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Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says Coca-Cola Amatil New Zealand’s announcement today that it will build a $15 million state-of-the-art bottling plant in Christchurch makes an important statement about the city’s future.

"The clear message from Coca-Cola is it believes Christchurch will maintain its role as the South Island’s economic powerhouse.

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the establishment of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) will provide leadership and coordination of the recovery effort following the February 22 earthquake.

“Numerous factors were considered in determining the best way to provide leadership and certainty for the rebuilding and recovery effort,” Mr Brownlee said.

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee today confirmed that New Zealand Customs chief executive Martyn Dunne will not be involved in the new government department that will manage the rebuilding and recovery of Canterbury following the February 22 earthquake.

Mr Brownlee said media speculation about Mr Dunne’s role had been premature; Mr Dunne had not been appointed interim chief executive of the department, though he had been doing some work for the State Services Commission to help with its establishment.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has welcomed the progress Waimakariri District Council has made in developing a programme of work to fix the damage caused by the 4 September earthquake.

"Kaiapoi wasn't badly affected by the 22 February earthquake so it's great they are getting on with fixing the damaged land and homes," Mr Brownlee said.

"This government is committed to rebuilding Christchurch and Canterbury as quickly as possible."

The government has committed $6.85 million to a carefully targeted economic recovery package to help Canterbury businesses severely affected by the two major earthquakes get back on their feet.

The package includes money for business recovery coordinators, international visits for exporters to key clients, a trust fund for those in need following the quakes, and more money for workshops and business training.

The Earthquake Commission's new assessment process will give Christchurch homeowners more certainty about the status of their homes, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says.

The EQC announced today it will begin a new rapid assessment process of all Christchurch houses over the next eight weeks to prioritise needs and urgent repairs.

"The rapid assessments will give homeowners some certainty about their homes in a quicker timeframe," Mr Brownlee says.

The preliminary figure of around 10,000 houses in Canterbury needing to be rebuilt was provided by the Earthquake Commission’s geotechnical engineers in the first few days after the earthquake on 22 February, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said today.

"This was an early indication of the number of rebuilds likely due to damage caused by the earthquake," Mr Brownlee said.

The government has, in consultation with opposition parties, approved nine orders in council to cut red-tape and help speed up the recovery process after the Christchurch earthquake, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee announced today.

"This process of removing legislative barriers has proved effective since the initial quake in September," Mr Brownlee said.

Four of the approved orders in council are reinstatements of orders that had expired since the first Canterbury earthquake on 4 September 2010.

The government has today announced a package of initiatives to assist Cantabrians who have been displaced from their homes due to severe earthquake damage.

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the package includes the establishment of a temporary accommodation service and financial assistance for displaced homeowners to help cover temporary accommodation costs.

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has welcomed today's news the Earthquake Commission is now more than halfway through assessments of claims lodged after the Canterbury earthquake.

The Earthquake Commission has received more than 169,000 claims from the Canterbury earthquake on 4 September (7.1 magnitude), and the three major aftershocks on 19 October (5.0 magnitude), 14 November (4.9 magnitude) and 26 December (4.9 magnitude).

Good progress is being made on the recovery process for Canterbury following the destructive 7.1 magnitude earthquake on 4 September, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says.

"We're coming up to four months on from one of the most expensive insurance events ever worldwide. We are already getting international recognition for the speed with which the recovery process got underway," Mr Brownlee says.

"I'd like to acknowledge the ongoing patience and community spirit displayed by Cantabrians during what is a stressful time," he says.

Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has welcomed today's release of the Earthquake Commission's Stage 2 geotechnical report into land damage caused by the Canterbury earthquake.

"This report gives Canterbury homeowners more information and certainty around the repair process," Mr Brownlee says.

"For the majority of property owners, the recovery process is relatively straightforward and the repair process can start now."

Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee today announced a package of new measures to assist Canterbury business in the wake of the September 4 earthquake.

Over half a million dollars has been set aside to provide support.

“The best way for the city to recover is to restore the pre-quake flows of traffic – getting the street barriers down, is the best way to get commerce back on its feet,” Mr Brownlee said.

“Numerous businesses have relocated and changed their business model to sustain their business.

Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee today visited the first of Fletcher Construction's regional project management hubs in Halswell, Christchurch, marking the beginning of work to repair ho

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has welcomed today's release of the Earthquake Commission's Stage 1 geotechnical report into land damage caused by the Canterbury earthquake.

Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has congratulated Fletcher Construction on its appointment by the Earthquake Commission to run its Canterbury earthquake project management office.

Canterbury business owners and managers will have access to fully-funded training to help them recover from the effects of the recent earthquake, Minister for Economic Development Gerry Brownlee an

Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the peer-reviewed geotechnical report delivered by consultant engineers to the Earthquake Commission contains good news for the vast majority of Can

Good progress is being made in the implementation of a programme to allow Cantabrians whose chimneys have been significantly damaged by the recent earthquake to replace their old log burners or ope

Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has today announced an agreement on how Earthquake Commission claims over $100,000 for homes which are subject to bank mortgages will be handled.

Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has endorsed the EQC approach to managing the repair of the 50,000 earthquake-damaged properties in Canterbury with damage assessed between approximately

Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has today announced the final member of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commission.

Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has today announced members of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commission.

Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the fast track process put in place to deal with minor house damage and lost contents has helped over 1,700 quake victims already.