Newstalk ZB Canterbury contacted me yesterday over Monday's post, asking if I was saying "harden up Canterbury".  The journalist said that no public figure had been willing to express publicly the kinds of thoughts I'd recorded, but it had made her think because she was still waiting for someone to deal with their cracked chimney.

That was exactly the kind of  situation I'm worried about. Chimneys are simple to pull down. I took down 2 of them from our current house years ago when I found the mortar crumbling. One gave us extra space. The other was replaced with a flue by a plumber. Cheap, easy and as I recall no consents needed.

She recorded  a balanced discussion.  I explained that I was not blaming Christchurch people. Instead I was speculating that the EQC scheme was destructive. The vast load of compensating for minor damage that almost everyone could bear as just one of life's reverses, seemed to be delaying help for those who'd suffered serious losses for which insurance was really needed. But worse, its availability and the deadening need for local authority consents was bogging thousands of otherwise resilient people in a passive mindset of waiting when they would have otherwise sorted themselves out quickly. I mentioned the Thais who were renowned for gettting back to business as usual largely themselves after their genuinely tragic losses to the tsunami a few years ago. 

She recorded  a balanced discussion. I'd be glad to hear from any  Christchurch person who hears it, how much of the interview is broadcast. I fear that it might be played selectively, to whip up resentment at daring not to ooze undiscriminating compassion for all, the needy and the undeserving alike.

[Thursday afternoon – to avoid doubt – I did not say "harden up Canterbury". I told Newstalk ZB that clearly. I told them that the issue was whether  the EQC terms should be revised, with the regulation that delays building work.accompanies  ]