Quake panel paid twice normal rate

Jenny Shipley. Photo / Getty Images

The Government appointed former National Prime Minister Jenny Shipley and three others to a Canterbury quake panel without advertising the roles and is paying them more than twice the normal rate.

The Labour Party is contrasting the position with the Government's refusal to fund legal representation for families who lost loved ones in the Canterbury earthquakes.

In April, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee announced the four-member Canterbury Earthquake Review Panel, chaired by Sir John Hansen, a former High Court judge.

The other members are Shipley, former Ngai Tahu chief executive Anake Goodall and Productivity Commission chairman Murray Sherwin.

Documents released under the Official Information Act to liberal blogger No Right Turn show the Government increased their pay because it believed they would not do the job for the normal rate.

"It will not be possible to secure their services under the current fees range," Mr Brownlee said in a letter to State Services Minister Tony Ryall.

The Cabinet Fees Framework recommended a daily pay rate of $360 to $655 for the chairman and $270 to $415 for other members.

Mr Brownlee suggested a rate of $1400 a day for Sir John and $1000 a day for the other members, which Mr Ryall and the Cabinet approved.

It is not clear how many days the panel will work.

The panel is primarily a check on the Government's powers; it reviews draft Orders-in-Council to ensure they are for the Canterbury rebuild.

In a paper to the Cabinet in April, Mr Brownlee said all the boxes for the hiring process had been ticked.

"I can confirm that an appropriate process has been followed in considering the proposed nominees in terms of the State Services Commission Appointments Guidelines," the paper said.

According to the guidelines, a position should be advertised, a shortlist drawn up and candidates interviewed before a consultation process on who is the best person for the job.

But the documents show there was no shortlist of possible panel members, no interviews, nor any advertising for the positions.

Yesterday Mr Brownlee cited the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act which merely requires that the minister appoint the panel members based on relevant expertise.

He said the appointments and the process were justifiable in the circumstances.

"Exceptional times require exceptional measures."

He said the standard fees were "considered inadequate for this extremely important job" and the final fee was "roughly" the same as the pay for former Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commissioners.

Labour's earthquake recovery spokesman, Clayton Cosgrove, said the Government was happy to fork out thousands of dollars in daily fees but was refusing to fund legal advice for victims' families.

"We all understand ministers need to seek advice and counsel, often at a high cost - why can't victim's families be accorded a similar privilege?"

Quake Families co-chairman Brian Kennedy said the 50 families received a letter at the end of June advising that the Government "didn't see any point" in funding legal representation.

- additional reporting NZPA