Little AndrewCANTERBURY EARTHQUAKES INSURANCE TRIBUNAL BILLFirst ReadingHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister for Courts): I move That the Canterbury Earthquakes Insurance Tribunal Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Governance and Administration Committee to consider the bill.It's been eight years—in fact to the day—since the first Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and a little less time since the big earthquakes of 2011 starting with the first major earthquake that year on 22 February and yet thousands of insurance claims arising from those earthquakes remain unresolved. This delay has left many Cantabrians feeling weary and frustrated and we saw an expression of that in the weekend just gone.This bill—the Canterbury Earthquakes Insurance Tribunal Bill—establishes a specialist tribunal and a fully funded mediation service to help the people of Canterbury resolve longstanding residential insurance claims. I believe the tribunal will act as a circuit-breaker for these claims and provide people with the closure that they have long deserved. The tribunal has been developed to be homeowner initiated to ensure that policyholders feel empowered and in control of their situation. The bill puts the choice to access the tribunal in the hands of policyholders by allowing them rather than insurers or the Earthquake Commission (EQC) to apply to the tribunal. I know this has been an issue of some controversy for some but what is absolutely evident is that those who are missing out those who have been seeking justice for so long are the policyholders and the insured parties not the insurance companies and not EQC.This tribunal is not intended to replace the courts or any other dispute resolution process. Rather it has been developed as an alternative to provide policyholders with the option of choosing a pathway that is tailored specifically to the Canterbury earthquake's context with emphasis on speed flexibility and cost effectiveness. If parties have already filed claims in court the policy holder can apply to transfer the case to the tribunal.As a specialist body the tribunal will have jurisdiction to consider residential insurance claims between policyholders and their insurers or EQC. However in some circumstances the tribunal can join other potentially liable parties to the claim such as a builder where it's necessary to reach a fair or speedy resolution. Claims must relate to damage caused by the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. The purpose of the tribunal is to help homeowners in Canterbury many of whom have been waiting a long time for resolution. To make sure the tribunal can deliver speedy resolution and that certain cases remain with the courts the tribunal will not consider claims related to onsold properties. Some legal issues emerging from these claims are novel and may have no clear precedent and I consider that they are more appropriately considered by the courts.The tribunal has been designed to provide processes that are easy for Cantabrians to access. There will be no application fee to access the tribunal and people can choose whether or not to bring a lawyer. To ensure people feel supported throughout the process they also have the option of choosing to be represented by someone who is not a lawyer. Detailed guidance will be available to help people feel prepared and informed about what to expect at the tribunal.One of the key elements of the tribunal process is its flexibility. We know that the remaining insurance claims are complex and that a one-size-fits-all approach would be unhelpful. This is why there will be no standard process that all claims must follow; rather the bill allows the resolution process to be tailored to the needs of each claim. The tribunal will take a proactive approach to case management and work closely with the parties to find the most appropriate way to resolution. Case management conferences can be used as often as necessary. These meetings will bring the parties together to exchange views identify issues in dispute and work collaboratively towards resolution. The tribunal can also use these meetings to set time frames for each stage of the process so that claims continue to progress without unnecessary delays.The tribunal has a number of powers to help it consider claims. For example it will be able to appoint independent experts. These experts will play a key role in helping the tribunal to understand complex information and will be able to provide an independent view of competing expert opinions. It is about trying to remove one of the big impediments to the resolution of claims at the moment and that is the war amongst experts. We've got to bring that stuff to an end and have experts available to a tribunal like this who can be arbiters of technical difference and so bring claims much closer to resolution.I've decided to include an independent and fully funded mediation service within the tribunal process. Mediation empowers parties to settle disputes themselves. It can also be a useful tool to help narrow down the issues in dispute and provide a confidential environment for the parties to speak freely. However it's important to acknowledge that after eight years parties may already have tried to settle their claims through other dispute resolution processes. Therefore the bill gives the tribunal flexibility to decide on a case by case basis when mediation will be helpful.It will also be able to refer parties to mediation more than once if required or direct a claim straight to a formal hearing without mediation. It's not unusual in situations like this with complex claims where parties have reached frankly a stand-off situation that once they get into a process such as that contemplated under this tribunal they do find common ground and the points of difference are not as great as the parties might have once thought and so it's appropriate to have an avenue open to the parties where they can restart or retry mediation to try to bring them to resolution. As we know the strongest and most enduring resolutions are those achieved by agreement rather than being imposed on the parties.When determining claims the tribunal will apply existing law precedent and the terms of any relevant insurance contract. You would expect that. The rule of law will continue to apply. But this means the tribunal will apply the same legal rules that are applied in court. A tribunal decision will be enforceable as a District Court order and tribunal decisions will able to able to be appealed on matters of fact and law to the High Court and with the leave of the High Court. Appeals beyond the High Court will be on matters of law only.We want the tribunal to work for those people who are still waiting for resolution. That's nearly 3000 claims sitting in courts or sitting with insurance companies for resolution. These people have waited too long. It was the explicit promise of all parties who make up this Government in the election campaign last year to explore ways to find a more speedy more flexible more custom-tailored means of resolution for their insurance claims. I am confident that with this bill and this tribunal we have found a means for those Cantabrians still waiting for resolution to achieve resolution in a speedy and efficacious way.We want the tribunal to work for those people who have waited for so long and I encourage members of the public now that the bill is here and will go to a select committee to provide submissions during that process. We need to hear the stories we need to hear from those people who are waiting for resolution of their insurance claims and we need to hear from the insurance companies and indeed EQC themselves. I commend this bill to the House.