8. Question No. 8—Earthquake CommissionHon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Labour—Wigram) to the Minister responsible for the Earthquake CommissionQuestion No. 8—Earthquake Commission8. Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Labour—Wigram) to the Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission: What recent announcements has he made about the Government's response to the Public Inquiry into the Earthquake Commission? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission): On Monday I joined my colleague the Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration in Christchurch to announce the Government's response to the Public Inquiry into the Earthquake Commission [EQC] which was delivered by Dame Silvia Cartwright in April. The Government is accepting accepting in principle or further working on each of the inquiry's recommendations and is committed to a programme of actions including the modernisation of the Earthquake Commission Act putting in place a more people-centred claims system and clarifying EQC's role in any future natural disaster. This week marks 10 years since the earthquake centred at Darfield. The Government has continued its commitment to overhaul the Earthquake Commission to ensure people will never have to relive the trauma that thousands went through in the past decade.Hon Dr Megan Woods: What were the findings of the inquiry?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The report found that the EQC was woefully ill prepared and under-equipped to deal with the influx of claims and repairs of damaged properties that followed the Canterbury earthquakes. Dame Silvia said it was a mistake to have EQC do this. It led to perverse outcomes that persist to this day such as botched repairs that frequently fail to fix all the damage to a property. Dame Silvia also highlighted her grave concern for the quality of the housing stock in Christchurch as a result of these botched repairs which have left homes vulnerable to future earthquake damage. The report also found mechanisms for dispute resolution were sorely lacking and homeowners were subject to complex insurance claim processes without adequate support. Dame Silvia's report recommended a suite of changes including greater clarity around EQC's role a review of the Act and the EQC cap—all of which are being considered as part of the Government's response.Hon Dr Megan Woods: What progress has this Government made to address some of the issues facing Canterbury quake victims?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The Government took action before waiting for the findings of this report. Dispute resolution has been significantly improved with the establishment of the Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service and the Canterbury Earthquakes Insurance Tribunal. EQC claimants now have a case manager looking after their claims and the Claimants Reference Group has helped the EQC become more claimant-focused. We've set aside $300 million to fix issues with on-sold over-cap homes and we've made good progress in settling EQC claims. In May 2018 EQC had more than 3000 claims outstanding; 98 percent of those claims have now been resolved. This Government cares about the people of Canterbury and making sure they get the support they need to get on with their lives.