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Christchurch recovery threatened by muddied process

Wednesday, 8 February 2012, 3:56 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

Lianne Dalziel
Earthquake Recovery Spokesperson

8 February 2012

City recovery threatened by muddied process

Earthquake tsar Gerry Brownlee has been caught out passing the buck on the heart of Canterbury’s recovery—the Central City Plan-- in an attempt to cover-up serious faults in the Christchurch rebuild, says Labour’s Canterbury Earthquake Recovery spokesperson, Lianne Dalziel.

“Documents tabled in Parliament today paint a clear picture of a minister unwilling to take responsibility for major deficiencies in the government-led rebuild.

“A submission outlining the lack of seismic engineering input into the Central City Plan has been side-lined by both the Christchurch City Council and the Government, with Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee passing responsibility to the Minister for Building and Housing,” Lianne Dalziel said.

“Gerry Brownlee created the all-powerful role of Earthquake tsar to reassure Cantabrians that top-level oversight would be given to the city’s rebuild. But at the first opportunity he has relinquished responsibility.

“The submission, from John Scarry Engineering, raises serious concerns about the need for seismic resistant design, including the need to undertake area-wide deep soil improvement and ensure seismic separation between buildings to prevent building failure even with the low rise model currently proposed.

“It is almost as if the look of the plan is more important than its feasibility and safety,” Lianne Dalziel said. “If we don’t prepare the ground, the foundation of the rebuild, it will be literally sunk before it’s started.”

“If the draft Central City Plan, seismic design and the founding soils of the CBD are not within the remit of the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, then what on earth is the remit?

“The Government is essentially playing pass the parcel with genuine concern from a wide range of stakeholders and experts about the challenges our city’s soils and seismic risks present in the rebuild.

“I have been calling on central and local government to engage in a meaningful way with stakeholders for many months and today’s revelations only add still more urgency to the plea,” Lianne Dalziel said.

ENDS

 
 
 
 
 
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