Goodhew Jo: General Debate 
Goodhew Jo: General Debate 
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JO GOODHEW (National—Rangitata) 
: 
 I first want to pay tribute to Amy Adams the MP for Selwyn who did a really difficult thing this afternoon. She brought a very human face to this House and a human face to the Canterbury earthquake and to the life that people in Canterbury are living now. I also pay tribute to all of the other MPs from all sides of the House who are spending a lot of time both trying to recover their own lives but also helping their constituents. I know that in some cases National MPs’ offices have been badly damaged and I understand that this has happened to a number of Labour members as well. I know they are working in difficult circumstances and that in doing so they are entirely in the same place as so many of their constituents. 
My electorate of Rangitata was a little removed from the earthquake but nevertheless we are still feeling it. We are still being woken each night as the tremors the aftershocks continue to come through. When my husband and I woke on the night of the earthquake my first instinct was just as Amy’s. It was to run to get my daughter from her bedroom—she was home on mid-semester break—only to pause shakily in the hallway when I remembered that she was not there; she was in Christchurch. I thought that we were at the epicentre of the earthquake; it was so harsh. It was only a quarter of an hour later that I discovered my daughter was very close to the epicentre and then my worry truly began. 
In my short speech this afternoon I will talk a little bit about what is happening in my electorate and a little bit about what I hope will be happening in the weeks and months ahead. There have already been 180 claims to the Earthquake Commission from mid-Canterbury and 215 claims from South Canterbury. They are largely though not all of a minor nature. Some of the buildings in mid-Canterbury have been damaged and will need major renovations. I suspect some buildings will have to be pulled down so we have not escaped completely. Very few of our residents have been evacuated from their homes but I can tell members that I have yet to find anyone in mid-Canterbury and South Canterbury who does not have relatives or close friends living the nightmare—certainly not the dream—further north in Canterbury. 
To add insult to injury we then had power outages on Sunday night and gale-force winds that damaged buildings and plantations etc. so it has been a rocky time all around. Some of my constituents’ businesses have been affected. The St Ita’s Guesthouse in Rakaia is a very old building and I was told that the very shape of the building has changed. The same applies to the South Rakaia Hotel. One of the iconic structures in Methven the Canterbury Draught hotel—the Brown Pub as it is known to the locals—has also been damaged and part of the business is unable to be used. 
This Government—in fact not just the Government—and civil defence emergency services and all of the MPs in this House have gathered together and rallied around to find ways to help people. One of the businesses in Methven was damaged but very quickly the local builders got together and planned a way to get the business back into operation. But it does not change the fact that this business will be out of action for 3 weeks. At least one of its full-time employees is relying on their income from the business so the very quick response from the Government has certainly been welcomed. Although people feel very fortunate the Government has to pick up on the need for assistance. People are repeatedly saying that their neighbours are so much worse off but nevertheless some of them do need assistance to buy groceries to pay rent etc. 
Although the Hon Peter Dunne said that tax matters may not be at the top of one’s mind right now it is entirely necessary as has been the case for the Government to step in to look at all of the pressures on individuals on families and on businesses and to look for ways to allay those pressures in order to help people through this very very difficult time which has been so very well described by our colleague Amy Adams. It is this very comprehensive package that is making the difference. Regrettably concerted effort will be needed for months and months to come as people recover from this very severe earthquake.