Carter John: General Debate 
Carter John: General Debate 
[Volume:666;Page:13987] 
Hon JOHN CARTER (Minister of Civil Defence) 
: 
 Eleven days ago this country and particularly the people of Canterbury experienced a disaster of a worldwide proportion. I take the opportunity to comment on the fact that we have come through the stage of shock and trauma that the people have suffered and are now moving into the recovery stage. That is not to say that there are not people in the Canterbury area who are still traumatised and will continue to be so for some time if not for some months yet to come. I must say I have not been sleeping down there in Canterbury. I have been down there quite regularly and I feel quite tired so I can imagine how many of the people down in Canterbury must be feeling as a consequence of sleepless nights caused by the aftershocks. 
The people their safety and all those things are very important. We passed the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act through this Parliament yesterday and I thank members of the House for their support in that regard. I know that some—and all of us I guess—have questions about how the legislation will operate but we certainly intend to make sure it works for the people of Canterbury without inhibiting or causing problems for the rest of New Zealand. 
However we need to acknowledge the fact that many issues still need to be addressed as we move forward. We have heard a significant number of comments about housing and buildings down in Canterbury and those are important but we should not overlook the fact that there are also things like the stopbanks on the Waimakariri River which are a threat to Kaiapoi that need to be addressed. Something strange that we do not know about yet has happened to the aquifer there too because whereas hitherto water had to be pumped from bores on farms water is now flowing from them. There are all sorts of issues associated with the foundations of buildings and stability that we will have to find out about as we go forward. We have geotechnical engineers down in Canterbury doing that work now. There is still a lot to be found out and we are addressing the issues as rapidly as we can but it will take some time. I know that it is difficult but people will have to exercise patience. 
I rise basically to pass on my thanks to all those people who have been involved in the events that occurred and the recovery. I particularly acknowledge the civil defence personnel and all the people associated with them as well as the Fire Service the police the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the Ministry of Tourism—I could go on. A huge number of people have been involved in organisations and departments down in Canterbury and all of them have been stoic. Many of those people have had their own personal problems at home yet they have left those problems behind as they have gone to work to deal with other people’s problems. That has been a real challenge for many of the people who have been at work. They have worked long long hours and put in days and days then gone home to deal with their own personal issues in their homes and families. They all need to be commended and New Zealanders acknowledge that and say thank you for the way in which the people of Canterbury have responded. I know that the people of Canterbury would want me to thank the rest of New Zealand for the way it in turn has responded to their needs in terms of giving help to them. 
It certainly has been an amazing exercise one which we wish no one would ever have to go through but we can be proud of the fact that we have a structure that has responded proud that the people of Canterbury have responded in the way they have and proud of the way New Zealand has responded to this event. Judging by the comments of people from around the world we certainly are a standout in the way we have responded to date to the emergency that occurred to the events that have unfolded and to the sheer size of the event. 
In concluding I say that although it is true that we have a long way to go this Parliament has given us the opportunity through the new legislation to allow the recovery to happen. We will be there alongside the people of Canterbury to give them all the assistance they need to ensure their recovery is made as rapidly as possible.