[Joint Dunedin City Council and Waitaki District Council media release]

Auckland, Southern Councils join on Earthquake Prone Buildings

Auckland and Southern Councils have come together in response to proposed Government changes to earthquake Building rules. Auckland Mayor Len Brown and Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull have written to the Local Government and Environment Select Committee considering the Building (Earthquake-Prone Buildings) Amendment Bill to express their concerns with the proposals.

“We have identified some common issues which we believe need serious consideration by the select committee,” says Len Brown. “It is clear that further work is needed and we encourage select committee members to act on these submissions before the Bill is passed into law.”

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull and spokesperson for the Southern Councils welcomes the support from Len Brown, saying that it adds even greater impetus to the submissions.

“There has been a great deal of cooperation between our Southern Councils in bringing this submission together. Having the support of the Mayor of Auckland sends a strong message that the proposed changes to the legislation will have significant impacts for rural, provincial and metropolitan centres across the country,” says Mayor Cull.

“We believe the Auckland and joint Southern Councils send a strong message to the Select Committee and we look forward to discussing our submissions with them.”

Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher acknowledges that, while a submission from the largest council in New Zealand may vary somewhat to a joint submission from rural and provincial councils in the South Island, there is common ground.

“As we have stated in the past, we are all fully committed to ensuring our buildings are safe and that any strengthening work is carried out in a pragmatic way. We believe local solutions can be found at a local level.”

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