Earthquake strengthening backdown a great day, ten years late

“There’s nothing worse than people saying I told you so, but sometimes you just have to say it," says ACT Leader David Seymour, welcoming the passage of the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Bill.

“Today is a great day for common sense policy making, but one that should’ve come 10 years ago. The ACT Party stood alone against every other party in Parliament over the original law, and today’s backdown is a vindication.

“The knee-jerk reaction to Canterbury‘s tragic earthquakes, passed in 2016, has cost billions of dollars and lost people their livelihoods. The laws were crazy, but every party except ACT supported them. Today new laws pass their third reading, and become the law of the land.

“Today’s reforms largely reverse the madness, and will save an estimated $9 billion because pointless earthquake strengthening will no longer be required. Had ACT been listened to 10 years ago, New Zealanders could have saved another $10 billion.

“I have met people who lost their livelihood thanks to the knee-jerk earthquake strengthening laws. It happened because routine renovations and maintenance by their body corporate triggered earthquake strengthening requirements with crippling expenses. One lady I met lost everything as a result of this.

“Today is a vindication of the role ACT plays in New Zealand politics. We stand on principle, even when it’s not popular. We are consistent and effective at standing up for people’s basic rights even, especially, when they are a minority.

“Recent announcements show the need for ACT has not gone away. In fact, it is stronger now than ever."

Editor's note:

In a speech from 2016, David Seymour said:

‘If we were making empathic public policy, we would be highly focused on ensuring that the amount of money spent and the resources that go into earthquake strengthening are commensurate with the price that we are prepared to pay to avoid and mitigate other risks. And yet, in Auckland we will be spending money on earthquake strengthening when the risks that we face by being in those buildings are hundreds and thousands and tens of thousands of times lower than the risks we face every day in the course of riding bikes, driving cars, and flying planes.’