22 February, 2013
Prime Minister Key to account for civil defence failure
The New Zealand Prime Minister owes a personal debt to those left unprotected and who died in the Canterbury
earthquakes, a former regional councillor claims. Rik Tindall was the last community representative for Civil Defence
and Emergency Management (CDEM) at Environment Canterbury (ECan), before PM Key's move to accelerate commercial
irrigation in the region displaced the elected, accountable council.
Mismanagement of CDEM, under Key's tasked ECan commission, left an organisational deficit after the 4 September 2010
quake that turned catastrophic come 22 February 2011, Tindall believes. “Key's culpability for deficient emergency
response is very strong.”
Dismantling of the regional council and its CDEM capacity contributed to the scale of the tragedy, Tindall explains.
“Event analysis, fair warning and preparation were stifled, to maintain business-as-usual in commercial Christchurch at
the expense of public safety. As with the wreckage of ECan, Mayor Parker shared credit for civil defence disaster with
the Prime Minister, but now adding promotional camera angles,” he says.
“A national emergency was called by Key after the 22 February quake, in an attempt to cover for the lost regional
capacity to respond to a regional crisis. But the sudden, off-focus, ad hoc arrangements could not work so well as years
of preparation might have indicated,” Tindall explains. “For example, the absence of the NZ Defence Force (NZDF) – apart
from medics – from the CTV building rescue doomed it to failure; that was a connection expected through ECan CDEM, that
never eventuated. City CDEM was under-resourced for what wasn't their job, creating foolhardy confusion and lost
opportunity to save lives.”
Tindall sees the blame being shifted onto NZ Fire Service (NZFS) administration and its Urban Search and Rescue wing as
passing the buck appallingly. “Late 2012's Canterbury Television inquest had that objectionable flavour, with NZFS in
Wellington irrelevantly brought under scrutiny and NZDF notable for their absence as participant witnesses,” Tindall
points out. “City CDEM had little functionality, in the event.”
“Let us remember the 185 lives lost in Christchurch, and respect them by bringing justice over their official
abandonment,” Tindall says.
“With John Key’s personal fortune reported at fifty million dollars, he can afford to compensate the families of those
whose lives his CDEM incompetence and hubris wasted, to the tune of $270,270.27 each. This he should immediately
announce and pay, at this anniversary,” Tindall recommends.
“The take-home, 22 February 2013, Christchurch message for John Key is: 'Gamble with peoples' well-being, as you have so
casually in Canterbury, and you lose; big time.'”
ENDS