Richmond focus. Monday 28.01.19. While Leah attended a teacher-training meeting at Seabrook McKenzie Centre, I did a half-hour, circular-trek along red-zone Avon River bank: London St, Fitzgerald Ave, River Rd, Stanmore Rd, London St.
Fitzgerald Ave Bridge: a bridge-rail, torn sign:
DEMO
IN PRO
NO E
That bridge was continuously used since the 2010-13 quakes, the spans anti-clockwise rotated & the north-east abutment skewed by quakes below Avon River.
Fitzgerald Ave & Harvey Tce: Red-Zone vacant-land, where CERA took houses along River Rd forming a bit of residential red-zone on liquefactioned-land. CERA proclaimed red-zone on damaged-land, then paid out owners & demolished 7500+ houses the land remaining cordoned red-zone & after five years CERA handed-over that taken-land to LINZ (Land Information NZ). Thus NZ National government trampled on citizens' private land-rights, taking vast areas of Christchurch's private-land & used quakes as an excuse not to rebuild infrastructure on taken red-zone-land about four times the size of Hagley Park.
I read a Council info-board extolling Victorian virtues on that section of River Rd between Fitzgerald Ave & Stanmore Rd: Daisy Fields, where Victorians picnicked & watched rowing-regattas by Avon River boat-houses. Victorians got that right: the riverbank sloping, enabling views of Avon River boating & regattas. Since quakes, there'd been suggestions for residential-red-zone land-use. Presently a river-walk from city-to-sea went along Avon River banks: white footprints painted on abandoned, cordoned, red-zone roads, like River Road.
A Council riverside sign:
TE ARA
OTAKARO
AVON TRAIL
10 KM
ROAD
CLOSED
AUTHORISED
VEHICLES ONLY
PEDESTRIANS CYCLISTS
AND AUTHORISED
VEHICLE ACCESS ONLY
FOR INFORMATION
CALL LINZ...
FOR
AUTHORISED VEHICLE
ACCESS
LAND INFORMATION
NEW ZEALAND
TOITU TE WHENUA
PH...
River Rd: I'd seen red-zone cordon-signs on fences since CERA took the red-zone. Citizens had walked cordons ever since, banned from driving in the residential-red-zone eight years post-quakes, so far. All houses along River Rd were demolished by CERA leaving grass, flowers & shrubs, yellow Daisy Fields blooming again. A parkland fence-cordon threat-signs:
NO UNAUTHORISED
ACCESS
NO DUMPING
LAND INFORMATION
NEW ZEALAND
TOITU TE WHENUA
Alongside River Rd, I saw AVONSIDE TENNIS CLUB courts was the only structure not demolished by CERA amidst yellow Daisy Fields. A peaceful spot, despite busy Avonside Dr on the opposite riverbank. When will red-zone cordons completely open for citizens?
Reckoning: 23.02.19. The Press reported that Lange's 1980s Labour government & succeeding NZ governments had pillaged EQC's National Disaster Fund to balance government books. That included Treasury oversight, Bolger's & Shipley's National governments & Clerk's Labour government. During Key's National government post 22 February Quake, EQC was insolvent. None of those governments ever admitted their pillaging of EQC for more than three decades!
Key's Key's National government had enabled two States-of-Emergencies with military-cordoned red-zoned CBD checkpoints for 28 months. Key's government had enabled CERA delays in demolitions / rebuilds & residential-red-zone takings & overseeing of slow EQC payments. Never mind anguish caused to 1000s of citizens. PM Key jabbered about "a Rock Star Economy" & wasted megabucks on a silly flag-referendum. His regime had restructured Christchurch schools by mergers & closures while EQC officials delayed assessments & payments & repairs for over 470 000 claimants (2010-2018). Key was awarded a knighthood. CERA minister Brownlee had condoned EQC's insolvency & Fletcher's botched repairs. Brownlee had denied a housing-crisis in Christchurch & hailed MBIE building-code guidelines which enabled those shoddy repairs. EQC boss Simpson had enabled EQC's slow assessments & payments & repairs & protected whining insurers with slow overcap assessments. Then Simpson became GNS Science boss in January 2017.
Meanwhile, eight years post-quakes, despite two Royal Commissions of Inquiry, Coroners' Reports & a three years' police investigation into the CTV multi-storey collapse, no one was held accountable for the CTV collapse & the dead. (Ditto 2023).
October 2020 Covid19 election: PM Jacinda Ardern's Labour party's landslide victory over National & other parties got enough Labour MPs to govern NZ for another three years without coalition parties. But Labour would include Green party MPs in a Coalition government. National deputy leader Brownlee lost his Ilam constituency to Labour. Brownlee had hogged Ilam since 1996. Brownlee lost his National deputy-leader position, but would continue in parliament as a list MP then Speaker. January 2023. PM Ardern would announce her resignation. Chris Hipkins would briefly become Labour PM. 2023. PM Hipkins would lose the election to National Party's new PM Chris Luxon. 2026. Ex PM Ardern would become a professor at a Sydney varsity. What a farce!
A decade post Darfield Quake, Brownlee's CERA Blueprint projects were slow: Riverine, residential-red-zones, no progress, just swampy, LINZ fenced-paddocks; Cathedral Sq, Christ Church Cathedral, many years' reintstatement still to go; Barbadoes St, Christchurch Basilica demolished for a manana rebuild; Metro Sports Facility slow progress; Te Pae Convention Centre opened 2021; Barbadoes St Stadium, slow progress, 2023. The Stadium would open in 2026.
Christchurch youth trust was keen to build an adventure school on abandoned Port Hills land (The Press / Stuff Co). In 2025 son Luke & partner would buy their first house in Hurunui St, Cracroft near the Adventure Park near Cashmere stream, a beautiful Port Hills area. In 2025-26 son Jake & partner would do a campervan loop in Australia & end up working at a Lake Eildon resort north of Melbourne.
See LINZ
See Plunder - How the bill for the Canterbury earthquakes was passed on (The Press / Stuff Co).
See GNS Science.
Copyright MJS Esslemont.
