National’s pledge to Chch people on equity falls by wayside
new-zealand-labour-party
Wed Jul 06 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
National’s pledge to Chch people on equity falls by wayside
Wednesday, 6 July 2011, 5:09 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
Lianne DALZIEL
MP for Christchurch East
6 July 2011
National’s pledge to Christchurch people on equity falls by wayside
Repeated pledges by National’s Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee to preserve the equity of Christchurch homeowners can’t be relied on any longer, says Christchurch East MP Lianne Dalziel.
Lianne Dalziel, Port Hills MP Ruth Dyson and Christchurch Central MP Brendon Burns asked Mr Brownlee today if he stood by his pledges to preserve equity for homeowners. The questions were answered by Maurice Williamson on Mr Brownlee’s behalf.
“When I asked if Mr Brownlee stood by his statement on October 7 last year that the people of Canterbury could take heart as their equity was preserved, Mr Williamson replied that this statement was made before the 22 February quake, which nobody could have anticipated and which had changed things,” Lianne Dalziel said.
“No one’s disputing that 22 February changed things, but then on 8 March Mr Brownlee said: ‘But right from September 4 I’ve repeatedly said that what we have to do is protect the equity that people think they have got in their properties’.
“When I put this to Mr Williamson, he didn’t respond directly, but simply said the Government believed it had made a fair offer on 23 June to property owners around land or land and house options.
“Brendon Burns then asked about Mr Brownlee’s statement on 15 June, two days after the most recent major shake, when the Minister said: ‘we need to make sure that when we’re protecting equity in one place we are also protecting in the places where we won’t have the same outcome.’
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“When Gerry Brownlee said that, did he intend to include examples like residents who will be offered $90,000 less than the mortgage on their Avonside home which had a market value when bought well above the 2007 Rating Valuation. If so, why didn’t he refer to negative equity?
“Ruth Dyson asked Mr Brownlee if he considered the Rating Valuation process to be robust when it was so variable as to leave many in the Red Zone with insufficient funds to buy a section. Mr Williamson could not respond properly to any of our questions because of Mr Brownlee’s repeated assurances that equity would be protected.
“Many people took those promises to heart. They are now devastated to learn that Mr Brownlee’s word is as reliable and sound as the land their houses sit on,” Lianne Dalziel said.
ENDS
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