no planning, and now, two quakes later, we have the situation where Canterbury will be in competition for tradespeople because of the leaky homes saga and the urgent need for new housing to keep pace with population demand in Auckland particularly. Many Christchurch apprentices were laid off before they completed training, or lost their jobs in the quakes, but these are people who just need their skills topping up. They are hammer-ready to go, but Steven Joyce hasn’t paid them any attention. Steven Joyce had the gall to accuse me of politicking this morning, when he’s using political spin cynically to try to cover up the lack of interest he’s shown in the real problem Christchurch is about to face when the rebuild starts. Steven Joyce just doesn’t get it. He has no plan. Christchurch MPs met the Civil Defence controller again today. High on the agenda was the issue of home heating. It was cold again last night and this morning. We will keep the heat on until we are convinced a genuine action plan is underway to ensure our houses are warm this winter. We will also continue to battle of behalf of constituents who will need a subsidy this year to cope with what are likely to be horrendous power bills.
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LIANNE DALZIEL: After another community meeting last night it is very clear people are increasingly stressed about the future of their suburbs. I have indicated to the Government that the community has serious concerns about their approach. I will be writing to the Minister today to talk about how the pending land report will be shared with the people who are affected by it. I will call on him to talk about how the report and its findings can be managed in a sensitive and respectful way. The very strong message I have had from the three community meetings we have now held, is that people do not want to read about the future of their land in the newspaper. They want qualified people to talk to them about what the report means and what it means for decisions the Government will be faced with. People are not demanding to be consulted on the final decision---they just want some understanding of the complex issues that are involved, and the ability to feedback some of their concerns before the decisions are made. They are not asking for much, just to be treated with respect. This afternoon I am meeting with an insurer to touch base on a draft Memorandum of Understanding around processes with EQC. This MOU will deal with how a number of scenarios will be dealt with as a result of the quakes.
BRENDON BURNS: Information received from today’s final Christchurch MP briefing with Civil Defence underscores the critical nature of a government intervention to assist people with heating issues through winter. Fletchers Building outlined today how it is on course to have installed new heat pumps or burners in 4,500 priority homes by mid-May as part of the Government’s response to chimneys lost in the September and February quakes. However, Fletchers acknowledged that there have been 22,000 claims made and while some of these families are opting out, or are not contactable, the initiative will still leave thousands of people waiting past the middle of next month for winter heating. My letter over a month ago to Gerry Brownlee outlined these exact needs. The Government needs to put a plan in place to assist people who will have high power bills as they use any heating they can to keep warm this winter. Many families will be living in houses with cracks causing the inefficient and expensive loss of heat. While Fletchers now has 2,500 trades people out managing repairs, those who are not in the “emergency repair category” are still likely to wait weeks for repairs. Gerry Brownlee said he hadn’t had time to look at options like power subsidies to cope with home heating and although installing heat pumps is a step in the right direction he needs to urgently address the implications this will have on family budgets. Today was the last Civil Defence briefing for MPs. On behalf of electorate representatives I acknowledge John Hamilton and his team for the work they have done for Christchurch over the past eight weeks. They have been largely accessible, worked tirelessly and deserve credit. From here on, CERA is in charge. My caravan clinic resumes today in the previously cordoned area of Barbadoes St and Gloucester St from 4-6pm.
RUTH DYSON: I attended a good meeting with the business community in Lyttelton last night to discuss the on-going strategic CBD plan. Demolition continues today and serves as a daily reminder of the destruction the quake caused. It has been quite stressful for residents, but when buildings are physically removed there will be a revived sense of rejuvenation for the local community. Last night businesses were in attendance who are eagerly awaiting resolution so they may reopen. That will be possible as soon as dangerous buildings are demolished. I will also approach the Lyttelton Port Company today about how they can be more actively involved in Lyttelton’s recovery.
ENDS
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