“Even in developed countries, disasters have a knack of finding the poor and vulnerable.” Charles W. Gould
We should all be outraged about stories like Alf’s in the Christchurch Press yesterday.
92 year old Alf Johnson is still waiting on his insurance claim. He was told to pack his bags and be ready to leave his home around Christmas. Christmas came and went and Alf remains in his broken home.
As a nation, we can’t just sit back and let this happen. It’s been three and a half years. Alf deserves better than this.
It’s just one more example of how leaders and decision-makers have ignored the lessons and evidence of natural disasters from around the world.
On 10 May 2011 the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Sir Peter Gluckman, wrote a briefing paper for the Government. The paper presented evidence from other disasters around the world. Post-earthquake other international visitors spoke in Christchurch about lessons from disasters and research papers (including from the Canterbury District Health Board) were shared publicly.
The evidence told us the following:
Community networks and institutions, such as schools are known to buffer the effects of stress and help children return to some sense of normality.
Yet we have had school closures in our poorest communities. The Government used the earthquake as an excuse for school closures and charter school experiments. And at the worst possible time.
It is important to attend to the basic needs of the population first, because the stresses associated with housing and restoring patterns of life can have as much impact on psychological wellbeing as the disaster itself. Sir Gluckman said, “A delayed response to provision of key needs …might create heightened anger…” and Gould, “The recovery of housing is essential to a community’s recovery”.
Yet commercial centres and anchor projects were prioritised over people’s homes. People have been caught up in endless delay by EQC and insurance companies. People have been forced to take EQC and their insurance companies to court. Families have been or are still living in garages, tents, cars and on other peoples’ couches. There is a significant lack of supply, particularly for affordable housing. Market forces can’t and won’t fix it.
Recovery is not neutral. A disaster may widen the gap between the rich and the poor. “Even in developed countries, disasters have a knack of finding the poor and vulnerable.” Charles W. Gould
Yet many of our vulnerable have been let down by the Government – 92 year old Alf and 85 year old Dot, who I mentioned last week. Social agencies report that older people are feeling alone and anxious. We know of many calls to St John about self-harm or suicide and over 60,000 Cantabrians taking anti-depressants.
It is vital that agencies pay attention to issues of pre-existing inequalities. Sir Gluckman said in his report, “Women (especially mothers of young children), children, and people with a prior history of mental illness or poor social adjustment appear to be more vulnerable than other groups”.
Yet 1 in 5 young people (15-19) are unemployed and 1 in 4 children living below the poverty line. The evidence also told us that rebuilding could offer opportunities to create a more equitable community – if carefully planned. However, when solutions were proposed to rebuild Christchurch, inequality was not something deemed worthy of repair. Post-earthquake calls by organisations like the Christchurch Methodist Mission for Council and Government to consider the needs of everyone in the rebuild and create a “Poverty Reduction Plan” fell on deaf ears.
Natural disasters are disempowering events. The need to regain some sense of control over one’s life is central to the recovery process. Sir Gluckman said, “It is important for the affected population to co-ordinate and co-lead the response effort. If the population do not sense this is happening, then the phase may well be longer and the symptoms of anger and frustration more intense.”
Yet CERA’s power, control and dominance are growing rather than diminishing. We still have an un-elected Regional Council (ECan) four years after elected councillors were sacked by the Government in March 2010. The Council-led “Share an Idea” report was shelved by the Government in favour of anchor projects. Many people feel disempowered. Anger and resentment is growing. The City Council offers a glimmer of hope and is working to re-establish itself and reclaim some of its powers seized by CERA.
We need leaders and decision-makers who pay attention to the lessons that have been learned from other natural disasters around the world and the advice of the Prime Minister’s Chief Scientist Sir Peter Gluckman. That includes caring about human rights and basic dignity for Alf and Dot and others like them.
Do you have any evidence that levels of inequality and poverty have increased significantly in Christchurch since 2011?
Anecdotal
Where I work on minimum wage there are a number of people who lost professional jobs such as ESOL teacher and Phlebotomist (blood nurse) due to their companies loss of contracts, buildings, etc. post earthquakes. I would say they are now poorer than previously.
