Prime Minister’s weekly column
This week we’ve had the privilege of hosting Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall in New Zealand, as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. It has been a very busy schedule for the Prince and Duchess, and on Friday I enjoyed accompanying the Royals while in Christchurch. It’s a great opportunity for us to thank…….. them for the support given by their family in the wake of the devastating earthquakes.
We’re making some great progress on the rebuild of Christchurch. This is one of our four main priorities for this term in office, and the Government has made a firm commitment to all Cantabrians to do what it takes to rebuild a strong and vibrant city. Just a few weeks ago, the Government and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) reached a significant milestone with the completion of zoning of every single residential home in greater Christchurch. It was important to get this process right to give Canterbury homeowners certainty about their future. Over 180,000 homes have been zoned green, which means those homeowners can get on with the process of repairing or rebuilding their home if it was damaged by the earthquakes. A further 7860 residential properties have been zoned red – which means their land is unlikely to be suitable for residential occupation for a considerable period of time – and they have received an offer to purchase their properties from the Crown. More than 5000 owners of residential red zone properties have already settled with the Crown.
Repairing damaged infrastructure is another area where we’ve made some great progress. Eighty million worth of infrastructure repairs have been completed so far – from fixing roads, to fresh water and waste water pipe repairs, and restoring electricity. The repair of infrastructure will create over 1000 new jobs, and the Government has committed $28 million to maintain expanded training opportunities for young people in Canterbury – this means they can train for free and they’ll be guaranteed a job at the end.
Read more about our progress rebuilding Christchurch at www.national.org.nz/canterbury.aspx. This week, I’m in Cambodia attending the East Asia Summit. I will also visit Myanmar for important meetings. I look forward to updating you next week on this trip.
