Wilkinson Kate: General Debate 
Wilkinson Kate: General Debate 
[Volume:670;Page:17267] 
Hon KATE WILKINSON (Minister of Conservation) 
: 
 Firstly I add my voice to the voices of others in the House who have acknowledged the tragedy that has struck Japan—that they have potentially lost more then 10000 people in this disaster is absolutely horrific. It has been incredibly difficult to come to terms with the number of lives we have lost in Canterbury but we simply cannot comprehend the pain we would feel had we lost anywhere near the number of people that Japan has lost. Our thoughts and prayers are certainly with them as they go through a rebuilding stage as well. 
Whilst the eyes of the world are quite rightly focused on the volatile situation in Japan we continue to forge ahead with the recovery and rebuilding of Christchurch. I congratulate—with some disappointment I have to say—Auckland on getting the Canterbury Rugby World Cup 2011 games. It has just been announced. This will be a disappointment and an emotional blow for rugby-mad Cantabrians—and I am one of them—but at least now we can move on and look at the big and bigger picture of rebuilding Christchurch and Canterbury. 
No one is disputing that rebuilding Christchurch and indeed Canterbury will be a long road and a difficult task. It will be many months before the central business district will be safe and secure enough for construction to begin. At this point we simply do not know how long it will take to return the city to the buzzing vibrant metropolis that it was prior to the September and February quakes. I had an interesting walk— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am not sure whether one is meant to do this immediately or at the end of a speech so I thought I had better do it immediately in case I missed the chance. If the Minister was speaking from an official document when she spoke in respect of the Rugby World Cup I require that document to be tabled. If it is just her speech notes then of course I cannot. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: As I recollect the Standing Orders if the Minister is quoting from a document that is just referring to an issue there is no requirement at all. I will refer to the Minister to make sure that I am not getting this wrong. Was the Minister quoting from an official document? 
Hon KATE WILKINSON 
: No I am referring to a  
3 News 
 breaking announcement. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is in order. That sorts the matter out. 
Hon KATE WILKINSON 
: As I was saying I had an interesting walk around the central business district on Sunday with the urban search and rescue engineer. Although the devastation is horrific there are some positives. It is interesting to see how the earthquake has affected ordinary lives. There are daily tasks that Cantabrians can no longer do. There are basic tasks that they cannot do but there are also other simple tasks and they are asking where the dentist is where the hairdresser is and where the shop where they used to do their shopping is. Those simple things will take a long time to heal. 
But there are some positives and I want to dwell a wee bit on the positives. Without doubt there were some buildings that as the engineer probably professionally said “misbehaved” but some others actually withstood the shakes and held up. I think we have to take some strength from the fact that some of those buildings had been earthquake-strengthened and it was pleasing to see that the strengthening did work. Some buildings look OK but they are not. Some buildings look bad but they are OK. What is also interesting is the random nature of the damage. It is I think very difficult to comprehend. What we do know is that there is not a single person in this country who is not behind the people of Canterbury and as a Cantabrian I thank the nation for that. People know that a thriving and successful Canterbury is crucial to New Zealand’s future. Cantabrians know it and they are determined to reclaim their lives and their city. 
Each day there is a constant reminder of how amazing our communities in New Zealand are how strong they are how resilient they are and how generous they are. There are simply not enough superlatives to describe how highly I regard the volunteers who worked tirelessly for days and weeks on end. Despite the overwhelming chaos they were faced with they just got on with it one step at a time and they have been truly remarkable. 
The Government has a mammoth task ahead of it to provide all the possible support it can to the Canterbury region. I believe that Friday’s memorial is an important event for the region. Huge numbers of people have not stopped even once to reflect on what has happened. They have not been able to not when they can see how much is still to be done. This is true not only for the general public but also for our policemen firefighters doctors nurses civil defence staff and many others. 
The focus of this year must be on planning the way forward for Christchurch and for Canterbury but Friday is about taking a step back and stopping to recognise the huge emotional impact the earthquake has had on all of us. It will be tough but I strongly believe it will help. I also commend the cooperation between the schools; their effort is superb.