20 June 2006
Praise For Canterbury CDEM Group
Civil Defence Minister Rick Barker said today that it was time National MP John Carter started praising Civil Defence
and Emergency Group workers in Canterbury, rather than attacking and undermining their efforts.
"Mr Carter has not deigned to either make contact with the region or visit to offer support.
"He is an armchair critic while local and regional civil defence, backed by central government, have done a fantastic
job.
"Canterbury's Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group have managed the situation in a quick and well considered
way.
"The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management has maintained close contact with Canterbury throughout and made
sure resources were available.
"Power companies have worked exceptionally hard to restore the hundreds of power poles that fell during the storm,
Telecommunications companies have all but resolved communication issues and connections, and most infrastructure is
again usable.
"I have continually invited Mr Carter to inform himself more effectively and he has continually ignored these
invitations. Mr Carter has no sense of how things work, nor how effectively this emergency has been managed on the
ground.
"Again, I congratulate Canterbury's emergency services, the hundreds of volunteers and local people for their efforts.
Central government's resources are there to support them to respond to this emergency as and when Canterbury's Civil
Defence and Emergency Management determines the need for them.
"There is still a lot of work for local services to do. Their herculean efforts must be acknowledged and supported as
they continue to get services up and running," Rick Barker said.
ENDS