Ten days after the devastating 8.0 earthquake in Sichuan, China, nearly one million temporary houses had been built for quake victims.
Meanwhile, nearly two months after Christchurch’s second quake and with around 10,000 homes needed … all eyes are on the Department of Building and Housing, awaiting their announcement of Fletcher Building of which Kiwi company will be allowed to build temporary housing here … on the new Earthquake Authority to see whose land they will “requisition” … and on Christchurch City Council, to see if by some miracle their ring-fencing of the city with zoning laws will be relaxed.
Because nothing is allowed to happen here without the say-so of the Czar and his satraps.
UPDATE: Eric Crampton has some thoughts on the newly minted powers of the Czar.
6 comments:
At least one can rest assured that the gum shoe and clipboard brigade are well catered for, and that all boxes will be ticked in triplicate.
We'll have government paying for people to sleep in cars (sorry campervans), one of the most ineffective and wasteful ways of creating accomodation. Shipping containers would have been better, not to mention that we are already accustomed to living in poorly manufactured shipping crates erected out of balsa and plywood. Surely we should have been able to whip up a few thousand of those by now?
Bez
Bez
We have a property that is in the Christchurch CBD. It is also worthwhile noting the following:
1. For almost six weeks we were prevented by the authorities from accessing our property and securing valuable property. When we were finally granted 10 minutes to retrieve important documents, we found that looters had already been there. Looting is never that difficult and the looters were aided by the authorities who prevented us from securing our private property.
2. Our property will have to be demolished. We had intended to rebuild (while potentially purchasing adjacent land and buildings). However, there is no way that we would ever do this now. The risk is too high that the government/council will override our property rights by acquiring, under compulsion, our land at "post-earthquake" prices in order to impose their “vision”. I suspect we are not alone in moving to invest our assets in other parts of NZ or the world. Their lack of respect for personal property rights is going to ensure that Christchurch’s road to recovery is long and difficult. What a tragedy!
3. Bob Parker states that residents will stay or return to live in Christchurch. Anecdotal evidence from so many people who have left the city and relocated to Auckland, for example, suggests otherwise. Why would you stay in Christchurch when businesses, who are those that create employment, are not having their property rights respected by the authorities?
Julian
My thoughts are with you Julian, this is an affront that should indeed be countenanced by voting with your feet if you have the possibility to do so.
This country is f@@d, there's no two ways about it.
Bez
Interesting article by Canterbury law lecturer Dr John Hopkins on what an affront, and how dangerous, CERA is. (Ignore the democracy angle).
Sorry, no time for clicky, you'll have to copy and paste:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/4885510/Cera-bill-threatens-democracy
Quote:
But things are about to get worse - much worse.
Parliament is attempting to pass, through urgency, one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation to grace our statute book in modern times. I speak of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery (Cera) legislation which will, in effect, strip Christchurch of the last remnants of its democratic processes and place them under the control of a single minister.
That such an act can even be contemplated in a modern Western democracy defies belief, but the speed with which it is being rushed through is a personal affront to the people of Christchurch.
Let us be very clear as to what this legislation proposes. ...
Sounds like the best thing to do is just get out & go somewhere else.
To fix Japan is going to cost 10 to 15 times what it is going to fix Christchurch.
Cost to fix Christchurch around NZ30Billion for Japan have seen up to US250 billion.
The Jap tsunami seemed a lot more damaging than 10 to 15 times Christchurch. About 100 times worse than Christchurch.
No wonder the FLC CEO looks so grim he is scared he might wake up.
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