Permanent emergency law must have checks & balances

Permanent legislation to handle emergencies could work, but only if the powers given to the Government were appropriately limited, said the Green Party today.

Canterbury earthquake spokesperson Kennedy Graham made this comment today in response to reports the Government may introduce permanent legislation to respond quickly to future emergencies of any kind.

“What we do not want is another rushed and problematic law such as the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act,” said Dr Graham.

The Canterbury Earthquake Act, heavily criticised by the Green Party during the rushed debate in Parliament two weeks ago, accorded sweeping powers to the Government to suspend or amend almost the entire New Zealand statute book in the name of rebuilding Christchurch.

“We voted for the Canterbury Earthquake Act in the final stages to help the people of Canterbury get on with their lives, but we called upon all New Zealanders to monitor the Government’s actions very closely and make sure those powers are not abused,” Dr Graham said.

The Greens called for the Canterbury Earthquake Act to last just six months, but the Government legislated for 18. “This is too long and the powers are excessive to the stated purpose of re-building,” said Dr Graham.

Dr Graham said the threat of climate change almost guaranteed future emergencies in floods, storm damage and sea-level rise. In this context, some permanent trigger powers of a modest and specific nature could be better than a rushed ad-hoc approach after each emergency.

“This would avoid hurried arguments over the correct powers every time we experience an emergency in the future.

“But it is imperative that any draft legislation doesn’t reflect a rush of blood to the head of the kind that seized the Government in the wake of the Canterbury earthquake,” said Dr Graham.