Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 71
new-zealand-labour-party
Wed Jul 06 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 71
Wednesday, 6 July 2011, 1:03 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
Christchurch
LABOUR MPs
6 July 2011
Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 71
The Labour Party’s Christchurch electorate MPs, Earthquake Recovery spokesperson 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: I have received a response from the Insurance Council following a meeting I organised with the council and representatives of AMI and IAG on 14 June about the concerns many residents have at signing off on simplified project management contracts. At that meeting I emphasised the concern of Labour MPs that Gerry Brownlee won’t respond to our call for the Government to provide independent legal advice to residents who need it before they sign off on claims. The letter from the council contains a positive response to our queries about the contracts --- it says both companies will send us updates to their contracts, and that the council will ask other companies to do the same thing --- but interestingly it also endorses our call for independent legal advice. Maybe if Gerry Brownlee won’t listen to Labour MPs, who are speaking up for concerned residents, he might listen to the council. There has still been no response from him on this issue, despite the fact that he has had months now to say yes or no. If he won’t do it to help people who can’t afford to go to lawyers themselves, then at least he has a duty to tell them. Tonight we have our first cross-party briefing with Mr Brownlee in a long time. I will be raising the issue of legal advice once again, but we also want to talk about the importance of Mr Brownlee allowing MPs to attend separate briefings that are held for local authorities. We need all the information we can get to pass on to constituents. The presentation to fire brigades last night was a moving event. I am proud of all those in the fire service in my area, particularly volunteers, who never missed a beat despite severe damage to their own homes. They deserve every recognition they get.
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BRENDON BURNS: Yesterday Ruth Dyson and I met some Linwood College teachers to discuss their very natural concern for the future of teaching in Canterbury. The Press has highlighted these issues today, reporting 300 teachers may lose their jobs. Linwood College is one of many schools across eastern Christchurch which has suffered significant roll decline since the February 22 quake. The school has seen its roll shrink from around 1000 students to 830. As well, it is the only school in Christchurch to have had a Commissioner imposed and Board of Trustees sacked since the quake. This was done with no signal to the Board, principal or staff. I have submitted an OIA request to Education Minister Tolley for the papers which led to this extraordinary decision. Roll issues are not peculiar to Linwood. I have a number of primary schools which have lost as much as 20 per cent of their rolls. While the Government has agreed to maintain teaching strength this year, this doesn’t apply to either support staff or to Early Childhood Centres. Support staff numbers are shrinking at the very time teachers are trying to deal with pupils suffering from quake trauma. I also learned last week at the AGM of St Albans Educare Centre that four teachers have had to leave this fantastic community early childhood centre in recent months, largely due to Government funding cuts to provision of 100 per cent trained ECE staff. The quakes have compounded difficulties. I note the comments of Shirley Primary School principal Sylvia Fidow who says her school's roll is down 15 per cent, but fluctuating each week as some children left and others returned. Shirley has some damaged homes but nowhere as many as some more eastern suburbs More time is needed before the picture is clear but soon principals and boards will have to begin planning for 2012. Anne Tolley says she won’t contemplate extending full funding for teaching positions into next year. I hope she can at least give some helpful signal to schools who don’t want to sack staff when they may need to rehire them if rolls resume and stabilise I was also privileged last night to attend an awards ceremony honouring Canterbury/West Coast firefighters who did such valiant work in Christchurch on and after February 22. As MP for the central city, I was pleased to be able to add my grateful thanks to these low-key heroes and their partners/families.
RUTH DYSON: The anxiety I have been hearing from teachers about insecurity in relation to their jobs looks to be well-founded, given media comments this morning about significant teacher reductions. I know support staff are in an equally vulnerable position. The minister needs to get her head around the huge responsibility and additional pressures our teachers and support staff are facing as a result of the earthquakes. Some schools do have fewer students and, for some, this may be long-term, but the fragility of our families must be recognised. Add in the fact that many of our teachers are in wrecked or damaged homes and yet are still expected to deliver (and are doing so) the highest level of professionalism. They deserve long term support. I went to the BNZ Connect Sydenham business group gathering last evening and heard an accountant from PWC talking about business interruption insurance and issues arising with their clients in relation to insurance. The business people there were engaged and upbeat about the challenges facing them, with news of more businesses opening in the area. I also joined other colleagues at the Wigram Air Force museum for the Fire Service presentation to brigades around the region. It was a very special evening and a fitting tribute to these heroes who have done so much for us all.
LIANNE DALZIEL: I have been blamed for bringing seismic activity to the North Island because there was a 6.5 earthquake 30k west of Taupo at a depth of 150km yesterday afternoon. I was sitting at my desk in Parliament and certainly felt it. My Executive Assistant said it was the strongest quake she had felt in her 8 years in NZ. It was nothing compared to what we have been going through, but it serves as a reminder that we are built across two techtonic plates which move constantly. I went to the last of the Speaker’s Science Forums for this session of Parliament and the subject matter was “Faults and Earthquakes - Shaping New Zealand” with Dr Rupert Sutherland from GNS & Dr Helen Anderson, a seismologist and formerly the head of Ministry of Research, Science & Technology. I was surprised at the frequency of earthquakes in New Zealand – on average around 26 earthquakes a year that measure over 5 on the Richter Scale – that’s one every two weeks. I was also surprised that our risk rating for earthquakes hasn’t changed because of the Canterbury quakes. I hope insurers take note of the science. It was a fascinating talk and I will plan a couple of public talks so people can hear from scientists and engineers, who can give us confidence we need for the rebuilding ahead. My colleagues and I are following up on the issue of the preservation of equity that has not been delivered to significant numbers of our constituents in the Red Zone. The people who are most badly affected are those who will receive less under the 2007 Rating Valuation for their house than they owe on their mortgage, because they bought their house at a market value that was higher than their Rating Valuation. The other groups are those who cannot take out finance at this stage in their lives but don’t have enough equity in their mortgage-free home to buy another one mortgage-free; people who don’t have enough value in the 2007 Rating Valuation of the land to buy another section to take advantage of their replacement insurance policy; and people whose house doesn’t need rebuilding but which could be repaired if they were able to stay where they are. I hope the government will listen to alternative ways of addressing these issues with some fairness.
ENDS
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