Annual Report outlines earthquake impact

Christchurch City Council today adopted its Annual Report 2011, outlining the Council’s activities and finances over the past year.

Council General Manager Corporate Services Paul Anderson says projects and services were significantly affected by the earthquakes in September, February and June, with resources turned from business-as-usual projects to emergency response and recovery efforts.

“There is still a lot of work to be done before we fully understand the extent of damage to city infrastructure and other assets. As a result, much of the financial information set out in this year’s Annual Report is based on estimated costs.

“This means it is not possible to accurately account for the damage in our financial reports and Audit New Zealand has had to issue a disclaimer of opinion on this aspect of our Annual Report.

“While this is not a common occurrence, it has been widely accepted as a realistic result of the disruption caused by the earthquake. It will not have any impact on general Council business.”

Mr Anderson says staff have been working with the Council’s Audit and Risk Management Subcommittee and Audit New Zealand for some time to agree on the best way to describe the impact of the earthquakes in the Annual Report.

“Everyone involved, including the financial institutions with which the Council deals regularly, are comfortable with how we have disclosed our damage estimate in the Annual Report. The situation will become clearer as repair work progresses and we will have a lot more information on which to base next year’s reports,” Mr Anderson says.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker says this year’s Annual Report gives a good account of Council business over the past 12 months.

“The past year has been a truly challenging one for the Council, as it has for our residents. Like everyone else, we are still working through the details of what the earthquakes will cost us as a city and how we will repair the damage.

“At this stage, repairs to earthquake-damaged infrastructure, buildings and other assets are estimated to be around $2.4 billion. We are making good progress in responding to the issues, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us.

Mayor Parker says the Annual Report sets out the city’s response to the earthquakes in the days, weeks and months following 22 February.

“Looking back, I think we can be proud of how our city responded to what was one of our darkest days. There was a colossal effort across the city, from our Civil Defence staff and volunteers to our residents looking out for each other in their own neighbourhoods. We still have a lot of work in front of us, but we will make it through by working together,” he says.

The Christchurch City Council Annual Report 2011 will be published on 28 November 2011. It will be available online at www.ccc.govt.nz and from Council service centres and libraries.