Canterbury earthquake (Federated Farmers Thursday update)
The Darfield meeting gives farmers time to take stock while attention moves to practical matters following Saturday’s earthquake.
Major updates and rural news:
Earthquake meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister at Darfield High School (4.30pm – 6.30pm) followed by a BBQ
Remember this is an open invitation to farmers, their families as well as advisers, contractors and anyone who has pitched in over recent days. Come to Darfield High School (7 McLaughlins Road) from 4.30pm as there will be a free BBQ following the meeting at 6.30pm (thanks to DB Breweries, ANZCO, Silver Fern Farms, Rabobank and Ballance for the donation of fertiliser). There are activities for children to make this as family-friendly as possible, with non-alcoholic beverages also available. It is a great chance to get off the farm and out of the house.
Physical boundary movements (preliminary internal legal advice)
Federated Farmers internal legal counsel has assessed the law regarding ‘avulsions’, as events that move the land suddenly. Briefly and generally, the position is that the title boundaries aren’t changed by such events, but soils, trees, crops, structures etc, that have been moved by the earthquake onto land that is within someone else's title, remain the property of the owner on whose land they were prior to the ‘avulsion’. It seems the expectation is that reasonable owners will resolve matters amongst themselves, but if they are unable to do so, there are provisions within the Property Law Act whereby the High Court can make appropriate orders.
The legal position regarding rivers altering course is identical: the locations of title boundaries are unchanged. For example, farmer A might find he owns land which is now on the opposite side of a river, beside land owned by farmer B. Farmer B, whose land may have previously abutted the same river might find he has lost his riparian access. Nevertheless, farmer B has no rights to go onto farmer A's land. In some cases, it may be that the original river bed is in Crown ownership and that will not have been changed by the alteration in the course of the river.
LINZ has information available that can be accessed by clicking here. Unfortunately LINZ cannot provide legal advice, however, legal boundaries for properties are still held in Survey Plans approved by LINZ by registered Surveyors prior to the Earthquake. For more information or legal advice for members, please phone Federated Farmers on 0800 327 646.
Allan Baird appointed as Rural Emergency Coordinator
Federated Farmers has welcomed Government’s appointment of Allan Baird to work with the Regional Rural Recovery Group as Rural Emergency Coordinator. He is well known to the Canterbury rural community and will now act as the pivot for rural recovery efforts. More information will be available at Darfield High School from 4.30pm.
0800 FARMING (0800 327 646)
The 0800 number will be taking calls until 5pm tonight (messages may also left) and again from 8.30am in the morning. Remember we need to know who needs help so we can feed this to the Regional Rural Recovery Group.
Rural Women New Zealand
Rural Women New Zealand has compiled an advice tip sheet that can be emailed as required. To get access to this publication, please dial 0800 256 467.
See yesterday’s advisory by clicking here for
§ Important well test tips
§ Bank packages being offered to affected farmers
Other important notices and essential services:
State of emergency in Waimakariri District
The State of Emergency in Waimakariri District has been extended until noon on Wednesday, 15 September 2010.
Electricity update for the Orion network
Orion’s focus today is to connect the estimated 200 customers still without power. In rural areas there are some isolated customers at the end of long lines who are still without power. Everyone in the rural community appreciates the efforts of Orion given the severity of the earthquake. It aims to have everyone reconnected by Friday night. From today it will start standing down crews who have worked long hours since Saturday’s quake. Orion is resting crews now to ensure they can respond to any events over the weekend. If you are still without power call 03 363 9898 to ensure you are in its system.
New Zealand Post postal deliveries in Canterbury are suspended this Saturday
New Zealand Post postal services in Canterbury will be suspended for one day, this Saturday, 11 September. This is to give quake affected New Zealand Post staff a break. CourierPost will also not be making deliveries this Saturday, however, the urgent delivery service, Pace will still be operating. The temporary suspension of services on Saturday means there will be no postal, PO Box and rural mail deliveries in Christchurch and related rural areas which have been affected by the quake.
