Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 83

new-zealand-labour-party

Wed Jul 27 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Christchurch Earthquake bulletin edition 83

Wednesday, 27 July 2011, 12:03 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

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: I mentioned yesterday that Gerry Brownlee was spurred to respond within hours of Labour putting out a media release, saying it had been advised that the Government has put Phase 2 of Christchurch's winter heating programme on hold for two months. That response is now being questioned. To recap, a large heat pump installer wrote to Mr Brownlee on 23 June about the delay, and followed it with a later letter, but had no response till Labour put out its media release. Mr Brownlee's waffly reply failed to address the installer's concern that businesses had put on extra staff to cope with the winter heating programme, that huge demands remained as many people were living "in near third-world conditions", and surely greater urgency could be given to Phase Two. Mr Brownlee reply basically seems to say that "the rules of the programme" are more important than the fact people are miserable and cold in damaged houses. And I thought National was supposed to be the party that believed in cutting through red tape and political correctness. Mr Brownlee happily uses red tape whenever a problem gets on top of him. The heat pump installer has now written to him again, reinforcing (more politely than I could manage given the number of my constituents suffering from the cold) the importance of carrying on with Phase Two as quickly as possible. He also notes that Mr Brownlee's claim that since 20 June 700 heat pump installations have been allocated to suppliers doesn't stack up, as many were either double-ups or tidying up existing paperwork. Mr Brownlee must unwind his red tape and get on with the job to make life easier for people who have already suffered enough. I look forward to his detailed response to the installer's third letter.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

RUTH DYSON: I spent some time yesterday looking for a new kindy for the Mt Pleasant/Heathcote children and I hope we might have success soon. It would be so good to find a perfect site for them! All our early childhood education services are under huge pressure due to declining rolls, with so many families having to leave their area temporarily, and the Government's refusal to support the centres financially. It has supported the compulsory school sector until at least the end of the year, but has refused to give the same support to the early childhood sector. This is very short-term thinking from the Minister and may end with centres closing. Our families have had enough stress and trauma in their lives and deserve support! The beauty of the snow has now turned to mush and ice in many places making walking and driving very challenging, but hundreds of children and adults have enjoyed tobogganing on the Port Hills over the last couple of days. There was a good meeting in Heathcote last night with progress on the Heathcote community sports facility. This could be the big positive for the Valley from the quakes. I also went to the Lyttelton rockfall group meeting. There's good progress on this front, as full information from the geotech team really helps people understand the issues.

LIANNE DALZIEL: I have spent the past two days trying to get to Brisbane for a conference, but finally arrived last night over 24 hours later than expected. Yesterday was particularly challenging with a 4am wake-up for a 6am flight that was cancelled! The conference is the Australia-New Zealand Scrutiny of Legislation Conference and brings together the different Parliamentary bodies from throughout Australia and New Zealand that scrutinise delegated legislation. The NZ committee is the Regulations Review Committee and although I am not a formal member of the committee, I have been substituting colleagues so I can be involved in scrutinising the regulations passed under the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 (and its predecessor). This is the subject I will be addressing at the conference. Given the disasters impacting on Victoria in 2009 and Queensland from the end of 2010, it will be interesting to see how our government's approach compares to the Australian Federal and States' legislative responses. My presentation will probably particularly interest those who submitted on the two pieces of legislation the government enacted under urgency after the September and February earthquakes. The description "Henry VIII clause" means little to many people, but as a mechanism that allows legislation to be amended without the normal Parliamentary scrutiny, it is important that it is reserved for truly exceptional circumstances. There is no question that the immediate response to a disaster of the magnitude we have experienced in Christchurch would meet that test, but the question is when does that immediacy end? Should there be a point that Parliament is asked to specifically authorise certain actions? The role of the Regulations Review Committee provides an opportunity to scrutinise the individual regulations made under the legislation but also to consider these important questions and report back to Parliament for wider debate.

BRENDON BURNS: Exception is again being taken to Labour MPs raising questions about the Chimney Replacement Scheme. Government MPs are saying the winter heat programme has not been stopped. They say since 20 June more than 700 heat pump installations have been allocated to suppliers. That does not mean 700 installations. Even if it did, that is fewer than 200 heaters a week. At its peak, more than 1000 orders a week were being placed. It's suggested the first priority for the winter heat programme --- people who lost their primary heat source or were vulnerable --- has been met. There were 25,000 claims under the Chimney Replacement scheme --- without counting more chimneys lost on June 13. Even if all the qualifying priorities have been met, that's no reason to ease up on the second priority --- homes where people need additional heating after quake damage. Sometimes one heat pump doesn't cut it. I have had two relocated into my new smallish electorate office from Jim Anderton's damaged office. Unlike many damaged homes, my office has no cracks in it, includes some double glazing but still requires a heater on. Many households are still without adequate heating. The Government needs to pick up the pace again on heating installations. There are continuing frustrations with lack of access to the CBD Red zone for some contractors. Yesterday I spoke to a constituent --- he wants work desperately so let's call him Manuel Labour. He and many others have been waiting almost a month to start demolishing a sizeable modern building in the CBD. Manuel is working for an employment recruitment company and there is no payment until he starts work. The initial start date was July 1 but almost daily the work is delayed with little or no explanation from CERA. Manuel is draining his savings to keep food on his table and pay his mortgage. Late yesterday he was told work would start this morning. Manuel hopes it won't be manyana (tomorrow).

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from New Zealand Labour Party on InfoPages.