September 2011

What’s been Buzzing in the Beehive?

Leading NZ into economic certainty

For the past three years, the National-led Government has taken a number of responsible steps to turn around nine years of economic mismanagement by Labour and therefore cushion New Zealand from global economic uncertainty while preparing to rebuild Canterbury.

We have worked hard to get debt under control and are confident the Government’s books will return to surplus by 2014-15.  The result will be a faster-growing economy with more jobs for New Zealanders.

We’ve achieved this by introducing the biggest reform of the tax system in 25 years, which rewards work and savings, discourages borrowing and consumption, and significantly tightens tax rules on property speculation.

We’ve streamlined the state sector to reduce debt and shift public services from the back room to the frontline.

We’ve overhauled capital markets regulations and established the Financial Markets Authority, giving investors more confidence in market rules and enforcement.

And we’ve cut red tape to encourage enterprise and flexibility. We’ve boosted investment in vital infrastructure – such as roads, broadband, and the electricity network. And we’ve improved the education system so that our schools and tertiary institutions produce better skilled workers for the future.

Despite the surprises since then – including the devastating Canterbury earthquakes – the economy is now better placed to meet future challenges.   The revised EQC liability will not affect homeowners’ claims or the rebuilding of Christchurch.  Also economic indicators released on 5 September from the Ministry of Economic Development show the manufacturing and export sectors in Canterbury continue to perform well.

We’re very optimistic about the economic future for New Zealand. The last thing our country needs is more taxes and more debt. New Zealanders want a strong and growing economy that provides more opportunities, better wages, and the high-quality public services they need. That’s exactly what National will deliver.

Health update

The National-led Government has invested $1.5 billion of new money into our public health system over the past three years. We’re now spending $14 billion a year on health, the most ever, at a time when many countries are freezing or cutting their health spending. We are committed to growing and protecting our public health services.

We’re investing $20 million for more medicines in 2011/12, taking the total extra funding for medicines to $180 million over National’s three years in office. We’re subsidising new medicines including new cancer treatments, the first Alzheimer’s disease drug, and diabetes medicines. More people will have access to some already subsidised medicines, including several for depression, auto-immune diseases, Crohn’s disease, and cardiac and respiratory problems.

And we have delivered better access to elective procedures around the country with 145,000 elective surgery discharges in the year to July 2011.

Also, we’re managing to keep our doctors, nurses and midwives in New Zealand.  To date, our voluntary bonding scheme has attracted 1424 nurses, 220 doctors and 179 midwives across the country.  The last intake saw 32 nurses joining Canterbury DHB.  Joining the scheme means they are planning to stay for at least three years after graduation and they commit to working in hard-to-staff communities and specialities.  In return, they are rewarded with payments against their student loans.

In the Out-of-Parliament Office…

First offers made to Red Zone residents

The first 3000 of about 5000 red zone property owners began receiving government offers for their properties in late August with residents having nine months to consider the offers of purchase.   There are plenty of issues to consider as part of the offers.  The first two settlements were completed on 12 September.

Included in the offer is help with legal fees and generous deposit rates.

Those who accept the offer will be paid a deposit soon after the agreement is signed, of the lesser of 50 per cent of the purchase price (less any insurance payments already made), or $50,000.

This can be used to reduce existing debt, to help arrange financing for purchasing another property, or to pay a deposit for a new home.

If a homeowner chooses to accept the offer to purchase their entire property then the Government will contribute up to 50 per cent of their legal costs, up to a maximum of $750.

If they chose to accept the offer to purchase the land only, then the Government will contribute up to 50 per cent of their legal costs up to $500. 

There has been very high interest in the government’s offer to purchase red zone homes. Of the 5000 consent forms sent to the first group zone red last month, almost 4000 have been completed and returned to CERA. 

Land Decisions

Residential properties have been red zoned regardless of the damage to their houses because the land is too damaged to be to be suitable for residential occupation for a long period of time.  This means for the land to be fixed we would have to move people away from their homes for a number of years.  The Government decided this was not feasible.

A majority of those in the red zone have accepted our decision and understand the criteria that helped shape our decision.  These include geotechnical data such as changes in land height, cracking and liquefaction which would render the land too weak to support houses.  We have not made these decisions lightly.  We are mindful of those still in the orange zone, which includes large parts of Parklands, Brooklands, Spencerville and Southshore, whose land needs further engineering investigation.  I am hoping this will be completed soon despite the extra few weeks of delay.

Government package for red zone residents

Thank you to those 500 plus people who took the time to return my earthquake survey.  70 per cent of these think the Government’s response to the devastating earthquakes has been good or excellent, which is encouraging given the difficult circumstances.

And a majority said the Government’s response to the land damage issue has been good or fair.

If you have received an offer letter and are confused about the next steps then here’s a breakdown:

• The offer at 2007 Rateable Value (RV) provides a guaranteed cash amount.
• You can choose to sell your entire property at current RV, or sell the land only if you wish to continue dealing with your insurer about your home.
• You still retain the option of dealing directly with your insurer if that provides a better outcome for you.

