Brownlee Gerry: Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Bill — Procedure First Reading Second Reading 
Brownlee Gerry: Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Bill — Procedure First Reading Second Reading 
[Volume:666;Page:13899] 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery) 
: 
 I move  
That the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Bill be now read a first time 
. It is now a matter of history that on Saturday 4 September at 4.31 in the morning Cantabrians were woken by the largest earthquake this country has seen for some time. The scale of damage from the earthquake and the hundreds of aftershocks since is something that New Zealand has not seen in recent times. As a result of the devastation caused by these events a state of emergency still is in place across Canterbury. 
The destruction caused to infrastructure and buildings across the Canterbury region is considerable. The damage is so substantial that the recovery will be one of the most significant events in New Zealand’s history. Estimates of damage vary but the costs will run into some billions of dollars and we have to give thanks while we are talking about property damage that there was no loss of life. That miracle makes it easier for us to focus on rebuilding Canterbury and maintaining a positive frame of mind. Cantabrians have shown tremendous spirit to so rapidly reconnect and restore first Christchurch City and then the regions of Waimakariri and Selwyn District. I also thank the people outside the region who have so generously come to the aid of their fellow Kiwis. 
There are far too many to mention but I would like to mention the officials of government who have worked so tirelessly over the weekend to put this bill together. 
We have all seen images of homes and schools wrecked by the tremendous force that was unleashed images of the towns and city centres where large numbers of buildings are damaged or inaccessible and images of the many churches and historic buildings shattered by the quake. Furthermore roads have moved railway lines have been twisted and farm lands have been so damaged by holes fissures and tears that they cannot be used safely for livestock and some cropping may be endangered. Vital infrastructure such as sewerage work has been disrupted although that infrastructure has been largely reconnected in the heaviest urban areas. 
New Zealand is a country prone to earthquakes. We have known that for some time and we have prepared for an event like this by establishing the Earthquake Commission by strengthening our buildings by having emergency contingency plans and by having emergency kits in our homes. But we can never fully prepare for or prevent the damage that an earthquake of this magnitude causes. 
I spent a lot of time in Canterbury over the last 10 days and I saw for myself the damage in my home area. I have seen firsthand the spirit of the people of Canterbury and I am very impressed by the way that they have worked tirelessly and carried out their responsibilities in the different organisations of the region to get the place reconnected. When we look back over the last 10 days—and it has been only 10 days—we see that the emergency response has been to say the least most impressive. All those involved in achieving that result should be congratulated. It should be remembered that those people often leave their own families and homes to help others. I spoke last Friday night to a group of people who had been helping connect water and sewerage in Christchurch City. Many of them left their homes on Saturday at 5 o’clock in the morning simply leaving their wives partners and families while they went out to help others. 
They did up to 100 hours’ work last week and achieved an enormous result. The same can be said for the power workers and the communications workers. Their efforts were very impressive. 
The task ahead is enormous. The rebuilding and recovery may have begun but it will take a long time and we will need the rest of New Zealand to lend a hand. The support offered by people from outside the region—the donations they have made to the mayoral and other funds—is evidence of the willingness of this country to help out Cantabrians. I know that the people of Canterbury welcome that support and thank their fellow New Zealanders for that help but more help is needed. 
In 2009 there were about 50000 building consents or consents relating to building issues around the country. If we consider the scale of destruction in Canterbury and apply similar consenting arrangements we find that every consenting officer in this country could be locked up in the consenting process for a number of years before anything is done in a practical sense. Business as usual will not work. Legislation needs to be adapted to respond to the special circumstances that now exist in Canterbury and in particular that will apply when the state of emergency is lifted. So far we have identified several needs: modifying legislative requirements under the Resource Management Act such as in respect of heavier than allowable loads being able to be taken to landfills; streamlining Building Act processes to deal with dangerous buildings without delay and the repair and perhaps replacement of buildings; and flexible welfare support and payments for people in need. 
To facilitate the Canterbury recovery we need a mechanism that allows specific amendments to a range of legislation. This bill will be the House’s expression of a strong desire to remove bureaucracy that could slow down the very necessary work we now have to do. I know this Parliament is united in its desire to assist Canterbury in every way it can and on behalf of the people of Canterbury I offer thanks for that. Therefore today I am introducing the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Bill to help Canterbury get over and get past this disaster. This bill enables the Government to use Orders in Council to facilitate emergency recovery responses. Orders in Council can be used to tailor specific solutions to identified issues as the recovery progresses. Most important Orders in Council will allow the Government to react quickly with the support of the whole Parliament. Just as Orders in Council can be made they can also be revoked or replaced as needs change during the recovery process. 
The current state of emergency has allowed authorities in Canterbury to get on with the job of ensuring the health and safety of residents while taking steps towards ongoing recovery. Some actions would not be permitted in normal circumstances. A number of those activities need to continue immediately after the state of emergency has lifted. Although retrospective provisions are usually not desirable they are needed in this case to protect those who have taken necessary action in this period and immediately following the earthquake. 
We want to remove impediments to the recovery of Canterbury but I am mindful that we need to be cautious in our approach. We do not want to remove suspend or otherwise modify legislation that protects the people of Canterbury and thus create a perverse outcome. For that reason I am taking steps to ensure that the Orders in Council are used only for emergency response to and recovery from the earthquake event. The first measure I am proposing is that each Order in Council developed in response to the recovery needs to meet the tests of complying with the purpose of the bill. It must facilitate the response to the Canterbury earthquake. The Orders in Council in this legislation will be in place only while they are needed and for no longer than the period up to 1 April 2012. Those Orders in Council will be subject to the House’s normal disallowance provisions. 
The bill also establishes the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commission of which the three district mayors of Christchurch Waimakariri and Selwyn will be members. Later this week four other members will be added including an Environment Canterbury commissioner to augment that commission. 
It is important to recognise the enormous capacity of the regions and districts to know what they need in order to recover. This mechanism will mean that they are easily able to connect with their counterparts in Wellington and that the Government has a clear path for offering assistance to them as they go through that recovery. I stress again however that the people of Canterbury and their elected representatives will be leading the recovery with the Government standing firmly behind them to give assistance where it is needed. 
I close by offering my thanks to other Canterbury MPs from all parties who have been very cooperative in getting to this point today. I know that that cooperation will continue as the recovery continues. The resource we have in our local MPs is considerable and we look to give Cantabrians comfort to go about this recovery by enabling those MPs to be prominent in their communities and to give advice on how those communities might progress. I think that providing the mechanism to modify any legislation hindering the recovery of Canterbury and ensuring that scarce resources are not diverted from that recovery is the clearest demonstration of Parliament’s support for the people in my home district. I commend this bill to the House.