Logical recovery model close to home

Christchurch East MP Lianne Dalziel says it’s still not too late for the Government to look at the recovery model put in place by the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority.

“While the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) has been set up here, lessons can still be learned from the way the Victorian Authority operated,” Lianne Dalziel said.

“The Victoria example is so close to home that it offers a logical model to follow.”

Speaking to the Spencerville Residents’ Association tonight, Lianne Dalziel said: “Victoria’s focus on community-led recovery emphasised capacity building, engagement and decision making at the local level, which in turn improves resilience, as well as the capacity to foresee and to adapt to future challenges.

“We have such an excellent model on our doorstep and we need to utilise it. Even the other side of the Waimakariri River would offer a better model than what has been offered by the Christchurch City Council.

“What’s been missing has been a commitment to community engagement. The Council held information sessions and then let people queue for individual answers whether or not there was a collective interest in the questions being posed.

“It is time that the council and the government jointly placed all of the facts on the table and discussed with each of the affected communities what risks they face. We need to understand the impact of the new seismic risks that we were unaware of before these earthquakes, as well as flooding risks which have always existed and those posed by rising sea levels.

“Conclusions and pathways forward will be different in each community, but we need evidence based action, we must be allowed to move forward.

“Victoria’s recovery was centred on locally established priorities and authorship of plans. Cantabrians need the opportunity to own their own future as well,” Lianne Dalziel sai