Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 39
new-zealand-labour-party
Tue May 10 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 39
Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 12:29 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
Christchurch
LABOUR MPs
10 May 2011 MEDIA STATEMENT
Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 39
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: Over the last few weeks I have visited a large number of firms in the building and construction sector, specifically builders, painters, plasterers and roofers. These are professionals who should be gaining work in the emergency repair sector and the repair sector generally, but who are stuck in the mud and twiddling their thumbs. Not one of these firms has received any work via the Fletchers project management team regime established by Gerry Brownlee. All had registered and all had been told work would be available but none have received any. Questions are being raised consistently within the sector as to who Fletchers are allocating work to, and whether small or local firms are getting a look in. Prior to the original tendering process for the project management of repairs, I spoke with Gerry Brownlee to say that it should be a requirement in the tender document that work would be offered to locals first. It is important that this work be spread as widely amongst local firms as possible so that everybody gets a fair shake. My concern is that firms are now reporting that they feel shut out of the process. In the present climate this may force redundancies or possibly the closure of these firms at a time when they are so desperately needed. At tonight’s briefing with Gerry Brownlee I will ask him to look into this matter and to provide data as to which firms are getting what work and importantly what the frequency of this work is. Cantabrians have been told to gear up—the Government had signalled firms needed to be in place to facilitate recovery and the reality is that some of these firms may not survive this stagnant period. The Government cannot let that happen.
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RUTH DYSON: Today I have leave from Parliament to attend three important community meetings in Christchurch. This morning I am going to a Hagley-Ferrymead community development meeting in Redcliffs to talk about the social and community orientated aspects of recovery. As winter approaches and people stay indoors the social factors of recovery will become more pronounced. People will be cold and sick, they will need support and it is critical that neighbourhood support networks are mobilised. This afternoon I am going to a meeting with the Sydenham business community. We will work on a draft plan for Sydenham, looking at the CBD area and how we can have a rebuild that remains in keeping with the historical character of Sydenham while attracting interest residentially. People are increasingly in favour of a business and residential mix in their community. This evening there is a public meeting hosted by the Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust to discuss the state and the future of the estuary. There is on-going concern about the disposal of sewerage into the estuary as well as many other waterways across Canterbury. There is still raw sewerage pouring into the estuary as well as the Avon, but the difference is that the estuary is tidal—it never completely discharges--- meaning there is no significant dilution of the sewerage. The meeting this evening will raise public awareness and support for future action. Any call for public support for the estuary in the past has received a lot of public support. People will want to know what the facts are and what research will need to be undertaken. I look forward to reporting back on the discussion.
LIANNE DALZIEL: Reports this morning make plain a circumstance I have long been concerned about and that is the risk that we will lose quality teachers from the eastern suburbs due to a reduction in school rolls caused by the quake. Aranui High School’s roll has reportedly fallen from 600 to 500 students and it is not alone. While staffing levels have been guaranteed for 2011 the future is incredibly uncertain in the east. Given the impact that the two earthquakes have had on students and their families, I have advocated for additional support to be provided. The school operational grants need to be secured for the next couple of years along with the teacher entitlements – it is the children and young people who need this guarantee. I have asked the Ministry to step up with a package of support which recognises that as one of the hardest hit areas the eastern suburbs are going to need additional support to overcome the challenges ahead. I have met the principals’ cluster that covers the eastern suburbs and advocated to the Ministry for a range of solutions which would strengthen the role of the schools in the community. Given the complex nature of recovery we all have to confront, it is the schools that offer a point of engagement and the potential to meet the wider needs of the community. I have already raised with the Minister the need to include Aranui High School as part of the Trades Academy and to consider extending its role to adult learning once more as we look to re-skill those who have been made redundant so they can help rebuild their own communities. I am continually meeting with stakeholders across Christchurch, not only in the eastern suburbs, and understand the varying challenges they face. In the east damage is simply more pronounced than in other areas. Families are awaiting news on the future of their land upon which their whole lives revolve. With all the focus now on the central city, we need to ensure that there remains a focus on our residential suburbs. They need us all to “think outside the square” – which in this case means seeing the schools as more than the number of enrolled students.
BRENDON BURNS: As we await for CERA to bed in and we are yet to determine the job it will do on behalf of Canterbury people, it is interesting from our perspective to reflect on the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management released by Environment Minister Nick Smith yesterday. As we all know, in March last year the Government moved under urgency to abolish Environment Canterbury The elected councillors were replaced by commissioners appointed by the Government until 2013. There’s even more reason now to ask why it was necessary for that to happen. Yesterday’s NPS falls well short of introducing any national standards for water quality. In fact, all Nick Smith has done is give Ecan through until 2015 to bring together regional water quality standards and then it will be until 2030 before we can expect to see the full implementation of tough new water quality requirements. So exactly why, given the long timeframe Nick Smith has now embarked upon, was it so necessary for Ecan councillors to be dismissed under urgency in 30 hours last March for supposedly failing to deliver good policies and mechanisms for managing water. Something doesn’t stack up. It’s even more ironic to reflect on the very real need in the wake of the quakes to engage with our communities in a bottom-up and meaningful way. In terms of water management, Ecan councillors could surely have been more sympathetically involved in such as process than government-appointed commissioners. Nick Smith can’t be blamed for the quakes, but the legacy he’s bequeathed on Canterbury looks stranger by the day.
ENDS
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