Alan Reay has faced the Engineering New Zealand Disciplinary Committee this week in Christchurch. Photo / NZ Herald
Alan Reay has faced the Engineering New Zealand Disciplinary Committee this week in Christchurch. Photo / NZ Herald
A disciplinary authority hearing a complaint against the man whose company designed the six-storey Christchurch building that collapsed in the 2011 earthquakes, killing 115 people, has retired to consider a ruling.
Dr Alan Reay, owner of Alan Reay Consultants, has been before the Engineering New Zealand Disciplinary Committee this week.
He has been criticised by the families of those killed in the collapse for allowing his inexperienced structural engineer David Harding “sole responsibility” for designing the Canterbury Television (CTV) building.
On Wednesday, the body retired to determine the complaint and, if it is upheld, the penalties.
Police and volunteers worked to rescue people trapped in the collapsed CTV building. Photo / Geoff Sloan
Following the adjournment, Engineering New Zealand Chief Executive Dr Richard Templer said the committee was acutely aware of the hearing’s significance to the CTV families, several of whom were at the hearing.
“These are families who lost loved ones nearly 13 years ago. I want to acknowledge the courage they’ve shown in attending the hearing,” he said in a statement.
“I know people are looking for answers and ultimately I hope this process will bring some closure.”
Templer acknowledged it had taken a long time for the complaint to be heard. The complaint was initially raised in December 2012 and Reay had been fighting to have it dismissed.
“We take complaints about members very seriously as it’s our job to us to uphold professional standards,” Templer.
In his closing remarks, committee chairman Andrew McMenamin reiterated the need to consider all information heard over the last three days.
“It is critical for everyone to get a fair hearing and that we consider all the evidence and submissions provided to us.
“As a result, it may take some time before our findings are released.”
A memorial to the people who died in the CTV building collapse in Christchurch. Photo / Mark Mitchell
On Monday, Dr Maan Alkaisi, spokesman for the CTV families, said their experience of losing loved ones was made even more painful by Reay’s alleged lack of accountability.
Alkaisi claimed Reay “risked people’s lives”, resulting in “one of the worst engineering failures in the country” and since the tragedy, had not taken accountability.
Reay strongly denied the allegations, stating he had good reason to believe Harding was sufficiently competent to undertake the work he did.
Yesterday, Reay’s lawyer Kristy McDonald KC told the committee her client was an 82-year-old man who had been significantly impacted by the “factually incorrect” complaint against him, stating it should be dropped.
McDonald said the standards back in 1986, when the building was designed, didn’t set out clear supervision requirements and were different from the standards today.
She said there was “little to no public interest” in disciplining Reay.
In September, Reay sought a judicial review of the complaint process by Engineering New Zealand, formerly the Institution of Professional Engineers (IPENZ), in the High Court at Wellington which was dismissed in October by Justice Paul Radich who said there was “genuine public interest” in having the complaint heard.
Emily Moorhouse is a Christchurch-based Open Justice journalist at NZME. She joined NZME in 2022. Before that, she was at the Christchurch Star.
