Regenerate Christchurch Minister Megan Woods says Gerry Brownlee showed a lack of political leadership over the blow out of costs in botched earthquake repairs. Photo / David Baird
Regenerate Christchurch Minister Megan Woods says Gerry Brownlee showed a lack of political leadership over the blow out of costs in botched earthquake repairs. Photo / David Baird
Gerry Brownlee is being accused of a lack of political leadership over the blow out of costs in botched earthquake repairs.
The former Regenerate Christchurch Minister claimed two years ago that re-repairs would cost between $60 and $70 million.
But it's now been revealed by John Campbell on Radio New Zealand that it will cost the taxpayer more than $160m.
New Regenerate Christchurch Minister Megan Woods told Chris Lynch on NewstalkZB that Brownlee should have done more if he thought the Earthquake Commission (EQC) was hiding the real numbers.
"The minister willfully ignored the scale of the problem that was sitting in front of us with the re-repairs.
"Everybody in Christchurch knew that this was a problem that was looming and it was going to be big."
While $160m was a lot of money, her concerns were with the number of people sitting and waiting for their houses to be fixed and waiting to get on with their lives.
When she couldn't get the information she needed, she put someone in at EQC so she could do something about it.
"When you are minister, the buck stops with you and there's no avoiding that."
Fletcher Construction has some liability for sub-standard repair work after the Christchurch earthquakes, according to legal advice received by the EQC.
Radio New Zealand reported that EQC head Sid Miller said the commission would now look at "the various options".
Woods said the key point to anyone with a failed repair on their house was that is was an issues with EQC and Fletcher, not the homeowner.
Former Regenerate Christchurch Minister Gerry Brownlee is being accused of a lack of political leadership by the new minister who has taken over his role. Photo / Supplied
"It won't come to individual claims and individual houses. Those houses need to be fixed, if there is liability and the EQC decides it will pursue Fletcher, that will be something that happens in the background."
That would not slow things down, she said.
One of the things she heard during her six years as a constituent MP was that people hated the fact that every day they called EQC they were speaking to a new person.
"It was like groundhog day. They had to say it over and over again."
