Deadlines for shaky buildings

New rules for earthquake-strengthening buildings come into effect this week, and they are welcome. The shaky isles are always only one quake away from disaster: no government can afford to ignore the fact.

The new rules shorten the time required to identify and fix earthquake-prone buildings, with especially tight deadlines in risky areas such as Wellington. Here, the timelines look pretty tough, with assessments due within five years and strengthening within 15.

Wellington knows that these deadlines are not only reasonable, they are necessary. City dwellers were lucky to emerge unharmed during the November shake, although many buildings were badly damaged. We might not have been so lucky. We can’t afford to delay.

There is an element of rough justice that is inevitable in all earthquake legislation. Ordinary private homes are not covered, but multi-unit complexes are. The private individuals living in these places might now face some very expensive bills through no fault of their own.

The Government is exploring options for helping these people. What help will be provided remains unclear.

In fact, the announcement of the new regulations is just the firing of the starting pistol for a long-distance race in which there is bound to be controversy. This is a slow-acting fiscal timebomb.

In the meantime, Wellingtonians seem to be accepting the rules in the right way. Council resilience officer Mike Mendonca says owners with unsafe masonry buildings have been notified and now know they will have to secure their masonry facades by April next year. So far, none have refused to complete the work that is required.

Christchurch showed that buildings with unsecured masonry buildings can be death traps. The deadline of April is tight but it is vital and engineers say that the work can be done in time by the present workforce. So there is no real excuse for failing to act.

There are also substantial subsidies available for the owners of these buildings, as is only fair. Here, public responsibilities collide with private means, and in a social democratic state the Government is right to offer help.

The problem of strengthening heritage buildings is acute, especially in Wellington. Nick Smith announced the new rules at St Mary of the Angels church in Wellington, whose parishioners had to raise a massive sum for earthquake-strengthening. In this case, the heritage values of the church are so evident that there can be no dispute about the need for restoration.

The classic example of the problem in Christchurch is the Anglican cathedral, where the controversy over whether to restore the old building or to design a new one has caused years of angry debate. Now the Government has stepped in to offer a substantial subsidy for a restored building.

This won’t satisfy everybody, because there are plenty of Christchurch people who held no particular love for the old neo-gothic church and would have preferred a fresh start. But a decision must be made. Earthquakes leave a long trail of tough decisions.

Earthquakes wait for nobody.