Cartwright heads EQC inquiry

The inquiry into the Earthquake Commission (EQC) will be about suggesting improvements rather than making criticisms, says its newly-announced head, Dame Silvia Cartwright.

EQC Minister Megan Woods announced yesterday that Cartwright, a former governorgeneral, would chair the independent public inquiry investigating EQC’S handling of the Canterbury earthquakes.

Cartwright is a former High Court judge who chaired the Cartwright Inquiry into cervical cancer treatment at National Women’s Hospital in the 1980s, and served on the Cambodian War Crimes Tribunal.

The inquiry will be the first of its kind under the Public Inquiries Act 2013 and will have all the powers of a Royal Commission and report directly to the governor-general. Woods said they were aiming for an interim report by June 2019.

‘‘The aim of the inquiry is to learn from the experience of the Canterbury earthquakes and ensure that the Earthquake Commission is fit for purpose in future events.’’

She stressed the inquiry would look into the handling of insurance claims by EQC and other insurers after the Canterbury quakes, but would not consider past settlements or current claims, or comment on previous court decisions.

‘‘We hope we are learning from what everyone in Christchurch has been through.

‘‘This isn’t the channel for revision of those individual claims. There are other mechanisms for that.’’

A report released earlier this year by independent ministerial adviser Christine Stevenson painted EQC as an agency hamstrung by disorder and dysfunction.

The report called for Woods and Cabinet to intervene to resolve the thousands of outstanding Canterbury earthquake claims. It highlighted the commission’s poor record-keeping, claimants’ lack of trust, stories of broken promises, and the unreliability of publicly available information.

It recommended that staff’s dealings with claimants be ‘‘respectful, empathetic, honest, timely’’, and that staff ‘‘do what they say they will do’’.

In another follow-on from that report, a bill going through Parliament now will establish an earthquake tribunal next year with the power to rule on some claims.

Cartwright said yesterday the inquiry would not be ‘‘about reputations or about liability at all’’.

‘‘We are looking more at trying to improve the processes rather than criticising the events of the past.’’

National’s EQC spokesman, Stuart Smith, said while the inquiry was welcome, it was unlikely to bring any new information to light.

Most information has already been revealed through the auditor-general, the Ombudsman, or at select committee appearances by EQC’S chief executive and chairs, he said.

The new approach to claims after the Kaiko¯ura quakes had been shown to be ‘‘incredibly efficient and effective’’, Smith said.