An inquiry into the Earthquake Commission is needed for the sake of the whole country, an advocacy group for owners of quake-damaged homes in Christchurch says.
Earthquake-damaged home in Sumner, Christchurch. Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
Thousands of Christchurch homeowners have been battling the natural disaster insurer over failed assessments and sub-standard repairs, and the incoming EQC minister, Megan Woods, plans to push ahead with plans for an independent inquiry.
EQC Fix - a group formed out of action against EQC, said around 20,000 home-owners were still waiting for resolution as a result of a failed assessments process.
A member of EQC Fix's steering committee, Melanie Bourke, said news of an inquiry was long overdue. She said the problem was not with unresolved claims but with the assessment process, and it cannot be allowed to happen again.
Melanie Bourke. Photo: RNZ/ Conan Young
"It's not about homeowners wanting money - it's about ensuring homes are repaired correctly so if there's a future event the claims won't be declined and we're already seeing examples of that now out of the Kaikōura quakes," she said.
After the Kaikōura quake, private insurers took over earthquake claims on behalf of EQC to reduce duplications in the assessments process.
Dr Woods, who was sworn in today, said an independent inquiry was needed to learn the lessons of what happened in Canterbury.
"Some of those will be lessons of what went well, so we make sure that when this happens again we can ensure that nobody has to go through what we have gone through in Canterbury over the last seven years."
Dr Woods said examination was needed on how work was scoped, how 70,000 homes were repaired without a building consent, and the fact there was no third-party oversight of the quality of those repairs.
Gerry Brownlee at the memorial service on the fifth anniversary of the February Christchurch earthquake. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Former EQC minister Gerry Brownlee said the new government is entitled to call for an inquiry, but the earthquake commission has done a much better job than its critics say. He said EQC has stood behind homeowners seeking help for defective repairs - the extent of which is over-stated.
"There will be some serious ones among 167,000 repairs. Some will be matters that were missed, but many others will be relatively minor things. So, the salient points are that EQC hasn't gone away and it hasn't abandoned its claimants."
Ms Bourke said change was also needed to ensure assessments are not compromised by concerns over cost.
"If that's the problem the government has, then they need to change the EQC Act. That's why it's absolutely critical we have a Royal Commission of Inquiry so we can understand who's made these decisions."
An Auckland lawyer with specialist knowledge of botched repairs on quake-damaged Christchurch homes said many are facing insolvency over poor repairs to homes.
Andrew Hooker said an inquiry would help to uncover how a government organisation has handled claims in such an appalling way.
"It's the only mechanism by which the people at EQC can be forced to answer to what has happened. A Commission of Inquiry is the best tool, as long as the terms of reference are wide enough."
Mr Hooker said he still gets calls from people who have just found out repairs to their homes were not done properly, seven years after the quake.
"These people trusted EQC - they took EQC's word for it that their houses had been repaired properly and are only just now finding out that these repairs were botched."
Mr Hooker said an independent organisation is needed to handle assessments, and that is something that might come out of an inquiry.