2. Earthquakes—Lessons from Canterbury Funding for Related Agencies and Affected Government BuildingsANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterEarthquakes—Lessons from Canterbury Funding for Related Agencies and Affected Government BuildingsMr SPEAKER: My office has been advised that the answers to questions Nos 2 and 4 will be longer than normal as the Prime Minister attempts to give more detail.2. ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Has he spoken to relevant Ministers about the lessons learnt from the Canterbury earthquakes to ensure people affected by the recent earthquakes have an easier and faster recovery?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): I have had several discussions with Ministers about ensuring that affected communities receive the support they need both immediately and over coming months. We can take some lessons from Canterbury but the latest earthquake and aftershocks present some quite different challenges. In particular I refer to the enormous damage to State Highway 1 which has isolated Kaikōura—I saw the damage again first hand this morning; it is clear that repairs will be a huge undertaking—and the affected communities in North Canterbury and Marlborough are more rural and spread out than in Christchurch. As I said in the House yesterday the Government will stand alongside affected communities. That includes providing immediate support and emergency supplies that they need and evacuating people who need to get out. It includes working to restore vital transport and communication links. Finally we will ensure that the Government provides the financial support needed for a successful recovery and rebuild.Andrew Little: Why is Geonet still not funded to be staffed overnight and on weekends?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I simply do not have those details. You would need to put that down I think to the civil defence Minister.Andrew Little: Has he received advice on the number of Earthquake Commission (EQC) claims lodged so far as a result of the recent earthquakes?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Last night the Minister responsible said to me that there had been quite a number of inquiries but not a lot of lodged claims. One thing I would say is that if you look at Christchurch and both the number of claims that were filed and the repairs that were undertaken I think it is not correct to say that EQC did not do a good job. I think there were an enormous number of claims—well over 65000—that were successfully completed to the satisfaction of the homeowners. But it is certainly true that there were some that needed to be done again and we need to learn some lessons from that.Andrew Little: Just in light of that answer then what steps has the Government taken to prevent a repeat of the situation in which Cantabrians are still even today being shunted back and forth between the Earthquake Commission (EQC) and their private insurance company?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: There has been consideration given by EQC and insurers to see whether there is potentially a better way of operating and a better model. One of the insurance companies has been trialling with the blessing of EQC a different way of potentially handling the full claim if you like with recourse back to EQC. That may ultimately be a change in the system over time but the Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission will need to consider the merits of all of those arguments and obviously seek a formal change if that was the way it was to operate.Andrew Little: Can he confirm that the Ministry of Defence headquarters has been evacuated and what impact does this have on the Defence Force's ability to help people following these earthquakes?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: In terms of the latter part of the question I do not think there is any impact that I have been made aware of. I was with the Chief of Defence Force in Kaikōura about an hour or so ago. Yes I am aware that Defence House has suffered some structural damage. Just how long it will be out of action for I do not know. Like any building though of course even when buildings are built to a very high level of code it does not mean that they cannot and do not suffer damage as a result of an earthquake. What it means is that they provide a greater level of safety for those working in the building. It looks if you consider the number of buildings that have suffered major structural damage by the looks of things that the intensity of the earthquake has been particularly strong at one point here in the Wellington CBD. In the end we will have to look at that. As the member may be aware there will be discussions with the council and others tonight about the Statistics New Zealand building and there will be discussions about a number of other Government buildings as well. Andrew Little: What steps is he taking to respond to the evacuation of Statistics House the Ministry of Defence headquarters and now Pipitea House due to the damage from the earthquake that they were supposed to be able to withstand; and just how compromised are Government services given the number of Public Service buildings that seem to have been evacuated?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I am not aware of a major deterioration in the services that can be provided but clearly people have moved out of buildings and we need to do that if they are structurally unsafe; we cannot put people back in buildings that are unsafe. There may be some inconvenience and there may be some reduction in service. As I said earlier it is actually not correct to say that even if a building is built to a strong and a high level of code compliance it cannot and does not suffer damage as a result of an earthquake. They sometimes do. But again people will need to go and have a look at that and get a proper assessment. There is a formal review of all the buildings being taken—or at least a formal assessment of the buildings that is being taken—to make sure that they are safe and people would expect that.Andrew Little: What measures will be put in place to ensure greater oversight of the quality of building repairs to ensure that communities do not suffer or at least do not face the same issues as homeowners have in Christchurch?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I cannot answer that question. The Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission might be able to give the member some insights. There were learnings that came out of the Christchurch earthquakes for sure and they are learnings that EQC has taken on board. The Chairman of EQC Sir Maarten Wevers is well-known both to this Parliament and to New Zealanders I think as someone who is of very high quality as a chairman so he will be making sure that if there are lessons that need to be learnt they will be followed through with.