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Labour to complain about red zone offer

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Labour to complain about red zone offer

3News NZ

Not all red-zoned homes qualified for a full government payout (file)

Not all red-zoned homes qualified for a full government payout (file)

Labour is going to complain to the Auditor-General about the Government's decision to offer some Christchurch residents half the value of their red zone properties.

Red zone properties can't be repaired or rebuilt because the earthquakes made the land too unstable.

Nearly all claims have been settled but some properties didn't qualify for a full government payout.

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) recommended the owners of those properties should be given the same full payout on rateable value. But Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee ignored that and is offering half the rateable value, Fairfax reports.

Labour's earthquake recovery spokeswoman, Lianne Dalziel, says she is going to complain to Auditor-General Lyn Provost.

"The original advice from CERA was to offer affected property owners 100 percent of the most recent rating valuation," she said on Monday.

"The Government has ignored that completely and slashed its offer to half the rateable value - talk about rubbing salt in the wound, it's a low ball by anyone's definition."

NZN

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Comments

29/01/2013 10:30:24 p.m.

Bruce wrote:

Looks like it has all been said on here. In a nutshell - 1. Brownlee abusing the privileges of his given powers, which essentially means he is not capable of the responsibilitie­s which his job entails. 2. Government conjuring up legislation to run roughshod over citizens’ fundamental property rights to force them to sell . I think this is commonly known as EXTORSION. At least the NZ government is consistent in this field. The New Zealand Government - using wars and crisis to connive up laws to steal peoples land since 1863. It's a tradition you know. Onya Mr Key. Oh, and Mr Brownlie.

29/01/2013 9:35:21 a.m.

Rebecca wrote:

We are hard working, responsible New Zealanders who were caught out by simply being in the wrong stage of building. We now find ourselves financially strained and highly stressed when we were all trying to better our situation in life. Mr Brownlee has absolutley no empathy for us and our situation. I wonder if his response would have been different if the earthquake had damaged areas of land in his electorate?

29/01/2013 6:49:10 a.m.

Melanie wrote:

I would like to see Mr Brownlee take this kind of hit and see what it feels like. All our lives we've paid taxes and our retirement is tied up in a Red Zoned section on an undamaged piece of land in the Port Hills that we planned to build on in 2011. Does he realise how many lives he is destroying? We'll never recoup that kind of money at this stage of our lives...

28/01/2013 9:37:25 p.m.

Iain wrote:

ha ha ha ha ha nice one :o)

28/01/2013 6:39:15 p.m.

eddie wrote:

And what will piss you off Katubaldy is each poll shows national steady and the left eating their children...lol, voters in NZ will always vote for national at next election as the left are a joke and frighten the horses, i will predict next year election national will not need a coalition partner, they will govern alone rather than alternative of Labour/greens/mana/winnie 1st/Maori party...it's logical!!

28/01/2013 3:18:46 p.m.

katubaldy wrote:

Yeah you're right Mark,who wants to be fully compensated when they lose their house in an earthquake? Much prefer to have the govt come along and cut the insurance payout in half, what were Labour thinking....their just sooo negative....wha? Those house owners who got half of what they were entitled to, must be feeling much better off now Jerry got his way...yeah right!

28/01/2013 1:03:09 p.m.

Mark wrote:

Thanks all Labour is good for - complaing and being negative.