Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 results.

Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission (EQC) Gerry Brownlee says the fourth anniversary of the first Canterbury Earthquake has coincided with the reaching of two significant milestones by the organisation.

“First, the Canterbury Home Repair Programme (CHRP) has reached $2 billion in net payments to contractors since the repair of earthquake damage began in the city in October 2010.

“Second, the programme has just completed its 60,000th full-scope repair, leaving just under 10,000 repairs to go.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Earthquake Commission

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says every time Labour leader David Cunliffe opens his mouth about Christchurch he reveals how patchy his knowledge is of what’s going on in the city.

“Today’s commitment to drive outstanding insurance claims into the courts is extremely poorly considered,” Mr Brownlee says.

“Only a small fraction of outstanding claims are in dispute, and there are a range of appropriate channels to deal with complex or disputed insurance claims.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Earthquake Commission
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission Gerry Brownlee has congratulated EQC Health and Wellbeing Manager Alison Murphy on being awarded the NZ Institute of Safety Management (NZISM) Health and Safety Practitioner of the Year at The New Zealand Workplace Health & Safety Awards 2014.

“I took great pleasure in phoning Alison yesterday evening to add my congratulations for the well-deserved recognition of her peers,” Mr Brownlee says.

The Workplace Health & Safety Awards are open to all organisations in New Zealand.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Earthquake Commission

Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission Gerry Brownlee says EQC is exploring making a financial contribution to Christchurch City Council-led area-wide flood mitigation as part of its role settling residential land damage claims.

“This is being explored as a possible option for settlement of some Canterbury land claims on properties identified as at an increased vulnerability to flooding, including some properties in the Flockton area,” Mr Brownlee says.  

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Earthquake Commission

Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission Gerry Brownlee says contractors working with EQC have now repaired around two-thirds of the damaged homes EQC is responsible for in greater Christchurch, having this week passed the 50,000 repairs mark.

“To date EQC’s project managed repair programme has completed 50,174 earthquake repairs below the $100,000 per-event cap, so the end of the scheme is very much in sight,” Mr Brownlee says.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery
  • Earthquake Commission

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister and Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission Gerry Brownlee says Labour’s policy of establishing a state-owned insurer is no different than its other half-formed ideas – it’s emotive, shows a hopeless grasp of economic realities, and raises questions Labour won’t be able to credibly answer.

“Labour might hate private insurance companies, but the reality is they’re paying for $20 billion of the Canterbury rebuild - twice New Zealand’s annual corporate tax take,” Mr Brownlee says.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery
  • Earthquake Commission

Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission Gerry Brownlee has today approved a restricted return to business for the EQC after confirmation that all necessary steps are being taken to protect customer privacy.

This comes after EQC staff worked over the Easter weekend with a team from the office of the Government Chief Information Officer, Colin MacDonald.

Mr Brownlee says he has given the go ahead for EQC’s claims settlement system and functions that allow the Commission to pay contractors in the Canterbury Home Repair Programme to resume.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Earthquake Commission

Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission Gerry Brownlee has expressed his deep distress and concern at revelations in Parliament today about a further privacy breach of EQC’s system.

“We have been able to establish that a spreadsheet containing about 2200 names and information relating to stopped cheques, worth about $23 million, was inappropriately emailed to a member of the public.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Earthquake Commission

Finance Minister Bill English and the Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission Gerry Brownlee today announced a legislative review of the Earthquake Commission Act 1993.

The Treasury-led review, which the Government foreshadowed last year, will draw from lessons learned about the operation of the legislation in response to the Canterbury earthquakes and other events over the past 20 years.

The review will focus on:

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Bill English
  • Earthquake Commission
  • Finance