Christchurch Residents Need Clarity On Consents

The Green Party is calling for the National Government and the City Council to step up and tell the people of Christchurch what the removal of the Council’s building consent accreditation means for the rebuild.

“Something is wrong when the Mayor and council managers can be confident on Friday that they have done what’s needed and then learn on Monday that Council has had its accreditation removed,” Green Party Christchurch spokesperson Eugenie Sage said today.

“The Council has worked hard on clearing the backlog.

“IANZ and MOBIE need to front up and say why accreditation has been removed and what’s needed to regain accreditation.

“Accreditation is about ensuring councils have good processes in place to meet their regulatory obligations. It’s not clear if IANZ and MOBIE have removed council’s accreditation because of a lack of staff and resources to do the job, or substantive quality assurance issues with the way building consents are being processed.

“The uncertainty is worrying for the people of Christchurch who are working hard to rebuild their homes and businesses.

“They need the assurance that building consent processes are both efficient and robust.

“Slow processing of consents is an issue that absolutely needs to be addressed, but it’s better than no processing of consents or too rapid consideration which risks the authorisation of leaky or substandard buildings.  

“This loss of accreditation is not an excuse for heavy handed interference by Government and  further restrictions on the City Council’s powers,” said Ms Sage.

ENDS

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