Editor: I. Mallikarjuna Sharma Volume 11: 15-31 March 2015 No. 5-6

F-154 Quake Outcasts v. Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery [NZ-SC: Court Opinion] (2015) 1 LAW
required would not be possible under the current
legislation, whereas the processes set out in the
Bill are “efficient while providing appropriate
safeguards”. 44 Concluding his introductory
speech, the Minister highlighted the purpose of
the legislation and reassured the House that the
powers would not go unchecked. The Minister
said: 45
“Overall, this bill enables the Government to
move swiftly to restore the social and economic
wellbeing of the greater Christchurch area and its
affected communities. The checks and balances
ensure that the necessary powers for recovery are
used judiciously, are open to appropriate levels
of public scrutiny, and provide for appeal.”
[32] In essence, the purpose of the Bill was to put
in place mechanisms for the effective recovery of
the Christchurch region. As the Minister said: 46
“In order to achieve the policy intent of effective
and efficient rebuild and recovery in
Christchurch, the legislation needs to ensure that
the desired outcomes identified in the recovery
strategy by the Christchurch Earthquake
Recovery Agency [sic] and the Minister, which
provides for the recovery plans, are able to be
efficiently and effectively delivered on the
ground.”
[33] Much of the concern surrounding the Bill
was due to the extensive powers to be vested in
the Crown. In response to criticism that the
powers granted under the Bill “go too far”, the
Hon Kate Wilkinson, the then Minister for
Conservation, said that that those fears had not
been realised with the predecessor legislation (the
Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery
Act 2010) and that “[t]here are significant checks
and balances to ensure that the powers are used
properly, and are necessary for the Canterbury
44 (12 April 2011) 671 NZPD 17899. See also the Minister’s
comments at 18130 where he said “[t]his bill is an
enabling framework setting out a range of powers that
may need to be exercised during the recovery process. It
does have significant checks and balances on the use of
those powers.”
45 At 17901.
46 At 17899.
recovery and rebuild”. 47 Mr Brownlee, during the
Bill’s second reading, stated that the “most clear
check and balance is the requirement that all of
those powers must be exercised in the recovery
process and cannot step outside of that”. 48
[34] During the Bill’s second reading, Mr
Brownlee also made the following comments
about Recovery Plans. He said that: 49
“The decisions that need to be made here are
very, very dependent upon research about the
condition of the land in Christchurch, and upon
getting enough information to deal with
individuals who have those broken properties so
that they can be given some choices about what
their future is.
... All of those things will require a series of
recovery plans, and, quite patently obviously,
there will need to be discussion about how those
plans are delivered with those local communities
and those affected individuals.”
[35] The need for community participation and
consultation in the decision making processes, to
the extent compatible with expedited recovery
measures, was stressed. Ms Wilkinson, in
recognising the need for efficiency and
community input, said: 50 It is important that the
need for community participation is balanced
against the need for timely and effective decisionmaking.
Cantabrians want a say in how their
region is rebuilt. It is, after all, their region. This
bill provides for the establishment of a
community forum, made up of local
representatives who will provide advice to the
Minister. There will also be a public consultation
process in place. Cantabrians want to be heard,
but they want to see action. It is a matter of
striking the balance between effective
coordination and consultation and the need for
progress.
[36] A similar comment was made by Mr
Brownlee when, during the second reading, he
47 At 17904.
48 At 18130.
49 At 18130.
50 At 17904.
Law Animated World, 15-31 March 2015 96