Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 38
new-zealand-labour-party
Mon May 09 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 38
Monday, 9 May 2011, 12:22 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
Christchurch
LABOUR MPs
9 May 2011 MEDIA STATEMENT
Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 38
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:
Problems associated with private insurance companies continue to dominate the agenda. Sometimes we can help as MPs; other times we are just as frustrated as our constituents. A good example of a happy ending occurred at the weekend when a constituent, who happens to be a builder, was able to move his mother out of her damaged house and into a new place. He then offered his mother’s old house to people across the road for a small rental because it was in far better shape than the one they were living in. Everybody was happy --- until the insurance company decided it would demolish the mother’s old house. Happily, representations made the company see sense, and at least defer demolition. The list of complaints is growing, however, and we are getting more and more reports of people wanting independent advice before they settle their insurance claims as they are worried that they are not being treated fairly. There are also complaints about sizeable disparities between EQC assessments of damage and repair quotes from qualified tradespeople. I will be raising insurance issues when we have our weekly briefing from Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee tomorrow night. I was talking to one company in the construction business at the weekend, and was told the situation with work was worse than it had been for two years. That’s a huge irony given all the rebuilding that needs to take place. The company says it has got millions of dollars of potential quotes with clients, but nothing can happen before claims are settled. The irony is that skilled people are leaving town because nothing’s happening. Other subjects for tomorrow night’s meeting will include home heating, emergency housing and community engagement. I notice there has been discussion about alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power. In the short term, as people need heating in particular going into winter, we need to stick with established sources of supply, but in the future, as Canterbury is rebuilt, it will certainly be worth ensuring people have all the available options before them. Finally, I note that Mr Brownlee says fewer people in the region might be on the unemployment benefit because more businesses are managing to stay afloat than was originally envisaged. It would be excellent if that was the case, but where’s the evidence? He doesn’t seem at all interested in determining the facts. Until it does, I will remain very sceptical.
LIANNE DALZIEL:
I was disappointed to hear the CCC trying to justify the unjustifiable rates rebate policy this morning. I wrote to the CCC on 4th February this year as a result of concerns raised by my constituents about a range of issues. The letter has never been acknowledged nor have I received a reply. I understood why that is the case, because the second earthquake intervened. But I remain concerned that the CCC does not see how unfair their attitude is to people who are struggling with the consequences of not one but two major earthquakes. As I said in my letter I personally didn’t agree with the 40% remission decision (nor do my constituents who have contacted me) for those who have had to leave their homes – it is all very well to say that rates pay for other services, but that is also catered for in the rent that they will be paying for alternative accommodation. That’s why I still think it should be 100% for those who have had to leave their homes. I also question whether the CCC (or anyone for that matter) knows how many people are actually remaining in damaged houses, on damaged streets with instructions not to use their sewerage. Providing a rates rebate for those people would actually send a powerful message of recognition that the CCC understands the hardship they are experiencing as well. To hear the CCC say that they couldn’t consider it because someone had to pay for the portaloos and chemical toilets misses the whole point of the concerns my constituents are raising. I will be writing to the council again.
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RUTH DYSON:
Further to the points raised by my colleague Lianne Dalziel with regard to rates rebates, I want to emphasise the absurdity of this situation. Even those who are eligible for a rates remission of 40% haven’t been notified. There was nothing in their rates bill which specified that the might be entitled to a remission. I know that Civil Defence have the data and this should have been accessible to the City Council so that people were informed of their options upon receiving the bill. Over the weekend I met with a number of constituents as usual, helping them through different processes. The overarching concerns are still around time frames. The city is on hold---which is fine--- as long as you have a time frame for the future. We are waiting on Gerry Brownlee to make decisions and his timeframes are ‘fluid’ to say the least. People need to know when their geotech assessments are coming, so they know whether they can stay in their homes and whether their insurers will pay out so they might rebuild. My key message is that we need clear time frames. I am pleased to see that the Council’s website ‘Share an Idea’ (www.shareanidea.org.nz) is receiving support locally. But again, there is only so far ideas can go without a timeline for re-development. They are advertising a community expo this weekend at the CBS Canterbury Arena which I look forward to attending.
BRENDON BURNS:
We are heading into the phase where we as citizens can have some say in the rebuilding of our city. Last week, I supported the nominations of several people for Minister Brownlee’s Community Forum of 20 or so representatives to advise him on how CERA is working. As Canterbury MPs we meet weekly with the Minister and I presume he’ll update us tomorrow night on the process of selecting the forum members Yesterday I met some members of my electorate organisation to discuss what values Labour members would want to see reflected in the rebuilding of Christchurch. These values are in-line with those being affirmed by most in the Canterbury community -meaningful community engagement that is bottom up not top down, robust new earthquake protection standards, limits on new building height, a strong focus on sustainability, energy efficiency, design and spatial harmony in new buildings, limits to traffic, encouraging more inner city residents. Let’s hope such values will come through strongly at this weekend’s Vision for Christchurch Expo being run at CBS Arena, Addington, Saturday 14th May and Sunday 15th May, 10am-5pm. This is the first such community engagement exercise now being promised by the council. The following weekend there is another opportunity for engagement with the TEDxEQChCh Christchurch event on Saturday May 21. TED is a fantastic model, bringing together some high-level thinkers including the former Mayor of San Francisco, Art Agnos. Have a look at www.tedxeqchch.com I regret not being able to attend TEDxEQChch as it’s the annual Labour Party Congress but do hope to be able to return in time to support the Rise Up Christchurch Telethon on Sunday May 22 at CBS Arena, a 12-hour global telethon to raise money for Christchurch. Good on Maori TV for getting in behind our city. The TVNZ Amendment Bill going through Parliament at the moment effectively precludes our state broadcaster from supporting such events as now its only role is to make money for the Government, rather than the broader, previous requirement to support and foster New Zealand communities. Kia kaha to Māori TV, supported by Fonterra, as it seeks to boost the Government’s earthquake appeal fund.
ends
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