The Government responded to Canterbury's plight by putting through Parliament emergency legislation to give special powers to the Earthquake Recovery Minister to deal with the effects of the quake.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister says he's sick of insurance companies giving baseless excuses for delaying earthquake claims in Christchurch .
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, says the Government's got the price 'about right' for land it's bought for Christchurch's refurbished central business district.
Minister for Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee, responds to Christchurch residents in limbo awaiting a geotech report into which suburbs will be abandoned.
A copy of a letter from Empowered Christchurch which was sent to Gerry Brownlee, Minsiter for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, on 15 April 2014. The letter lodges an Official Information Act request about Imminent Loss claims settled by the EQC since September 2010.
A copy of a letter from Empowered Christchurch which was sent to Gerry Brownlee, Minsiter for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, on 15 April 2014. The letter lodges an Official Information Act request about the remediation of land that is subject to liquefaction and flooding.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, is offside with the business community in Christchurch over the decision to permanently relocate nearly 500 public servants outside of the central business district.
The former Earthquake Commission minister, Gerry Brownlee, is defending EQC over claims its assessors in Christchurch were not properly qualified. A growing number of homeowners in the city are discovering EQC assessors have completely missed quake damage including broken foundations costing hundreds of thousands to repair. That's been disastrous for people who've bought homes with hidden damage who are sometimes finding private insurers unwilling to cover the cost of putting right mistakes made by EQC. The company hired by EQC to carry out repairs was Fletcher Construction. Its chief executive at the time, Mark Binns, told Checkpoint that EQC probably hired unqualified people to assess quake damaged homes. Gerry Brownlee refused to be drawn on the comments from Mr Binns. But when asked by RNZ Christchurch reporter, Conan Young, if it was acceptable to have retired policemen, school principals and vacuum cleaner salesmen carrying out assessments for EQC, he admitted finding enough people to do the job was a challenge.
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee speaking at the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT).
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee speaking at the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT).
Christchurch councillor Raf Manji announces plans to stand against Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee in Ilam at the general election. He tells John Campbell why he is standing as an independent.
A photograph of a protest sign reading, "When it comes to the East, I see nothing, I hear nothing, and I care even less!!" and showing the face of Gerry Brownlee superimposed on the body of Sergeant Schultz from Hogan's Heroes. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Woodham Road, Linwood".
Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee speaking at the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT). The ceremony was held in Burwood Park.
Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee speaking at the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT). The ceremony was held in Burwood Park.
Prime Minister John Key and Gerry Brownlee, the Minister of Economic Development, giving a briefing after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A video of Gerry Brownlee, the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, speaking about the Draft Recovery Strategy at a CERA conference. Brownlee talks about the progress that has already been made in the rebuild, as well as the goals of the Draft Recovery Strategy.
Camera crew filming Prime Minister John Key and Gerry Brownlee, the Minister of Economic Development, giving a briefing after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee holding a jackhammer on Kingsford Street in Burwood, as part of the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT).
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee handling a jackhammer on Kingsford Street in Burwood, as part of the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT).
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, has described a 'state of the city' speech by the Christchurch mayor, Lianne Dalziel, as deeply disappointing.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, has defended the government's handling of the Christchurch City Council's consenting crisis in Parliament this afternoon.
Earthquake Minister, Gerry Brownlee, speaking to Reverend Peter Beck at the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) opening. The ceremony was held in Burwood Park. Workers in florescent vests are standing in the background.
Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee trundles heavily through debris left after the Canterbury earthquake of 4th September 2010. An engineer tells him to 'Tread lightly' as they 'don't want any more aftershocks..' Gerry Brownlee is not a slight man. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A video of a press conference with Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee. Brownlee announced that cabinet has agreed to redevelop the hospital sites throughout Canterbury. This will include the building of additional operating theatres, the replacement of around 5000 beds, the expansion of the intensive care unit and emergency department, and the building of a new hospital for older persons in Burwood.
A photograph of a poster and picket signs in the window of the Earthquake Services building on the corner of Fitzgerald Avenue and Ferry Road. The poster depicts Gerry Brownlee in the style of Barack Obama's "Hope" campaign poster, and reads "Democracy nope". The picket signs read "Brownlee: rise, lies and pies" and "Overwrought, overdrawn, over EQC".
A PDF copy of page 138 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The page documents the transitional project 'CERA'.
The Cabinet is likely to approve emergency legislation today that will smooth the way for reconstruction efforts in Canterbury.
The bill to fix botched EQC repairs from the Canterbury earthquakes has hit $270 million - four times what the previous Government predicted just two years ago. The Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission, Megan Woods, has asked Treasury to urgently crunch some figures to give the Government an idea of its future liability, with many experts warning thousands more homes may be affected. The former Canterbury Rebuild Minister Gerry Brownlee, who was in the job for six years until a year ago, speaks to Guyon Espiner.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee refused to be interviewed on Checkpoint.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Chris Finlayson and Gerry Brownlee are interviewed by media".