Government ignores its own advice

A year old briefing paper detailing the psychological impacts of disaster, which was collecting dust on government shelves, was today brushed off and brought to the attention of Parliament by Lianne Dalziel.

“Amy Adams, in her role as Associate Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, assured Parliament that she and the Minister had read the briefing paper,” Lianne Dalziel said.

“This is perplexing as there is no evidence in the government’s handling of land decisions that it has any understanding of the impact of those decisions.

“The strength of feeling among people in the orange-zoned part of Southshore, who have been fobbed off by the government for the tenth time, is testament to that.

“The report states that as the earthquake was a disempowering event for Cantabrians, the need to gain some sense of control over their lives was central to the recovery process.

“it notes that disempowerment essentially reinforces the initial trauma.

“That is a powerful assertion on paper, but it is even more striking to experience in your own community.

“This paper reinforces what the community has been saying from the outset - the key to minimising anger and frustration is the promotion of local empowerment. Doing that includes working in a collaborative way to engage with the affected population to co-ordinate and co-lead the response effort.

“The paper also acknowledges that managing the inevitable tensions is not easy, but given that it cannot be avoided, needs to be openly handled with sensitivity.

“Labour’s calls for transparency and accountability have long been ignored. But now it seems the government is also ignoring its top advisors as well,” Lianne Dalziel said.