Labour’s Christchurch policy
Written By:
- Date published:
8:43 am, August 28th, 2017 - 21 comments
Categories: jacinda ardern, labour -
Tags: christchurch, christchurch rebuilding, labour policy
Another successful rally for Jacinda Ardern and Labour in Christchurch yesterday, and yet another policy release:
Labour promises to fast-track Christchurch’s rebuild
Key Points:
Labour’s Christchurch plan
• Fast-track rebuild with a $300m fund for projects in red zone and a contribution to new stadium.
• Establish an arbitration panel that can award compensation to homeowners for distress caused by delays by insurance companies.
• Negotiate a global settlement with Christchurch City Council, and in doing so settle the long-term ownership and funding for the anchor projects.
• Boost mental health support, and give extra $100m for public transport including commuter rail from Rolleston to the CBD.
Looks good.
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern has promised to fast-track Christchurch’s rebuild with a $300 million fund for projects – hitting out at National’s “lack of leadership” on the rebuild.
Not only lack of leadership – incompetent execution:
Christchurch rebuild projects gets worst performance rating in Treasury report
The future isn’t going anywhere, so why did Christchurch rebuild the city of yesterday?
Ardern has also taken aim at insurance companies – pledging to establish an arbitration tribunal with an “inquisitorial focus” that can award compensation for distress caused by undue delays by insurance firms.
Lots of Christchurch folk are going to like that idea!
A crowd upwards of 600 turned out for Ardern’s speech, many wearing “Let’s Do This” branded T-shirts – on sale at the door for $25 a pop – and standing at the back of the hall and in an overflow tent outside after seating ran out.
“I’d like to think that if Labour had been in power that things would have moved a lot more quickly … but now is not the time for blame. Now is the time for setting a plan that will take us forward,” Ardern said of the earthquake rebuild. …
From other coverage:
She said it was up to the city where the money was spent, but the Government would have to sign it off.
Giving locals a say in the decision making process? Lots of Christchurch folk are going to like that idea too, after years of being dictated to by National.
https://twitter.com/andykirton/status/901742983011123200
Look who we ran into at lunch… pic.twitter.com/sUiMRMlhw9
— New Zealand Labour (@nzlabour) August 27, 2017
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- Govt’s emissions plan for measly 1% reduction
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- Greens stand in solidarity with Whakaata Māori on sad day
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- Sanctions regime to create more hardship for families
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- Govt gifts renters housing anxiety for Christmas
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- Release: National Party urged to support modern slavery legislation
Labour is urging the Prime Minister to walk the talk and support legislation combating modern slavery. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour has lost confidence in the Speaker
The Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament made an unprecedented decision on the government amendment to the Fast Track Approvals Bill last night. ...2 weeks ago
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- Release: Nicola Willis’ smaller ferries will cost more
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- Bill to sanction unlawful occupation of Palestine
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- Release: Labour fully supports greyhound racing ban
The Government has done the right thing in moving to ban greyhound racing. ...2 weeks ago
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- Rangatahi voices must be centred in Government’s Relationship and Sexuality Education refresh
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- Govt introduces archaic anti-worker legislation
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- New housing developments able to progress more quickly
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- Ending contracted emergency housing in Rotorua
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- Reducing the environmental impact of synthetic refrigerants
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- Ngāruawāhia section of Waikato Expressway back to 4 lanes for Christmas
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- Government to celebrate Waitangi Day around NZ
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- Funding confirmed for second Ashburton Bridge
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- Inspector-General of Defence appointed
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- Fire and Emergency New Zealand final levy rates confirmed
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- More AML relief on the way for Kiwi businesses
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- Government seeks partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned-land
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- Wide ranging legislation to make justice system more efficient
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- Diverse skills in community trust appointments
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- Torture redress for survivors of the Lake Alice Unit
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- Greater reporting on Treaty settlement commitments
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- Building consent processing times improve
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- Faster access to support through Innovation Fund
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- New Zealand to assist Vanuatu on earthquake response
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- Government takes steps to reduce card fees for Kiwis
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Well its about time someone did something. People have suffered for too long. I’m no fan of Labour but this sounds promising. Well done.
as you say…better late than never.
