Credit where it’s due

18 comments on “Credit where it’s due ”

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1. ianmac 1

   21 March 2011 at 9:49 am

   One of the news clips I think on Al Jazeera showed the Japanese already building temporary housing 8 days after the tsunami.
   Surely it would be easy to arrange for a sort of lease of private land in order to build temporary housing, as long as it really was temporary of course.
   • Colonial Viper 1.1

     21 March 2011 at 10:00 am

     Lease of private land? Perhaps, but I thought we had a state of emergency. Any land the Govt requires temporarily it should take control of, and pay back compensation to owners. We are talking about looking after thousands of families here.
     • Bright Red 1.1.1

       21 March 2011 at 10:16 am

       yeah, but you’re talking about the national government.
     • felix 1.1.2

       21 March 2011 at 10:22 am

       Don’t be ridiculous CV, the SoE is for keeping the masses in line, not for interfering with the sacred property rights of wealthy South Island land owners.
       • pollywog 1.1.2.1

         21 March 2011 at 10:35 am

         Heres where Ngai Tahu should offer up Wigram airbase for koha. Make good PR for the Horitocracy and shut a few redneck gobshites traps.
         • Bored 1.1.2.1.1

           21 March 2011 at 11:57 am

           Jeez Polly,

           Great name Horitocracy! Love it.
   • Lanthanide 1.2

     21 March 2011 at 10:20 am

     I suggest that the Japanese situation is quite a bit different from ours. Huge swathes of their coastline is completely and utterly destroyed, whereas in CHCH most (>95%) houses are still standing and at least liveable for the time being, so there is less pressure here. Japan has people living in tents that are warmer when they freeze overnight than when they don’t, so any hastily built shack is going to be an improvement even if it doesn’t have power/water. Japan is also a lot more competent at organising fast social responses to things like this.
     • felix 1.2.1

       21 March 2011 at 10:25 am

       “Japan is also a lot more competent at organising fast social responses to things like this.”

       Do you mean something inherent in their genetics makes them better at it?

       I suggest its simply that their govt doesn’t have its head up its arse.
       • Lanthanide 1.2.1.1

         21 March 2011 at 11:32 am

         No, their cultural society is a lot more suited to dealing with disasters. They get on and help each other and don’t complain in the face of adversity as much.
         • Zaphod Beeblebrox 1.2.1.1.1

           21 March 2011 at 12:16 pm

           “No, their cultural society is a lot more suited to dealing with disasters. They get on and help each other and don’t complain in the face of adversity as much.”

           Actually that describes NZers pretty well as well as far as I can see.

           The problem is our TEA party government who are intent on destroying our civil institutions. Lets put the blame where it lays.
           • seeker 1.2.1.1.1.1

             21 March 2011 at 10:42 pm

             So well said ZB !!
2. aj 2

   21 March 2011 at 10:36 am

   Did I hear on the news, they are charging a rent on temporary housing?
   • Lanthanide 2.1

     21 March 2011 at 11:34 am

     I think that’s always been the plan. It is expected that your insurance will go to cover the rent, and I’d expect they’d also lob an amount of money towards people who need it (probably not really enough to fully cover everyone though).
3. Drakula 3

   21 March 2011 at 8:38 pm

   Ah yes you are always going to find preditors who are rubbing their hands over the wonderfull opportunity disasters are going to offer.

   The loan sharks are already offering loans to those who have lost their homes or who need to replace usefull belongings like cameras, computers etc. I would be interesting to see how much interest they charge.

   Harcourts have made a switch to the rental industry itching to handle the short accommodation situation. Will they take the usual cut?

   Some landlords are hiking the rents on the back of this as was mentioned on one of the other threads, so building temporary will go some way to address this but not all.

   The state of emergency (that could have been acted upon without pushing CERRA) could enforce a price freeze, rent freeze and a freeze on skilled tradesmen emigrating the country.

   But that is too late now the horse has already bolted!!!!!!
4. Swampy 4

   21 March 2011 at 9:09 pm

   People were still in FEMA trailers by choice, not because the rebuilding was too slow.
   • prism 4.1

     22 March 2011 at 11:47 am

     I have thought about the practicality of people such as those affected by Hurricane Katrina and the regular others that result in the area being called hurricane alley. They recognise that constantly rebuilding only dwindles their scarce resources even further. I can understand why trailer parks seem to be used for permanent homes. The possibility that all can be lost forces a simpler gypsy sort of life.

     In Christchurch the same could apply in the eastern suburbs. Housing uses in some cases, 50% of our weekly income, and with long-term commitments. A cheaper option of buying one’s own trailer or renting would probably leave money left at the end of the week instead of vice versa.
5. Tel 5

   22 March 2011 at 11:19 am

   I suppose credit might be due, but given that this is the best Key can dither out (2500 maybe 5000 houses, built to NZ standard) is nothing short of a disgrace and borderline practical joke, considering this is the best he can come up with after a whole month. This is yet another classic case of sitting on their collective arses picking the 8 hour lunch out of the teeth that is a hallmark of this government.

   I’m curious as to why a website was not set up by government (easily done via the Civil Defence webpage) asking engineers, designers and architects to submit design proposals for modular homes, on the day of the earthquake. I for one would have volunteered my time to the cause, without hesitation, or any desire to get any financial compensation for a design they might choose to go with. Pooling ideas in this way would have been advantageous to large construction companies in many ways, not least of which is a business opportunity creating modular shelters for offshore markets for emergency relief housing. God forbid a manufacturer lead recovery takes place. Meanwhile back on planet real life….

   As usual with NACT we’re being dished up “temporary housing” as a solution that could so easily have been a village of homes that people, not only admired, but desired to live in. Properly conceived small homes and/or shelters could easily be designed to exceed our national code requirements by double today’s standards and in this way make them not only future proof but marketable to the general population as a new home. I’ve not seen an image of the temporary housing I heard described on the radio yesterday, so overwhelmed by the sound of skinflint Key grinding his teeth as he talked of spending money to stop people from freezing to death. I’m sure the homes will be warm (enough?) and welcomed by the people of Christchurch, where are they going to end up after they’ve completed the purpose of temporary shelter? I fear the Christchurch disaster, will live on the form of a visual blight of soulless shitboxes that a wallet moth would not live in being railed/trucked to the outer poorer regions of our towns and cities to live on as a semi-permanent monument to yet another John Key lead National Party failure.

   Future slum lords form an orderly queue please.

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1. The Standard: posted on 20 March 2011 at 8:27 pm

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