Vol. 75/No. 34      September 26, 2011

Since September last year there have been three major earthquakes and more than 8,300 aftershocks. A quake in February resulted in 181 deaths and widespread damage to infrastructure and buildings, including 100,000 houses.

Jessett, who used to work cleaning buildings, was talking to members and supporters of the Communist League who were going door to door with the Militant August 13 in the working-class suburb of Aranui. Among those they spoke with were residents who subscribed during a trip to the area in May.

Jessett and her young children live without heat because quake damage has made her fireplace unusable. “I am on an invalid benefit. I can’t afford electric heaters or carpets,” she said.

Thousands have been living for months in such conditions. Those in Aranui, just east of the city, are among the hardest hit. Today there are still intermittent power outages and some 1,600 households in the eastern suburbs without flushable toilets.

Metarina Kinihe-Kuruwaka, a retired clerical worker, described the government’s response as “being seen to be doing things and not doing the deeds.”

Ana Martin, who works as a caregiver for disabled people, expressed a different but commonly held view that “the government is doing the best it can.”

Disruption to schooling, medical services, food supplies, and transportation continues. Thousands of the city’s 350,000 inhabitants have left. Most of the central city is still cordoned off and many roads are damaged. The federal government has said it will not cover all the necessary costs to repair schools.

“Rents have gone up, which workers who lost their jobs can’t afford,” said garment worker Mary Scarrott. According to official figures, 26,000 private-sector jobs have been lost here since the quakes. At the same time, rents have increased by as much as 150 percent.

More than 6,000 houses will be demolished in unstable areas. The government is offering a cash buyout for these residents, but it doesn’t cover the cost of replacing their houses given rising prices.

The government’s Earthquake Commission helps cover damages up to 100,000 New Zealand dollars ($82,100) for those with private insurance, but the vast majority are still waiting for their claims to be processed. Those without insurance receive nothing.  
 
 
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