24 July 2012

Brownlee needs powers reined in

The High Court’s decision to overturn parts of Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee’s decision to change Canterbury’s planning rules and rezone land highlights the need for the overdue review of the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) Act to occur.

“The built in requirement for an annual review of the “operation and effectiveness” of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act is overdue,” said Green Party Christchurch spokesperson Eugenie Sage.

“It was supposed to have been completed in April; twelve months after Parliament passed the Act.

“We understand the Minister may have a copy of the review. That should be made public immediately, and in particular we need to know how the actions of the Minister himself were evaluated in the review.

“The review needs to involve the public and to focus on the extent of the Minister and CERA’s powers and whether they are still necessary.

“The Green Party suggested that the extensive Ministerial powers contained in the Act expire after nine months, once the emergency period was over. The Courts decision highlights why the Minister’s powers need to be reined in.

“Gerry Brownlee exceeded his extensive statutory authority despite having the most draconian powers ever available to a Minister in peacetime.

“The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act makes the Minister and CERA all powerful. The emergency period is over and the powers need to be scaled back to allow public input into planning decisions.

“If normal RMA planning processes had applied, the parties who took the case would have been able to have their say and contribute to decisions without necessarily having to go to Court.

“It is time for the law to be tightened up to stop the Minister acting as a power unto himself.”

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