Displaying 1 - 24 of 223 results.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has today announced a programme of change to how the government delivers its support for recovery in Christchurch and the surrounding area.

“Greater Christchurch’s recovery from the earthquakes remains a top priority for the Government,” Mr Brownlee says.

“But as the recovery evolves, so too will the role of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA), and we need to plan for transition and longer term governance.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the rebuild programme for Christchurch’s damaged horizontal infrastructure has reached the halfway point.

“The repair and rebuild of the city’s roads, bridges and underground services is essential in the city getting back on its feet, and people having confidence in the services to their homes and businesses,” Mr Brownlee says.

“To be halfway through is great news for everyone, not least for road users having to navigate extensive roadworks every day.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says more than 5000 Crown-owned properties have now been cleared from the flat land residential red zones in greater Christchurch.

“Insurers and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) have now cleared 5133 of the 7030 properties on the flat land whose former owners have settled with the Crown – just over 73 per cent of the task,” Mr Brownlee says.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has today joined Prime Minister John Key in announcing the selection of the preferred developers and operators for Christchurch’s new Convention Centre Precinct.

“This is a big milestone for a project that will provide a major boost to the economic heart of the rebuilt Christchurch,” Mr Brownlee says.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the Government is encouraged by the approach being taken by Christchurch City Council in addressing financial pressures delivered by its required response to the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.

“Christchurch City has a projected fiscal bottleneck around the end of this decade, where it’s up for some major costs related to the earthquakes, and we know councillors are fully aware of the need to address the issue through reducing operational expenditure, reducing debt, and raising revenue.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says he expects huge participation in the public engagement process to determine the future use of the Waimakariri District’s residential red zones.

“A public engagement campaign launches today,” Mr Brownlee says.

“It’s designed to give as many individuals and groups as possible the opportunity to put forward their ideas for the land most affected by the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Social recovery in Christchurch continues to show positive signs, but there is still much to be done, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says.

“Encouraging signs are everywhere in greater Christchurch, which helps all of us see the upside,” Mr Brownlee says.

“The fourth Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) Wellbeing Survey shows 75 per cent of people rate their quality of life in greater Christchurch as good or extremely good, up from 73 per cent in the last survey period late last year.”

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

The formal memorial for the February 2011 Earthquake will be built on the edge of the Ōtākaro/Avon River.

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee made the announcement today, alongside Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel and Kaiwhakahaere for Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Tā Mark Solomon.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced the Government has agreed to a request by the Christchurch City Council for an accelerated district plan review process.

At present, Christchurch has two district plans – the Christchurch City Plan and the Banks Peninsula District Plan. Both plans were developed in the 1990s and have been amended incrementally since then.

However, the district plans were never designed to cope with the amount of repair and rebuild necessary to recover from the earthquakes.

  • Amy Adams
  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Environment
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the notion of a donut effect in the Christchurch CBD – with new developments on the fringes but few buildings in the centre – is being rapidly dispelled.

“Development of the anchor projects combined with an increasing stream of private sector buildings is rapidly filling in the gaps, providing confidence to other investors that the CBD will be an economically viable and thriving space,” Mr Brownlee says.

  • Jonathan Coleman
  • Gerry Brownlee
  • State Services
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Special legislation designed to ensure timely recovery following the Canterbury earthquakes will be used to deliver appropriate Christchurch health facilities to meet an expected spike in demand in 2018.

The Ministry of Health has asked Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee to exercise his powers under section 27 of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 to ensure prompt delivery of the city’s new Acute Services Building at Christchurch Hospital.

  • Tony Ryall
  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Health
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury residents impacted by recent flooding will now be eligible to apply for funding through the Government’s Temporary Accommodation Assistance (TAA) programme, it has been confirmed today.

“While analysis is yet to determine the extent to which flooding is related to earthquake issues, it is clear that some residents would not have suffered the severity of flooding they had if the earthquakes had not occurred,” Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says.

  • Paula Bennett
  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Social Development
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Associate Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Nicky Wagner says the Residential Advisory Service has assisted thousands of earthquake-hit property owners in Canterbury since its inception a year ago.

The service provides free, independent help to residential property owners who are facing challenges in getting their home repaired or rebuilt following the Canterbury earthquakes.

“It has received more than 5000 calls and emails from people seeking help, and independent advisors have held more than 1000 meetings with property owners to progress their situations.

  • Nicky Wagner
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the successful contractors for Christchurch’s new Bus Interchange will take control of the site today.

A joint venture between Australian company Thiess and Christchurch’s Southbase has been appointed to build the $53 million facility on a 14,000sqm block bounded by Sol Square, Tuam, Colombo and Lichfield streets.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Associate Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Nicky Wagner tonight launched the Community in Mind psychosocial strategy for greater Christchurch.

The strategy, which was developed by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority from key agencies and organisations across Canterbury and nationally, aims to identify what individuals and communities need for effective psychosocial recovery over the next three to six years.

  • Nicky Wagner
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says he is using the powers of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 to allow for timelier redevelopment of the badly damaged Lyttelton Port.

“Under the CER Act I have today directed Environment Canterbury and Lyttelton Port Company to prepare a Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan,” Mr Brownlee says.

“Lyttelton Port needs certainty about repairing, rebuilding and reconfiguring its operations, and this plan will deliver that.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has today launched an exciting new phase for Christchurch’s Re:START Mall by opening a new site for the iconic container shops.

“The mall has been a fantastic drawcard for bringing people back into the central city after the closures brought on by the earthquakes,” Mr Brownlee says.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Confirmation that the Music Centre of Christchurch will soon begin construction of a new $12.5 million facility in the Performing Arts Precinct is a significant step forward, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

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

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today released the spatial framework for the Christchurch Innovation Precinct and announced that Vodafone's new South Island headquarters will anchor the precinct.

The Innovation Precinct will bring together businesses, innovators, and an ICT graduate school, alongside residential, retail, hospitality and professional service providers to create a vibrant and exciting new part of Christchurch.

  • Steven Joyce
  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Science and Innovation
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Budget 2014 provides an additional $50 million of operating funding over the next two years for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, bringing the Government’s spending and commitments to rebuilding greater Christchurch to $15.4 billion.

The residential, commercial and horizontal infrastructure rebuilds are progressing well, but there is still much to do, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery
  • Budget 2014

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the Public Sector Rebuild Programme of Work launched today by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) will keep people updated on the progress of the many public sector projects in Christchurch.

“With over $15 billion committed by the Government to the Christchurch rebuild there are clearly a lot of major projects underway, and with so much going on it can be difficult to keep track of it all,” Mr Brownlee says.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the Crown has concerns about some of the assumptions made in the Korda Mentha report on the financial position of Christchurch City Council, released today, and the accuracy of some of the data incorporated in the report. 

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says feedback provided to the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development (NZCID) by stakeholders in Christchurch’s rebuild will help inform the government’s ongoing work programme.

“The report we’re releasing today in conjunction with NZCID is a timely and useful qualitative and quantitative snapshot of some of the recovery’s major work programmes from a number of people at the coalface of the rebuild.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery