Dunne lists Capital earthquake-prone buildings
3 March 2011
Ohariu MP and UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne today placed Wellington City Council’s list of earthquake-prone Wellington buildings on the UnitedFuture website.
On Tuesday, Mr Dunne called on Wellington civic leaders to provide a "roll call" of Wellington and the Hutt Valley's commercial and public buildings that are classified as quake-prone.
Mr Dunne said the list was “a very positive response to my call for the Wellington City Council to release its list of at-risk earthquake buildings, and I am glad it has now done so.
He said arguments against releasing the list were flimsy, and that people had the right to know which public and commercial buildings in the Capital were likely to be unsafe in the event of a substantial earthquake.
“Some people, such as Councillor Iona Pannett, have opposed releasing the list because it might frighten people, but I would rather people were concerned before an earthquake, than dead after it,” he said.
"I do not think people will behave in a knee-jerk way with this information, but they do have a right to know and make informed decisions about whether they wish to be in buildings that are not likely to perform well in an earthquake.
“That is not scare-mongering. It is giving people knowledge,” Mr Dunne said.
Mr Dunne said people had demonstrated a very sensible approach to the earthquake generally and he had no doubt this would continue.
Note: where a building listed has the term ‘124 Served’, this means earthquake-prone building notices issued under Section 66 of the Building Act 1991 have been reissued a notice under Section 124 of the Building Act 2004 requiring strengthening.
Ends
Mark Stewart | Press Secretary | Office of Hon Peter Dunne
DDI +64 4 817 6985 | Mb +64 21 243 6985 |
Please click on the link below to download the complete list:
Updated WCC List of Earthquake Prone Buildings as at 11 March 2011
Note: PDF downloads require the free Adobe Reader application to view.