Keith Melville

A reduction in the standards for earthquake prone buildings announced by the Government last month, shows just how prematurely Whakatāne District Council acted when it upgraded its civic centre at enormous cost to ratepayers.

Yes, I say that with the benefit of hindsight, but there were indications beforehand that the Government was thinking of reducing its standards for strengthening earthquake prone buildings.

The civic centre was upgraded for $12 million in 2018-2019 under the guise that earthquake strengthening was an absolutely essential part of the cost and could not be avoided.

I for one cannot help but feel every time I walk into the foyer of that building and experience its luxurious ambience, that it was upgraded more for the comfort of its staff than for the benefits achieved by earthquake strengthening.

An earthquake-strengthened building, we were told, before the project started was essential if it was to be used as a base for civil defence purposes in an emergency.

The building as it was before the upgrade would have met the new requirements announced a few weeks ago.

The project was in its planning stages in 2017 well after the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010-2011 when the Government of the day began to realise its earthquake standards for buildings were out of step with reality.

Imagine what that $12 million could be spent on if we had that kind of money today. It amounts to more than half the cost of upgrading sewerage needs for Matatā, or a large part of the cost of improvements to Rex Morpeth Park.

I wonder what will become of other council buildings including the airport terminal and the Whakatane War Memorial Centre, which were also earmarked for earthquake strengthening.

Whakatāne District Council general manager people & partnerships Emlyn Hatch responds:

The council building seismic strengthening, emergency preparedness and refurbishment project was approved in 2021 and completed in 2023. The decision was based on Government building safety standards in place at that time, which required councils to address identified seismic risks for public and civil defence buildings.