Korako Nuk: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKorako Nuk: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 16 February 2016. Volume:711;Page:8979. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]7.NUK KORAKO (National) to the Minister for Building and Housing: What reports has he received on the issues of rock falls liquefaction and building performance arising from Sunday’s earthquake in Christchurch and what implications do these have for the ongoing rebuild work for the city?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for Building and Housing): I am advised that Sunday’s earthquake caused five major rockfalls totalling several thousand tonnes of rock. It was luckyactually that no one was seriously injured or killed. These were in areas that were red-zoned as vulnerable by the geotechnical assessments made by my ministry of both the Port Hills and Sumner areas. The areas of liquefaction were consistent with the ministry’s technical advice on the areas that were red-zoned. There has been significant innovation and foundation design on technical category 3 land and we are using Sunday’s quake to review how these designs performed to ensure that we have got those design standards right. Preliminary assessments at six sites where liquefaction occurred show that these new foundation systems are working well. There were some previously damaged buildings that sustained greater damage as a result of Sunday’s quake and one cordon has been extended. The processes for managing these have been updated and are much improved on 2010.Nuk Korako: How has the Government translated into building safety the heightened risk in Christchurch of ongoing earthquakes from the original 2010 event and is he satisfied that the building code adequately manages this risk?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: There is a heightened risk of quakes following a major event like the 2010 quake and that results in a higher probability of quakes for several decades. The Government responded to this in 2011 by increasing the seismic hazard risk factor in Christchurch by 36 percent i.e. from 0.22 to 0.30. The practical effect of this change is that newly constructed buildings since 2011 have had to be designed to cope with a significantly stronger earthquake. Initial assessments from the ministry are that new buildings performed well in Sunday’s quake albeit that it was significantly smaller than the maximum that new buildings are designed for. Seismic events are unpredictable but the Government is using the very best seismic and engineering advice to ensure the rebuild is as safe as is practically possible.Nuk Korako: What reports has he received on rockfalls including the Redcliffs School site and what conclusions does he draw from these reports?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Redcliffs School is an area of near-identical geology and risk profile to those that experienced substantive rockfalls on Sunday. Site inspections yesterday by geotechnical engineers—[Interruption] I would have thought members opposite might be concerned about these safety issues. Site inspections yesterday by geotechnical engineers showed additional damage from Sunday’s quake on the Redcliffs site with new cracks in the upper third of the rock face and a number of individual boulders dislodged from the face. This school site has previously had five substantive rockfalls from the size of 100 tonnes and one of nearly 50000 tonnes. Sunday’s events reinforced the correctness of the Minister’s interim decision to follow professional geotechnical advice and to not reopen the school. I note Ruth Dyson and the Leader of the Opposition—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! The question has been answered. There is no need for the last part of it.