Advice from one who knows – Garry’s letter to Auckland

In Christchurch, our hearts are with you all in Auckland. As you face the clean up I will share some hard earned experiences.

Government departments can assist initially. Don’t allow them to stay too long. Wellington control is hundreds of kilometres away. The rebuild is of your homes and communities. Take their money but demand local control.

Parts of the community are more vulnerable than others:

• The old
• the uninsured
• the under insured
• different cultures
• the poor

Everyone deserves appropriate locally, accountable, structures, and services. EQC and the insurance companies must not drive the rebuild repayments as an individual family process. They must be collectively accountable.

In Christchurch, post earthquakes, we had to fight home by home to gain our legal entitlement lawyers, on both sides, often complicated this exercise.

The rain didn’t just hit sections of your city. It hit you all. Create collective and locally accountable responses.

printed in NZ Herald
Garry Moore former mayor of Christchurch