Earthquake: Key warns of tough stance on 'rip off' builders

Prime minister John Key surveys damage. Photo / Simon Baker

Builders hoping to cash in on the rebuilding of Canterbury after Saturday's earthquake will be subject to work conditions to ensure they cannot charge exorbitant prices and "rip the people off", Prime Minister John Key said yesterday.

Mr Key made the assurance yesterday in the House responding to questions from Labour deputy leader Annette King.

"What option will the Government take to avoid a repeat of the so-called Edgecumbe factor following their earthquake which saw building materials and supplies [prices] increase dramatically?" Ms King asked, referring to the magnitude 5.2 quake that hit the Bay of Plenty region in 1987.

Mr Key said it was one of the issues the Government was focusing on.

"Building companies that undertake work in the rapid rebuild phase that we want will have to sign conditions to ensure their work is done at a fair and reasonable rate, and I would expect all builders operating in Christchurch helping people to recover from the earthquake do so in a reasonable and fair way.

"We expect them to make money and a profit, but we certainly don't expect them to rip the people off."

The Government was also looking at introducing new laws next week to allow people to start to rebuild and repair their homes without waiting for insurance payments.

"One possibility is that there might be the need for urgent legislation to allow people to conduct work on their house and retrospectively be paid by their insurers and also to retrospectively get their building consent," Mr Key said.

The legislation would be passed next week, if needed.

"The next phase is ultimately getting all that infrastructure back up and running. We have largely achieved that when it comes to electricity and water."

The second phase is establishing more trauma and counselling support, and the third phase was to "aggressively" tackle repairing and rebuilding homes.

Earthquake Commission assessors in Canterbury could assess a home in 30 minutes and sometimes work could be done to stabilise a home for safety reasons without needing a reference from the commission, Mr Key said.

"So there's a fair bit of flexibility in the system."

Mr Key, who visited rural Canterbury yesterday morning, said the mood of the people was good despite constant aftershocks.

"They're obviously frustrated that the aftershocks keep coming and they just want it to end. People are feeling tired and emotional but for the most part holding up pretty well."

He spoke to the Queen early in the morning, whom he was to have visited before the quake disrupted his travel plans.

She had anticipated the cancellation of his trip as soon as she heard news of the earthquake, he said.

"She wanted her sympathies passed to the people of Christchurch and she was totally understanding of the reason I couldn't go."