PostShops and PostCentres will be open as usual on Saturday, apart from those currently closed due to safety and access issues. For updates on the status of New Zealand Post services in the quake affected area go to its website, by clicking here.
Telecom service update
Telecom
§ Telecom has made 300 payphones in and around Christchurch free for local, national and mobile calls. Around 6,000 calls have been made since Sunday, which adds up to over 15,000 minutes of calling
§ Telecom is also providing free call diverts for its retail customers who are unable to use their home phones, and has provided practical information for customers on how to check and restore their telecommunications services through local press and radio
§ Telecom is supporting the Red Cross 0900 appeal, so far over $48,820 has been raised.
§ Telecom has ensured all Civil Defence social assistance sites have telecommunications service since Saturday, for example through the provision of temporary mobile sites
Chorus
§ Chorus has brought in 100 additional technicians, engineers and managers from around the country to help with on-going restoration work and investigation of over 1300 network sites
§ Chorus is making good progress repairing cable faults, having already fixed over 40 damaged cables damaged by seismic activity since Saturday. Work is currently under way on a further 40 cables and letterbox drops to affected customers is being made
§ Chorus is currently looking into 400 individual customer-reported faults in the wider Christchurch area. Chorus has just over 163,000 access lines into households, businesses and other premises across the region
§ Chorus is providing free mobile phones for people without service who need a phone service for medical reasons. Chorus is also working with Civil Defence, local authorities and service providers to prioritise medical-related faults.
Gen-i
§ Gen-i has shipped additional IT equipment to Christchurch and is now holding three times the normal stock levels to help restore ICT services for clients
§ Gen-i continues to provide close support to its infrastructure and government clients, including the Ministry of Social Development, to ensure they have the telecommunications and IT systems they require to do what they need to do
§ Gen-i is also working closely with banking and insurance providers as well as construction firms, to support rebuild and recovery activities across Canterbury.
Short term weather outlook
Rain will develop north of Christchurch this evening with easterlies. Tomorrow, there will be occasional rain or drizzle, easing to a few showers by the afternoon, then becoming fine. Southeast winds dying away, with northerlies developing about the coast later. On Saturday, cloud will increase with northeasterlies developing. On Sunday, it will be cloudy with patchy rain and easterlies. The outlook for Monday is patchy rain clearing and light winds. For the latest MetService update, please click here.
Roading update (Selwyn)
§ SH77 is closed between Glentunnel and Glenroy
§ Sections of Ellesmere, Longstaffs and Trices Roads, north of Ellesmere Road, remain closed
§ The Davis Road and Saybys Road bridges are out of action
§ Some roads around Tai Tapu are damaged and settlement could have occurred affecting bridges
§ Care should be taken on all roads, and particularly approaching bridges
§ Repairs have also commenced.
Roading update (Waimakiriri)
§ The Old Waimakariri Bridge is currently closed
§ The Ashley Bridge at Cones Road, Rangiora is currently open
§ Williams Street and the Williams Street Bridge have reopened to two lane traffic. Speed restrictions of 30km an hour apply and parking is very restricted
§ Clean up efforts are now focused around the Sewell Road, Cass Road, Charles Streets and the Feldwick Avenue block
§ Access into the Courtenay Drive, Raven Quay, Charles, Feldwick, Moore Streets is restricted to residents and essential services. If you do not need to get into these areas, please stay out as the traffic is hampering repair work and making it dangerous for workers
§ All other roads are open and passable, including roads in Pines-Kairaki. These areas may need to be closed temporarily to allow repairs to water mains. Detours will be put in place.
Government earthquake helpline and staff wage assistance
From today, Government will assist businesses with 20 employees or fewer, which are unable to operate because of the earthquake. Government will pay qualifying employers $350 (gross) per worker per week and the employer may top up this amount. Please call the Government’s helpline 0800 779 997 for more information.
Legal advice, publicly issued by lawyers Chapman Tripp, is that employers also have a duty to pay normal pay, even if the employees have been prevented from working and irrespective of whether they are waged or salaried. The determining factor is whether they are ready and willing to work. If so, then (subject to the terms of the applicable employment agreements) they must be paid.