There seems a lot of unemployment among people who are not in the rebuild industries particularly women.
And as far as renting a house, flat, garage, anything it is nightmarish and very, very expensive.
Do you have any evidence it hasn’t?
I’m not the one claiming that we should focus on dealing with inequality and poverty as part of the Christchurch rebuild. Once again you fail to understand the burden of proof in relation to arguments.
Mr Milne seems to believe that it is important to deal with these two issues yet I don’t see any evidence provided by him that inequality and poverty is a problem as a result of the earthquake. All that is provided is a supposition that it must be dealt with because some people believe it is important.
I would agree with him to an extent if there was a big increase in poverty and/or inequality since the earthquake. Otherwise he is just using the earthquake to further a political agenda that he believes in.
Yes, poverty has gotten worse.
http://www.cpag.org.nz/assets/Backgrounders/140227%20CPAG%20Children%20and%20the%20Canterbury%20Feb2014.pdf
You know what though? Even if poverty hadn’t gotten worse, even if poverty was staying the same– that still wouldn’t be good enough for me in the city that I want to live in. Society could make the choice to address the tragic and unnecessary indignity of 260,000 children living in poverty in New Zealand; this government hasn’t and won’t.
I couldn’t find any data in that linked report that shows rates of poverty and inequality have increased. It has highlighted certain people are undergoing hardships since the earthquake. Noone is disputing this and that is why billions of dollars are being spent down there.
Page 8 – “The cost and unavailability of affordable rental housing have also led to overcrowding, which together with the condition of many houses has led to an increase in poverty-related illnesses in children”
Also check this report from CERA. See page 8 for the rental price increases. It’s clear poverty is up in Chch, unless you think wages have gone up 30-40% in the 2 years after the quake?
If you are looking for quantitative data that satisfies your self-righteous and sick denials, you won’t find them, there has been no quantitative measuring of poverty because you know what the Nats are like about measuring poverty with numbers…
Where is the evidence that the rate of poverty has increased? Not that people in poverty are finding it more difficult. That is a given. Most people in the quake affected parts of Christchurch are finding it more difficult.
No they are not spending millions of dollars on people in hardship. They are spending it on stadiums, conference centres and such like.
They are fixing the sewerage waste water and roads also which benefits us all and is a good thing.
Those in hardship continue in hardship from what I have seen and don’t get given any part of this ‘millions of dollars’.
The current Government is using the earthquake to further its political agenda. An agenda that I strongly disagree with. I believe we have a great opportunity to create a different and better city (the kind of city over 100,000 asked for in the “Share an Idea” consultation). That includes grasping the opportunity to reduce poverty. But more on that next week!
Well Tony
What exactly is your party going to do to address poverty in this country and not just child poverty.
The sick, old and unemployed what has labour got for them?
Answer carefully I live in the electorate you want to be the MP for.
Gosman come down here with your eyes wide open.
The only ones making money down here are the corporations everyone else is is being screwed.
plus I got people I know in the rebuild industry having trouble getting their wages too.
Everyone goes on about the rebuild bugger all are actually getting anything out of it.
GOSMAN:
Do you have any evidence that, apart from you, almost everyone else out there out there has eyes, and is capable of some degree of reason?
Apparently not, from the tenor of your posts.
And yet my views broadly reflect the current governing party that has around 50% support amongst the wider public. If almost everyone else is capable of some degree of reason and has an opposing view to mine how do you explain that?
@ Gasman … are you Gerry Brownlee ??? Do you have difficulty getting into a ten person tent ?
One thing’s for sure . You don’t live in , or have ever visited Christchurch so shut your trap .
Otherwise he is just using the earthquake to further a political agenda that he believes in.
Rather like the current crop of Nat MPs are doing
Which I presume you oppose then?
“Yet 1 in 5 young people (15-19) are unemployed”? Totally wrong.
1 in 5 young people IS unemployed.
It does not need statistics to see how the earthquakes and floods and all the other natural and man-made disasters have heightened the sense of ‘inequality’ and ‘poverty’ among the people of Christchurch. It just takes a walk around the streets of the affected areas, and a look into the eyes of the people who remain. That’s where you will find the truth, and it’s not pretty.
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