Rebuilding Canterbury

- National is totally committed to getting Canterbury back on its feet.
- It’s time to start rebuilding a strong and vibrant city.
- We want to maintain the momentum towards the reconstruction of our second largest city.

The rebuild of Canterbury is an unprecedented project.  It's the biggest economic undertaking in New Zealand’s history.  We aren’t underestimating the work we need to do in Canterbury.  We’re committed to doing whatever it takes in the coming weeks, months, and years to progress the recovery and rebuild of Canterbury.

Click here to read the Prime Minister’s comments to the one year anniversary memorial.

Click here to read about Rebuilding Canterbury.

Priority on the rebuild
One of National-led Government’s important priorities is rebuilding Christchurch.  We’ve committed $5.5 billion and created a new Government department – the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) – to lead the rebuild.

National is committed to removing barriers to the reconstruction – for example, we’ve sped up urban planning in greater Christchurch – and we won’t hesitate to use the powers we have to clear other blockages in the system.  We want to ensure that momentum is maintained for Cantabrians.

CBD reconstruction has begun
A large chunk of the building demolitions required in the CBD red zone have been completed.  It’s time to make some real progress rebuilding this area.  Construction has begun on around 20 commercial buildings within the four avenues of the central city, including a multi-level building on Madras Street.  As many as 150 people are expected to be employed in the construction of this building alone.

Around 200 infrastructure repair projects valued at more than $420 million are also underway across the city. Large companies have continued to show their faith in the Canterbury region by announcing new investment in Christchurch.  The Re:Start shopping area in Cashel Mall is up and running, and is thriving, drawing people back to the heart of the city.  And latest economic growth figures show very clear signs that the region is open for business.

Certainty for homeowners
National is giving Canterbury homeowners certainty about their property as soon as the latest geotechnical data is available.

We’ve divided greater Christchurch into four residential zones:

• Red zone: Land is unlikely to be suitable for continued residential occupation for a considerable period of time. The means the Government will make an offer to purchase those properties, allowing people to move on with their lives.
• Orange zone: More work is needed to determine if the land can be rebuilt on.
• Green zone: Areas that have been given the green light for homeowners to begin the process of rebuilding and repairing their properties. 
• White zone: Areas still being mapped.

Ongoing seismic activity does affect this process, and we urge homeowners to be patient.  We’re doing our best to get this right for Canterbury homeowners.

For more information: http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?articleId=36315

Providing a skilled workforce for the rebuild
As Canterbury recovers, thousands of trained and qualified workers will be required across a range of industries.  We’re increasing construction and trades academies places to ensure we have enough New Zealanders trained and ready to help with the rebuild.

We’ve opened another Trades Academy in Christchurch, to cater for 550 students, as part of our boost to trades training of 4500 more places nationwide.  By expanding the number of places and the types of courses on offer, this will help build the skills base among young people in Canterbury, and support the rebuild of Christchurch, as well as contributing to the local economy.

We also committed $42 million to the Skills for Canterbury programme to boost the workforce through on-the-job training and at Polytechs and Industry Training Organisations nationwide.  We want to ensure that New Zealanders have the practical skills to help Canterbury get back up and running.

For more information: http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?articleId=36987

Supporting Canterbury from the beginning
National has been working hard in Canterbury since the very first earthquake struck.  We

• Declared a national state of emergency within hours of the 22 February earthquake.
• Opened 10 Welfare and recovery centres in the hours following the major 22 February earthquake.
• Arranged personal contact for 19,000 vulnerable elderly people by Work and Income staff to ensure they were safe.
• Worked with the local council and contractors to restore water and power to all households outside the CBD red zone.
• Implemented the $200 million wage support and job loss package to assist 63,000 Cantabrians and their families.
• Provided an additional $10 million support package for social service agencies to support Cantabrians.
• Convened an alliance of contractors to work with CERA managing the $2 billion repair of damaged infrastructure, such as roads, water and waste water pipelines.
• Established a Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Canterbury earthquakes to investigate building issues.
• Raised almost $100 million through the Government’s official earthquake appeal.
• Committed to building a new $20 million temporary stadium at the site of Rugby League Park in Addington, giving Cantabrians the chance to enjoy major sporting and music events again.

To keep up with the Government’s progress in Canterbury click here