CTV families still seek justice after 12 years of waiting
The families of many of the 115 victims killed in the CTV building collapse in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake say they want justice and accountability after more than 12 years of waiting.
Engineer Alan Reay, whose firm designed the building, was before a disciplinary committee yesterday. Reay was not at the hearing due to being “medically unfit”.
Reay faces a charge that he failed to properly supervise engineer David Harding who designed the CTV building in 1986 when he worked for Alan Reay Consulting Engineers.
The Engineering New Zealand (ENZ, previously the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand) Disciplinary Tribunal is expected to sit in Christchurch for three days. The hearing is the culmination of a protracted investigation into the disaster.
The complaint against Reay dates to the release of the Canterbury earthquakes royal commission report from 2012, which found that the building had design flaws and should not have been granted a building permit and that Reay failed to properly supervise Harding.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment then claimed Reay breached his professional obligations, resulting in the disciplinary proceeding, which Reay has opposed and appealed for a decade, before finally being heard this week.
The ENZ tribunal will consider whether Reay failed to adequately supervise Harding and, if so, what action should be taken.
There were initially two complaints against Reay. However, the investigating committee found that the second one – that he breached industry ethics by potentially intervening in the permit process in 1986 per the Royal Commission findings – did not warrant referral to the Disciplinary Tribunal for consideration.
At the start of the hearing, Maan Alkaisi, whose wife was killed in the CTV building, read a statement on behalf of a group of families.
Twelve years on, many still struggle with the tragedy, he said.
“Some victims were buried alive, others were cut into pieces, in some cases no traces could be found, not even DNA that could identify them. “We remember our loved ones on every special occasion, birthdays and holidays.
“My granddaughters always ask why our grandma is not with us.”
The families’ experiences had been made more difficult by the lack of accountability over the disaster, Alkaisi said. The waiting prevented closure and exacted an additional toll.
“The Royal Commission established that the design of the CTV building was insufficient. The company that designed the CTV building is Alan Reay Consultant Limited and the director of the company is Alan Reay, yet Alan Reay never accepted responsibility for the work done on the CTV building in his own company.
“This lack of personal responsibility has hurt the families deeply.”
Kristy McDonald KC and Willie Palmer appeared for Reay. In a statement released yesterday before the hearing started, his legal team said the hearing was limited to determining whether Reay’s supervision of Harding was adequate.
The complaint focused on employment procedures in the mid-1980s, a time when standard employment practices, including the degree of supervision of employed senior engineers, differed markedly from today. Reay believed a complaint into workplace practices dating back almost 40 years served “no public interest,” the statement said.
In her opening statement, McDonald said they had concerns about a supplementary statement of evidence Reay’s team had only received on Friday evening. The document addressed matters additional to those covered in the original statement.
She said Reay was “significantly prejudiced” by the process and the lateness of the supplementary material.
Dr Wayne Stewart, who chaired Engineering New Zealand's investigating committee, read a summary of the committee's report.
“Considering all the information it is our understanding that the standard of practice, in accordance with the Code of Ethical Conduct that applied in 1986, would have required Dr Reay to have supervised the work carried out by Mr Harding,” the summary concluded.
During questioning, McDonald accused Stewert of acting outside his jurisdiction.
Stewart denied this, stating he carried out the investigation to determine whether the complaint against Reay should be referred to the Disciplinary Committee. He said he found sufficient evidence that it should.
Alec Cvetanov, who lost his wife in the building collapse, was in the public gallery and said the first day of the hearing was “disappointing” but it was what he expected. “I hope that by the end of it, finally after 12 years it will be pointed at Alan Reay’s company or at him personally that he hasn’t done the job properly.”
“One of the points for me today was to finally see that man, but he is afraid to face the public. If you’ve done a bad job then face the consequences.”