Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 32
new-zealand-labour-party
Wed Apr 27 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 32
Wednesday, 27 April 2011, 12:43 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
**
Christchurch
LABOUR MPs
27 April 2011**
Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 32
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: My electorate office reports rising levels of stress among people who are telephoning or calling in person. These are people who have lost their homes, who are earthquake refugees, whose children have had to be transplanted from one school to another, and who have lost their jobs. As more and more lose jobs, stress levels will continue rising. It will be reflected in increased domestic violence and abuse of alcohol and other social problems. Good people are getting so wound up that they are doing things that are out of character. The problems are set to get worse when the Government phases out its business recovery package in two weeks Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee must urgently reconsider canning the package given research showing that it’s likely up to 10,000 small to medium businesses could fold as a consequence of the quakes. That could mean 24,000 people --- using a conservative estimate --- are out of work when the package is phased out in a couple of weeks. Evidence from Massey University research suggests that up to 40 per cent of small to medium enterprises could eventually fold. As 59,000 people are currently on the Government’s employment support scheme that means that almost 24,000 will be left jobless as the Government cuts businesses adrift. The Government laughed at us when we raised the figure of 20,000 a couple of weeks ago. Well, it isn’t a laughing matter as far as Christchurch people are concerned, and now there is evidence to show the Government just how serious the problem will be. It’s hardly surprising stress levels are rising so sharply. Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O’Reilly has added his voice to the fears, saying some businesses will be unable to stand alone when the package ends. He wants business recovery coordinators to identify struggling businesses quickly so that on-going support can be provided, but the problem is made worse because many small businesses don’t belong to organisations like the Chamber of Commerce. They are one or two-person companies. They should have been identified as vulnerable months ago in many cases, but the Government hasn’t done its job. Small business is the lifeblood of the New Zealand economy, but that lifeblood is set to quickly drain away unless the Government urgently re-thinks its business recovery package. Now the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) is up and running, we are contacting it to gain an assurance that it will maintain a hotline for urgent matters raised by our constituents, and will also maintain regular meetings with Canterbury MPs.
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RUTH DYSON: The CERA legislation has turned a new page for the recovery effort in Christchurch. From now on our focus is going to be ensuring that our community’s voices are included in this new dialogue and new process. This will be a challenge. The legislation does not allow for nearly enough community input, but we will work with what we have got. The most critical concern for me is enabling young people to have their voices heard. They are our future leaders and they need a strong stake in their city. Today I am meeting with Louis Brown and others from the Student Army and the Wayne Francis Charitable Trust. The discussion will be around how we can better get youth involved in the recovery and rebuild of Christchurch. There has been increasing concern as to the preservation and safe use of our local waterways and harbours. I have worked closely with the badly affected Rapaki residents in Lyttelton since the quake and understand the decision to place a rāhui on the harbour. The concern as to the amount of waste being poured into our waterways is felt across Canterbury, not only in Lyttelton, and it is important to respect the decisions of residents and local communities
LIANNE DALZIEL: Following the Council’s decision to consider a temporary liquor ban in the Riccarton area it is obvious that concerns raised by Labour before the earthquake about central city disorder have simply been transferred to the suburbs. Police are calling for the ban following a number of alcohol related incidents. Police efforts, which have doubled in the area, can be better spent if they have stricter regulations in place. What was unacceptable behaviour in the central city has now transferred to suburban areas and it is absolutely intolerable. Tonight I am speaking to the Fabians Society in Wellington about reconstructing Christchurch and owning our own future. I am going to talk about the lessons learnt from the quake and the importance of the process in weeks, months and years ahead. The costs of rebuilding our city can become an investment in the future of our nation, if we get it right. Christchurch must not become a scapegoat for unpopular government policies such pawning off our valuable assets. What has happened in Christchurch is a disaster - but it does present us with the chance to become more resilient as a city and as a country. I am going to talk about the community engagement model set by the Waimakariri District Council and the implications of the Christchurch City Council’s mismanagement. Finally, Government spin may influence what people outside the particularly affected communities observe, but it doesn’t minimise the reality that so many now face heading into our first winter in damaged homes, on damaged streets, with some of our suburbs’ very future now in doubt. There is a litany of failures that have combined to drain away what is the lifeblood of a community in recovery and that lifeblood is hope for the future. We need safe, warm, secure homes to get us through the immediate time ahead. But our communities also need to be inspired and we need to believe that life is going to get better.
BRENDON BURNS: Stopping the spread of the winter flu needs to be a top priority. While I accept that under-18s are the most vulnerable to the virus, this is no ordinary winter in Christchurch and crowded housing, cracked homes without heating and a rundown population will become a "cocktail" for a flu outbreak. I will continue to call for the Government to meet the cost of immunising everyone in Christchurch. Such a scheme is a very logical and appropriate public health expenditure given the pressures our population is under at the moment and this Government needs to step up. Hand in hand with vaccination is adequate home heating. Further to comments I made last week 4500 heaters is not going to cut it. The Government has so far shown no commitment to speeding up the process here and has so far not accepted any of our suggestions to help Cantabrians.
ENDS
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