Ardern is quite right. The National Party is a far worse disaster for Christchurch than the earthquakes.
They’re still trying to understand why the market didn’t step in and fix everything. That, and counting the money.
True on the first part.
The second part was their concern for how much the insurance companies were going to lose. Have to maintain those profits.
Yes Sparky, I’m sure it sounds good to many in Christchurch, but not to the vested interests.
Watch for and listen to the rending pf garments and crying of wolf.
Oh the stories that float around down here about the rebuild and where the money has gone.
There is a big story here but perhaps too hard to crack with confidentiality in settlements abounding?
The people of christchurch who vote Nat should hold their noses and humiliate Gerry and Nicky.
….. “John Goddard helped lead a team that did 500 engineering assessments and mounted 4000 legal challenges over potentially substandard house repairs following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
“There are just not sufficient checks and balances around the level of construction monitoring, who is signing off on [it], and the quality of building work which is being carried out,” he said.
Mr Goddard estimated there were 10,000 shoddy repair jobs all up, and just seven notices issued by the city council to fix them.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/201855841/insight-buildings-safe-and-up-to-scratch
For some reason people thought leaky homes were just about sill Aucklanders rather than a greed problem in the building and insurance industries.
I am hearing some pretty damming stuff about Brownlee, CERA and misused funds. All anecdotal but some close to source
In English’s interview with Espiner on RNZ this morning he seemed to be saying that the Homeless was not the Government’s fault. The Government was flat out repairing Christchurch so couldn’t deal with Homeless at the same time.
Great management of the country?
is worth noting that there are thousands of unrepaired houses in ChCh (or insufficiently repaired) at last count some 14000 plus identified….not to mention the “anchor projects’ that have failed to materialise….so a fail on both counts, housing nationwide and the ChCh rebuild…..but the biggest fail of all is the acceptance of that failure.
Biggest failure is those who see the failures but keep voting for those who keep selling to koolaid to them
John Key said after the Feb 2011 quake there would be “winners and losers” …..that has been Nationals mantra since being elected in 2008 and still is….great (for a time) if your a “winner”….but as we have seen over the past several years it ruins even their quality of life eventually……let us hope enough have identified their drinking problem.
Add to Christchurch the increasing number of suicides over the last 9 years and see a connection between poverty, homelessness (or sleeping rough as Bill likes to call it) and inequity.
Then add the massive increase in diagnosed mental health conditions and the immeasurable sense of hopelessness a great number of our population feel.
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that building more roads and tax payer funded stadiums – is shameful and missing the point…
I believe the words ‘Royal Commission’ were uttered. It’s not quite the Spanish Inquisition, but there are a lot of guilty tory assholes in Christchurch whose ears will have pricked up at that.
Great Policy!
… And It would also restore full democracy to Environment Canterbury.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/314269/protesters-go-for-bust-over-canterbury-election
Democracy? Pah! What has that ever done for National and the Building/Agriculture industries
Pah! Exactly, as above, (and below)
In yesterdays announcements in ChCh. I understand Labour pledged to restore full democracy to “Environment Canterbury”.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/338113/labour-pledges-300m-christchurch-rebuild-fund
I’m assuming that is ECAN. In which case it is long overdue.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/268974/opposition-challenges-govt's-ecan-plans
Yet I’ve been unable to find any further info to substantiate this! Not even on Labour’s Web site….
BUT will they undo Adams and ECAN’s damage?
Those first three points are so excellent from the amount of sheer suffering a number people with unresolved claims have gone through.
The fourth point is deeply humane.
Made me wonder for a dark moment what Christchurch and its people would look and feel like if Labour had been in charge of the rebuild.
Great to see democracy alive and well again with big crowds turning out to see this Ardern phenom.
+ 1 + I like that i agree with your comment.
Such great policy coming out, and good leadership from JA. Very impressive and will be winning over all those gnat nay sayers – 4 weeks to go and momentum is still building for Labour – well done that team.
I see that an Herald online poll of 1000 shows overwhelming support for a water tax. Even Canterbury has about 65% approval rating.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11912604