Woods MeganEARTHQUAKE COMMISSION AMENDMENT BILLThird ReadingHon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission): I move That the Earthquake Commission Amendment Bill be now read a third time.The changes in this bill will improve the Earthquake Commission's efficiency and ability to respond to future events. This is a bill that has four straightforward changes that can be made now ahead of a more comprehensive review of the current Earthquake Commission Act. The support for these changes comes from across the House and it's a good indicator of how logical they are. I thank the members from the Finance and Expenditure Committee for their work on this bill and for the improvements made as a result of submissions that were received.The changes we're seeking to make with this bill are the first substantial changes to be introduced since the current Act was introduced in the early 1990s. The inquiry into the Earthquake Commission (EQC) which will commence shortly is a step towards a fuller review of the Act. Learning from the experiences of the people of Canterbury and Kaikōura will identify further areas for improvement. I expect to bring further more substantive changes to the Earthquake Commission Act following that review. The four changes in this bill include increasing the amount the EQC can pay per claim from $100000 to $150000 plus GST. The cap on claims has not been increased since 1994 and this change acknowledges the increase in building costs since then. Secondly the bill removes contents and personal property cover from EQC. This will now be picked up via people's private insurance policies. Following a significant earthquake like the Canterbury sequence EQC needs to focus resources on restoring people's homes rather than being diverted on to contents and personal property claims. These two changes will come into effect as people's insurance policies are renewed from 1 July 2019. Any new property insurance policies entered into from 1 July 2019 will also reflect these new clauses.In my role as the Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission from time to time I come across a situation that reminds me why changes to this bill are important. About the time of the second reading of this bill I received a letter from a man who found that his reclusive aunt's Christchurch home was earthquake damaged. She had not let anyone into her home for a number of years. The family did not know the extent of the damage to the house. With a three-month deadline for lodging a claim the elderly woman and her family could not receive EQC help to repair the home. It's situations like this that demonstrate the need for a longer claims lodgment period. The bill includes that change. It enables EQC to accept claim notifications for up to two years after a natural disaster rather than the current three-month time limit. EQC will need to be satisfied that the failure to make a claim within three months has not materially prejudiced their ability to assess the claim.Further to this the bill provides for regulations to be made either to extend the two-year deadline or for EQC to consider accepting claims in exceptional circumstances more than two years after the damage-causing event. The changes in the bill also improve EQC's ability to share information. I want to thank the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for their submission which greatly improved these clauses in the bill. Specifically the changes in the bill mean EQC may release information that it holds to prevent or lessen a threat to public health or public safety or to the life or health of any individual. EQC may also release information for the administration of the EQC Act or the performance of its functions. Information that will facilitate natural disaster preparedness response or recovery including the settlement of insurance claims by insurance companies can also be released by EQC. EQC may also make property-related information available publicly. The bill requires EQC to have appropriate protections in place to maintain the confidentiality of personal information. These second two changes will come into effect on 1 July 2019.The changes I have outlined are straightforward to make. They are also logical ones that can be put in place now in preparation for a future event should it occur and will increase the efficiency of EQC's claims management. I'd like to take a brief moment to comment on why I did not support Supplementary Order Paper 156 which would have allowed claims to be lodged directly with private insurers making them agents of the Crown for that claim. Firstly we don't need it to be in law for this to happen. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was put in place after the Kaikōura sequence of events was put in place before this law change. We could do the same thing again quickly if it is the best model for the event following that event. Any new MOU would also build on the strong relationships that have further developed between EQC and the small number of private insurers in New Zealand. I have not yet received the review of the Kaikōura MOU and I want to receive Dame Silvia Cartwright's report following the inquiry into the Earthquake Commission before we undertake a substantive review of the EQC Act.We need to make sure we aren't putting in place a model that may have unintended consequences while ensuring we make any improvements to the model that are identified in the review. So I commend this bill to the House. Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker.