Cosgrove Clayton: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Cosgrove Clayton: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:672;Page:18250] 
8. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
 to the  
Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery 
: Is he satisfied that the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 provides him with all the powers necessary to facilitate the recovery of Canterbury? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery) 
: 
 As the Minister responsible for earthquake recovery I accept that the powers granted under the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act were those considered most prudent by Parliament. In time we will know whether they were satisfactory. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Is the Minister or his department the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority considering compelling the Christchurch City Council to sell any of its over $2 billion worth of assets? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: No. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Is there any provision in the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 that prevents the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and/or the responsible Minister from compelling the sale of assets held by any of the local authorities governed by the Act? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: In answering I alert the Minister that if this is seeking a legal opinion as to what the Act means he has to be a little careful—but he could answer within that restraint. 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Not only does that not appear in the Act but neither does any capacity in my view to outright compel councils to do that. 
Brendon Burns 
: If the Minister does not plan to compel the sale of any local authority assets why did he not agree to Labour’s proposed amendment to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act legislation that would have guaranteed that no assets would be sold at his or the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority’s direction? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: For a very simple reason: the Christchurch City Council continues to be a properly elected body with responsibilities for recovery. The idea we might constrain it to a pre - 4 September balance sheet is completely irresponsible and demonstrates a lack of commitment to recovery by the member and his party. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Will the Minister guarantee that he or his department the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority will not compel at any time the local authorities governed by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 to sell any of their assets—will he guarantee that? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: The idea that there would be compulsion on the city council denies the fact that we are going to work collaboratively. The member may like for his own political means to try to push us into a corner but neither this organisation nor the city council is going there because—unlike him—we want a good job for the people of Canterbury not some botchy shoddy thing he thinks is acceptable. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: I will take that as a no. In the event of any proposal to sell local authority assets to pay for the recovery is the Minister prepared to apply the full weight of his office to prevent any such sale from occurring? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: I said before that the Christchurch City Council is a properly elected body that makes its own decisions. If it decides to sell some properties it bought from Dave Henderson that is its business not this Parliament’s.