Cinema closure sparks questions
The lack of information about the safety of Wellington’s Courtenay Central building has left the people who work there frustrated and prompted calls for a law change to improve transparency.
The building on Wellington’s vibrant Courtenay Place, which houses a Reading Cinema and several other retailers, closed abruptly on Saturday after a draft engineering report discovered a potential risk in parts of the building if an earthquake was to occur.
The decision to close the complex in the heart of Wellington’s highly-populated entertainment precinct came after engineers gave the site a safety green-light to re-open in March 2017.
Courtenay Central had been closed in late 2016 due to damage sustained in the magnitude-7.8 Kaiko¯ ura earthquake, which was felt strongly in the capital.
In the aftermath of Saturday’s abrupt closure, even Wellington City Council has not seen the damning engineers’ report.
It was notified of the closure only after a courtesy call on Friday.
Whether the council gets any further information – on a building it would have originally granted resource and building consents for – is entirely at the discretion of the building’s owner.
Gerard Hehir, national secretary for the Unite Union, which represents the cinema workers, said the situation was ‘‘unacceptable’’.
‘‘There is clearly a problem and if the council doesn’t know that really alarms me,’’ he said.
It had made for a frustrating situation for workers.
They and the public had been told the building was safe, until a second report came out deeming it unsafe and staff suddenly found themselves without a workplace.
‘‘Central government and local government need to get together to figure out a consistent approach,’’ Hehir said.
He acknowledged that Reading Cinemas had historically treated workers well in similar situations in the past.
Wellington City councillor Iona Pannett, who holds the capital’s infrastructure and sustainability portfolio, said she would support central government ‘‘having a look at’’ legislation that would compel building owners to share relevant information with authorities.
‘‘Ultimately, if it is definitive information they should have to make it available.’’
Reading could not be reached for comment yesterday.