Image via WikipediaIs National heading for a fall? Could well be.
The NZ Prime Minister, John Key, is rejecting any suggestion the Government is trying to take charge of the Christchurch rebuild.
He says they're working closely with the city council in what's an enormous task ahead.
"The scale of the second earthquake and the size of the rebuild will require a different structure to the last one," he told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking. "Last time we had the Earthquake Recovery Commission and it really sat alongside the council."
John Key says they've been asking for advice from officials about the structure of any government focus organisation should be.
Meanwhile the Government may buy people out of earthquake-damaged neighbourhoods and help them move elsewhere.
The Prime Minister says GNS scientists have already reported that the Port Hills have moved up 40cm and those suburbs have dropped considerably.
John Key says after the last earthquake there was a plan in place to fix that land but that process is now being questioned.
"I have had, and I got it when I was on the ground in Christchurch on Friday, quite a number of people coming up to me saying 'I like where I live but unfortunately this is too difficult to deal with, and if you could show me another option I'd like the money and I'd like to move on to another property'."
Mr Key says the question is whether land can be rebuilt on, as some areas will now be prone to flooding.
KR says: That may well be true, but the National Party Government's coalition partner ACT NZ has came out and blatantly said that you have to take full advantage of the Christchurch earthquake! Really? Too bloody right! I was accused of politicising the EQ in a letter to the editor, but the National government was still publicly discussing the welfare reforms after the earthquake. President John key and his cohorts are a bunch of hypocrites. You take what they say with a grain of salt, but actually the effects and follow up of the EQ will may have some detrimental effects on their election chances. Act NZ came third in the Botany bi-election on Saturday. A brand new Asian based political party formed in the last few weeks, squeezed Act into fourth place. Worth thinking about,eh?
Acknowledgements: © 2011 NZCity, NewsTalkZB
2 comments:
Hi Peter,
This is an interesting development.
Election year brings some interesting developments of their own.
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