Health and safety
Chapman Tripp further advises that employers have duties under the Health and Safety in Employment Act to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of their employees while at work.
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue Disaster Response line is 0800 473 566.
Industry group updates:
Grains update
Federated Farmers is able to assist farmers in need - for urgent advice, please contact David Clark, 027 495 5202 or Murray Rowlands, 027 242 9542, or 0800 327 646.
Dairy update
Farmers needing advice can call DairyNZ’s acting regional leader for Canterbury, Simon Sankey, on 021 228 3446 as well as DairyNZ’s John White, about effluent systems on 021 245 9155. Federated Farmers North Canterbury Dairy chairperson, Kieran Stone, is available to offer advice on 027 558 8917 as well as Federated Farmers Dairy vice-chairperson, Willy Leferink, on 03 307 2666.
Meat & Fibre update
Please call 0800 327 646 or if the matter is important, speak with Dugald McLean on 03 313 5442.
Bees update
Any beekeeper with damaged hives should contact 0800 327 646 or seek advice from Graeme Albon on 021 025 20328 or John Hartnell on 021 578 754.
Support from the major rural supply merchants and fertiliser companies:
Ravensdown
§ Ravensdown wishes to support any Co-operative members who have suffered significant damage or loss and might require additional assistance
§ If you are affected, or know some affected please contact the Customer Centre on 0800 100 123 or your account manager.
Ballance Agri-Nutrients
§ Ballance Agri-Nutrients has kindly donated $2,000 worth of fertiliser products to Federated Farmers to give away at the special earthquake meeting in Darfield this afternoon
§ Its Rolleston Service Centre was caught up in the earthquake to a small extent, but it knows many of its farmer customers have been dealt a severe blow. Graeme Smith, Ballance’s general manager of sales and marketing, is in Canterbury with a Ballance support crew talking to affected farmers
§ Dial 0800 222 090 for more information.
RD1
§ Has a current offering for all South Island Fonterra suppliers of three months interest-free deferred or spread terms on most core dairy supplies which is available for uptake until the end of September
§ Beyond this, RD1 is happy to work with customers affected by the recent earthquake by offering them further extended terms by arrangement with RD1
§ Dial 0800 731 266 for more information.
CRT
§ Offers its CreditLine revolving credit facility to qualifying shareholders with an interest rate of one percent per month.
§ Being a cooperative, CRT offers rebates, which apply at a rate of 15 percent of monthly interest paid – further reducing the low effective interest rate
§ Dial CRT 0800 278 583 for more information.
Immediate services available for farmers:
Rural contractors available
A big reminder that our affiliated member, Rural Contractors New Zealand, provide the quickest means to assist farmers. They can be contacted via 0800 424 266.
Checking damage to farm effluent systems
DairyNZ’s Invercargill based Environmental Extension Specialist, John White, is an expert in effluent systems. Given farmers are assessing the physical damage farms may have sustained, John can be contacted 021 245 9155.
Off-farm grazing
Federated Farmers is receiving offers for off-farm grazing. If you need or can offer such assistance, please call 0800 327 646. Federated Farmers is also able to provide stock and land leasing agreements.
Federated Farmers services (to members)
Federated Farmers legal and employment advice line is available during normal business hours and can be accessed by dialling 0800 327 646.
The wider community, support and updates:
Can you offer accommodation to urban residents?
If you are able to offer accommodation to Christchurch’s urban residents, given the scale of damage in-town, keep registering on 0800 327 646 (0800 FARMING).
Federated Farmers Canterbury Field Officers
Federated Farmers Field Officers, Vicky O'Connor and Mark Burnside will be at Darfield High School from 4.30pm, together with Field Officers Julie Christie and Ken Algie. Vicky O'Connor can be contacted on 027 432 0218 and Mark Burnside on 027 442 3355.
If you can offer assistance or need assistance, please contact:
0800 327 646 (0800 FARMING)