New Zealand authorities accused of bureacracy amidst post-quake demolition delays.
Just a few short weeks ago, New Zealand’s authorities stood accused of prematurely condemning a number of quake-damaged Christchurch buildings. Now, according to local newspaper reports, bureaucratic delays have left demolition equipment sitting idle within the central Christchurch cordon, slowing the earthquake recovery, demolition contractors say.
But Christchurch Central Labour MP Brendon Burns has called the comments “self-serving”. “The demolition companies are paid by the number of hours they run their machines and the amount of rubble they bring down,” he said. “Contractors imploring the work to start sooner seems a bit self-serving to me.”
Smith Crane and Construction managing director Tim Smith said owners of badly damaged buildings were pushing for demolition but often struggled to get approval. “Where a building is completely stuffed, how hard is it?”
He said the central city was scattered with idle diggers surrounded by buildings that needed to come down.
“There are excavators sitting everywhere doing nothing because nothing can get approved.” Smith said there was a financial motivation, but there was also genuine concern that the inner-city recovery was being held up. “If they don’t get on with it, the city is going to be closed for years,” he said.
One contractor said none of his 35 diggers in the central city was being used.
After some “cowboy” contractors had irresponsibly started knocking down buildings, Civil Defence had tightened the rules but had gone too far, he said.
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