$5.5b for Canterbury Recovery Fund

Hon Gerry Brownlee
Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

19 May 2011

Budget 2011 delivers $5.5 billion over six years for the Government’s new Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Fund, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says.

About $4.8 billion of this will be provided through new funding, while another $740 million will be absorbed or reprioritised from other areas. This is in addition to the Earthquake Commission’s expected $3 billion share of repairing residential property and land damage, as well as other costs such as ACC.

“The Government has created a new fund for the Canterbury earthquake to ensure transparency of the money we spend in rebuilding greater Christchurch,” Mr Brownlee says.

“Rebuilding the city and its surrounds will be a long and complex task, but the Government is committed to providing the necessary resources to make this happen over the coming weeks, months and years.”

This money, combined with the direct cost to the Earthquake Commission of meeting residential property damage, and ACC costs, makes up the Government’s $8.8 billion estimated total investment in rebuilding Canterbury.

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Fund will cover:

• The Government's share of repairing essential local infrastructure - mainly water and roading infrastructure.
• Repairing state owned assets such as state highways, schools and hospitals.
• Welfare support through job loss cover and wage subsidies, as well as costs relating to the immediate response to the emergency.
• The Government’s financial support package for AMI Insurance.

The Recovery Fund also includes about $3.2 billion that is yet to be allocated.

This will be used for any additional costs from areas outlined in the table above, as well as for policy decisions that are yet to be made, such as temporary housing and any remediation of land damaged in the February earthquake.

As at April 30, the Government had spent about $12 billion on earthquake costs, with around $850 million of this for residential claims paid by the Earthquake Commission and $220 million on wage subsidy and job loss cover packages.

For more information about the Canterbury earthquake recovery and the new Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) visit: www.cera.govt.nz

ENDS

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