We believe the offers are fair and generous relative to recent sales history, especially with real estate fees (typically 4%) not being payable, plus the help with legal fees as outlined above.  Many now want to look at what their payment will buy either in a new build or an existing property.  At present, there are some issues with new builds around availability of building insurance and land cover for future earthquakes on building sites, as well as availability of land.  There is work going on to provide possible solutions to all of these with the expectation of 10,000-15,000 new sections being made available over the next two years.

New Earthquake Assistance Centre for red zone residents

A new centralised information centre is open to support red zone residents and is on the corner of Wainoni and Breezes Roads.  It is staffed by representatives of CERA, the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Earthquake Temporary Accommodation Service, Community Law Canterbury, EQC, and insurance companies.  It will be a one-stop shop for residents to find assistance, advice, and updates on the progress of earthquake recovery work.

A Waimakariri Recovery Hub also continues to operate at 24 Sewell Street in Kaiapoi.

Westpac Business and Community Hub

The Westpac Business & Community Hub is now open.   The purpose of the initiative is to help businesses and community groups overcome some of the many practical difficulties in running their organisation on a day to day basis.  It offers free, temporary small to large office space, and provides access to phone, broadband, photocopying, video conferencing and a corporate lounge.  It is located next to the CBS Canterbury Arena.   The Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce, Recovery Canterbury and NZ Retailers Association will be present on site along with support services such as lawyers and accountants.  For more information see www.westpacbusinesshub.co.nz.

Housing support for red zone residents

There is now Temporary Accommodation Assistance (TAA) available for Cantabrians in the residential red zone, who have had to move out of their homes and have extra accommodation costs.

The Government has extended TAA because it will take time to reach final settlement on red zone homes. The extension applies to residents who want to stay in the city but whose homes can’t be rebuilt or won’t be repaired.

TAA is open to red zone residents who can’t live in their home, have reached the limit of their insurance cover for temporary accommodation, and are waiting for government or insurance settlement.

More info at:  http://www.quakeaccommodation.govt.nz/apply-for-temporary-accommodation-assistance

Canterbury Trades Training Boost

The Government is providing $42 million for trades training for Canterbury, to ensure that Cantabrians can build their skills and contribute to the rebuild of their city.

This investment will fund up to 1500 extra training places as part of a cross-agency response to meet labour demands for the reconstruction programme called ‘Skills for Canterbury’.

The ‘Skills for Canterbury’ package also includes up to 3000 more places in polytechs for construction-related training from existing funding, accelerated training programmes at polytechnics, and further funding and measures to help place more people into the construction industry.

CBD draft plan released

Christchurch City Council has released its draft recovery plan for the city’s CBD.  The plan details more than 70 projects to be built over 20 years.  The plan is available to view on www.centralcityplan.co.nz and submissions close at 5pm on Friday 16 September.  There are plenty of things to comment upon.

Major electricity repairs now complete

It’s great news that Orion has completed major post-quake repairs to its electricity network which mean stable power supply across Christchurch, in particular eastern Christchurch.  It’s taken six months of hard work involving 700 sector workers from New Zealand and Australia and culminated with the opening of the new substation in Rawhiti Domain off Keyes Road on 1 September which I attended with Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee.   The new substation provides capacity for 20,000 customers in north-east Christchurch to use electricity at pre-quake levels.  However, Orion’s work is not finished.  They have committed $730 m to their urban and rural Canterbury network over the next 10 years.  Well done Orion.

Me and Hon Gerry Brownlee at the opening of Rawhiti Domain substation

I’ve been to many local streets and communities recently on earthquake issues and am always happy to come to yours.  Please call my office on 382 5701 to arrange.

Something to savour…

Rugby World Cup Community Fanzones will run from midday to 11.00pm at Cowles Stadium, Cuthberts Green on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September; Ascot Grounds at QEII on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September; and Ferrymead Sportsfields, to coincide with Redcliffs school fair, on Sunday 2 October.  There will be live music, bouncy castle, food stalls and large screens to watch the matches live.

I’m proud to have been part of the New Zealand team which won the Parliament Rugby World Cup last week, after beating, France 44-0, South Africa 13-7 and Argentina 40-0.

The NZ and South Africa Parliamentary Rugby Team in Rotorua – we beat them 13-7 as part of us winning the Parliamentary Rugby World Cup eventually in Auckland.

Due to popular demand and a successful first round in May, we are looking at a November round of Project Plant, the community plant nursery I initiated.  Project Plant is a volunteer-run community plant nursery helping residents from quake-affected properties in Christchurch and Kaiapoi keep their treasured plants alive while they rebuild or relocate over the next 12-24 months.  For details please call my office on 382 5701.

Out and About

Me and pupils from St James School, Aranui with Government e-books	With the Prime Minister at the Canterbury School of Gymnastics

Until Next Time…

It’s been a year since the first 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck us on 4 September 2010.  It’s been a gruelling year that many of us would want to forget.   To date there have been over 391,000 claims made to EQC.

The Government has continued to support greater Christchurch since the first and subsequent earthquakes.  By working as a community, we will continue to make progress on rebuilding. The Government remains absolutely committed to rebuilding greater Christchurch and its surrounds and we will continue to drive momentum in the recovery.

For updates from Christchurch-based National MPs, visit www.therecovery.co.nz

Regards,

Aaron Gilmore

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