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The Government will carefully consider the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission’s full report and its recommendations, Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson and Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson say.

The third and final part of the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission’s report (Volumes 5-7) into the causes of building failures during the earthquake was publicly released by the Government today.

Prime Minister John Key has welcomed the public release today of the third and final part of the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission’s report into the causes of building failures during the earthquake.

“There were 185 people who lost their lives in the Christchurch earthquake on 22 February 2011. Of those, 175 deaths were due to failures of buildings or parts of buildings,” Mr Key says.

Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson and Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson today released the second part of the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission’s report (Volume 4), which covers a range of practice and policy issues relating to earthquake-prone buildings, particularly how these buildings are identified and managed.

Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson is encouraging New Zealanders to have their say on proposals to improve the earthquake-prone buildings policy system, released in a consultation document today.

“The destructive earthquakes in Canterbury have highlighted the need to review and improve our system for dealing with earthquake-prone buildings in New Zealand,” Mr Williamson says.

Today’s launch of the Economic Recovery Programme is an opportunity to reflect on how far Canterbury has come since the earthquakes, and the many reasons we have to be optimistic about the region’s future.

It’s an incredible testament to the resilience of the business community that based on recent estimates regional GDP for Canterbury has bounced back to pre-earthquake levels.

Economic activity data has shown Canterbury to be the fastest growing region in New Zealand over the past 18 months, and the rebuild proper is only just beginning.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has highlighted 20 key projects in the Economic Recovery Programme for Greater Christchurch, which was launched today.

Developed by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) and Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the programme lays out a roadmap for economic recovery in the region.

“This has been a thoroughly collaborative process between CERA and MBIE in partnership with local government and the business sector,” Mr Brownlee says.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the first commercial property purchases for Christchurch’s CBD Blueprint Plan represent an important milestone in the city’s recovery.

“I’m pleased with progress made by the Christchurch Central Development Unit (CCDU) in negotiating with landowners to create a willing-buyer willing-seller scenario,” Mr Brownlee says.

The government has received the third and final part (comprising volumes 5 to 7) of the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Building Failure Caused by Canterbury Earthquakes, Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson announced today.

Ministers will now consider the third part of the report. An announcement about the public release of the report and the government’s response will be made in due course.

Cabinet has made an agreement in principle to provide capital support to Canterbury’s three Tertiary Education Institutions for their earthquake rebuilding programme, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce says.

“The University of Canterbury, Lincoln University and Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology have all recently completed initial business cases for capital investment from the Crown as part of their earthquake rebuilding programme,” Mr Joyce says.

The Canterbury Skills and Employment Hub is now open and available to help employers looking for workers for the Canterbury rebuild, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce announced today.

“The Hub is a business-friendly one-stop shop where employers can list vacancies and be matched up with jobseekers from Christchurch and elsewhere in New Zealand. It is aimed at ensuring employers can easily get the staff they need so there are no roadblocks to the rebuild,” Mr Joyce says.

Traffic will be slowed and pedestrians given greater priority in the new central Christchurch under a draft transport plan the public is now invited to have their say on.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has today released the Accessible City draft Transport Plan and is inviting the wider community to make their comments and contributions.

Land Information New Zealand is to lead a programme of work to accelerate recovery and rebuild efforts in Canterbury, the Government announced today.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the programme will address barriers to data sharing, provides solutions to harnessing web technology and facilitates 3D visualisation.

Housing New Zealand has met its target of completing repairs to 212 earthquake-damaged houses in Christchurch by the end of October. 

“This is a huge achievement in just six months and I congratulate the corporation. They have done a fantastic job,” Housing Minister Phil Heatley said today.

“Many of these houses were severely damaged. It’s been a great effort by the corporation and its contractors and sub-contractors – the builders, plumbers, painters, gardeners, roofers and electricians.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has announced a new training and employment programme to attract workers into trade industries needed for the horizontal rebuild of greater Christchurch.

The programme is part of the Government’s wider infrastructure programme, which is set out in the Building Infrastructure progress report released today.

The Government wants to further test the viability of a ferry terminal at Clifford Bay in Marlborough, Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee has announced.

"Cabinet believes the business case we've been presented is strong enough to justify further testing the viability of this major change to New Zealand's transport infrastructure," Mr Brownlee says.

"I have asked the Ministry of Transport, along with the Treasury and the NZ Transport Agency to assemble a specialist project team to undertake this work.

The Government is committing an extra $28 million to maintain the expanded training pipeline for trades people for the Canterbury rebuild, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce announced today. 

“Over the next few years, Christchurch will need thousands of builders, plumbers, landscapers, electricians and engineers. The Government’s funding of trades training under the Skills for Canterbury programme is helping meet this demand,” Mr Joyce says.

The Government’s Building Infrastructure progress report issued today sets out 67 infrastructure initiatives being undertaken to help build a more competitive economy, Finance Minister Bill English says.

“For businesses to invest in plant and facilities in New Zealand, they need to be confident that they will have access to infrastructure that supports their businesses – transport, energy, water and telecommunications,” he says.

The Government will provide another year of guaranteed funding to the three Canterbury tertiary education institutions (TEIs), regardless of enrolment levels, as they recover from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce announced today.

“The Government and the Tertiary Education Commission Board appreciate how important it is for these TEIs to maintain their capacity as the Canterbury region rebuilds and recovers over the coming years,” Mr Joyce says.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says today’s green zoning of the final eight residential properties in the Port Hills marks the end of an unprecedented programme of Government assistance in natural disaster recovery.

"All 190,000 residential properties in greater Christchurch now have a zoning which gives their owners the ability to move on with their lives," Mr Brownlee says.

"When we started this process we knew it would not be easy and we knew the end results would not please everyone.

Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain says today’s announcement of grants by the Canterbury Fund will make a positive difference to Christchurch communities.

A joint partnership between the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust and Vodafone New Zealand Foundation today announced grants totalling $1.15 million to 66 community organisations in Christchurch.

The final reporting date for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Building Failure caused by Canterbury Earthquakes will be 30 November, Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson announced today.

Labour leader David Shearer’s decision to give a speech on employment and training in Canterbury today, a region with massive jobs growth, is the latest in a string of hapless own goals, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says.

“In January there were 5185 people on an unemployment benefit in Christchurch – today there’s 3131,” Mr Brownlee says.

Housing New Zealand’s new offices in central Christchurch have been officially opened by Housing Minister Phil Heatley.

“This is quite a milestone in the rebuild of Christchurch,” Mr Heatley said.

“It’s important the Corporation’s earthquake recovery team is located in the central city. It’s actually 12 years since the Corporation had a presence in the central city, and its return is a key part of the city’s revitalisation.