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Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Gerry Brownlee says the decision by the Anglican Church to progress investigations into reinstating the ChristChurch Cathedral will be greatly appreciated by the wider community.

The Church Property Trust, which owns the Anglican Cathedral in Cathedral Square, has received an independent report from a Government-appointed consultant, who has reviewed the engineering options for the iconic city building.

Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Gerry Brownlee says formalising the East and North Frame development agreement between the Crown and Fletcher Residential enables the large residential build to get underway in central Christchurch.

The agreement means Fletcher Residential’s work programme will begin by October next year with the first area of new homes being built on the corner of Latimer Square and Hereford Street, comprising an area of almost 3000 sq metres.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the opening of the Margaret Mahy Family Playground today provides a central location for a summer of family fun in Canterbury.

“The playground has been under construction since April and is now ready for children of all ages,” Mr Brownlee says.

“There are plenty of activities for children and space for their parents to enjoy.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has today announced the appointment of a high quality design team to work with the Government and Christchurch City Council on developing the city’s new Metro Sports Facility.

“Warren and Mahoney, along with Peddle Thorp Architects and MJMA (MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects), have been chosen to provide architectural design services for this facility, which is going to be a great community asset for Christchurch for generations,” Mr Brownlee says.

Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee will host the Australian Defence Minister, Senator Marise Payne in Christchurch today.

The Ministers will discuss a range of regional and international security issues, including international efforts to counter Da’esh and deployments such as the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai, and Operation Resolute Support in Afghanistan.  The respective New Zealand and Australian Defence White Papers will also be a topic of conversation.

“I welcome Senator Payne to New Zealand,” Mr Brownlee says.

Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee says there is much to celebrate in the Government’s busy and productive legislative year, which ended with Parliament’s adjournment this afternoon.

“The House sat for 88 days this year, compared to 70 days in 2014,” Mr Brownlee says.

“We saw 120 bills pass their third reading and become law this year.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee is pleased that good governance arrangements have been recognised as a key component to Christchurch’s Bus Interchange being successfully completed on time and on budget.

The Performance Audit into the Governance and Accountability Arrangements for the Bus Interchange Project was carried out by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), and its report was released yesterday.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says it’s a credit to all involved that the costs of Christchurch’s horizontal infrastructure repair and replacement programme will come in under the maximum budget allocated, saving taxpayers and ratepayers money.

Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee today announced that Cabinet has approved the purchase of new rifles to re-equip the Defence Force, 28 years after the Steyr 5.56mm rifle was introduced. 

The new rifle is manufactured by Lewis Machine and Tools (LMT) in the United States.

“The LMT is a combat-proven rifle that has seen service in the most arduous conditions,” Mr Brownlee says.

“It gives our personnel a weapon they can rely on in any situation,” Mr Brownlee says.

The first significant step for Christchurch’s joint organisation Regenerate Christchurch has been marked today with the announcement of its chairperson, Andre Lovatt, who is the Chief Executive of the Arts Centre of Christchurch.

The appointment has been jointly agreed by Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel.

“We know from his tremendous work in Christchurch that Mr Lovatt will bring positive energy and drive to his role in Regenerate Christchurch,” Mr Brownlee says.

Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee has paid tribute to the courage and high standards of service exhibited by New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel who have been recognised in the Special Honours List released by Government House today, and also those who have received honours announced by the Chief of Defence Force.

“A range of honours have been conferred today, for gallantry and other outstanding service in two of the NZDF’s most demanding deployments of recent times, Afghanistan and South Sudan.

Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission (EQC) Gerry Brownlee has welcomed the Auditor General’s report released today highlighting the progress being made with the Canterbury Home Repair Programme (CHRP), and the continued benefits it is delivering.

Today’s report is a follow-up to a 2013 report by Auditor General Lyn Provost that recommended that EQC make improvements in five areas of the Canterbury Home Repair Programme.

Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee says off-shore patrol vessel HMNZS Otago will leave Dunedin for the Southern Ocean on Thursday, to monitor fishing activity.

“This patrol is in support of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which has oversight of Southern Ocean fisheries.

“Our goal is to ensure the fishery is well managed and sustainable.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the first of the new central Christchurch buildings to house Government agencies is expected to be fully fitted out this week, in anticipation of workers moving in early next year.

“The first stage of the BNZ Centre, between Cashel and Hereford Streets, will initially accommodate about 380 workers from nine different Government agencies or Crown entities across three floors of the building,” Mr Brownlee says.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has today released the Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan, which allows for the port to be rebuilt and repaired in a timely and appropriate manner.

“In June last year I directed that a Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan be prepared by Environment Canterbury and the Lyttelton Port Company,” Mr Brownlee says.

“The draft recovery plan was released for public feedback in August, following on from two previous rounds of comment including public hearings.

Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee has this afternoon welcomed home the first rotation of 105 New Zealand soldiers from a six-month deployment to Iraq, where they helped train more than 2000 Iraqi Security Forces’ personnel.

“These New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) troops and those still in Iraq have much to be proud of,” Mr Brownlee says.

“They’ve gone into a dangerous environment and professionally established a training operation which is upskilling large numbers of Iraqi troops to better equip themselves to fight Daesh (ISIL).

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has welcomed today’s start of construction of the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial.

“Today I joined the Prime Minister in a ground breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on the Memorial, alongside Mayor Lianne Dalziel and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Tā Mark Solomon,” Mr Brownlee says.

Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.

I would like to acknowledge my Parliamentary colleague the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Hon Paul Goldsmith; Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) President Chris Black; Council members and the other speakers today.

Over the past five years New Zealanders have seen the massive value of having insurance against natural disaster damage.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says plans released today for the South Frame public spaces give a more visual idea of how the central city will link up using a new green-way connection.

“The South Frame is the part of the city blueprint which joins the Health Precinct to the Innovation Precinct,” Mr Brownlee says.

“It will feature an urban neighbourhood with a leafy campus-style design.”

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has announced Ross Butler as the establishment chair for a new Crown company that will take over development functions from the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority.

Mr Butler’s appointment to the role of the as-yet unnamed company follows the introduction of the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill to Parliament last week, and the release of the Transition Recovery Plan laying out future arrangements for the city.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has today formally opened Christchurch’s new $53 million Bus Interchange, with the unveiling of a plaque to mark the occasion.

“As the first Government-led anchor project to be completed in the central city, the official opening of this facility takes us another step towards the modern, easy to navigate city that has been envisaged,” Mr Brownlee says.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has today released the finalised plan that sets out the path to the regeneration of Christchurch.

The Transition Recovery Plan details arrangements to be put in place when the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) ends in April next year, including the move to local leadership, ongoing co-operation between central and local government, where functions carried out by CERA will go, a new monitoring regime, and new legislation to ensure momentum is maintained.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says interest is now being sought through the Government Electronic Tender Service (GETS) website from contractors wanting to be involved in planning the build of Christchurch’s Metro Sports Facility.

“This Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) role is an opportunity for contractors with suitable experience to work with the Government and Christchurch City Council to plan the design and build of what will be a multi-generational asset for the city,” Mr Brownlee says.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says today marks a significant step in the regeneration of greater Christchurch, with the introduction of legislation to replace the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011.

“The new Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill will enable the Government to work in unique collaboration with local leadership organisations to ensure regeneration of the region beyond emergency response and recovery, with a clear future focus,” Mr Brownlee says.

“It will receive its first reading on Thursday.