The Star: July 28, 2016

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12 Thursday July 28 2016 follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch The Star News Mayor’s Welfare Fund picks up tab for state tenants Hoax call frustrates emergency services • By Bridget Rutherford EMERGENCY services are frustrated they responded to a motor-vehicle crash, which turned out to be a hoax call. Fire crews, St John, police and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter were all dispatched to Charteris Bay on Tuesday at about 2pm to what they thought was a car that had hit a tree. But when they got there, they could not find any crash. Fire communications shift manager Lyn Crosson said it was “really annoying” and a “big waste of resources”. She said emergency services searched for about 15min and tried to phone the number that rang in, but could not get through. Westpac Rescue Helicopter spokesman Rick Knight said the crew searched the road from the air, before flying over Orton Bradley Park to see if anything was there. He said luckily, the helicopter was already in the air at the time, but if another genuine call came in at the same time it would have slowed their response. Mr Knight said police managed to track the number the call came from, and went to the house but no one was home. “At the end of the day nobody was hurt which was good.” Mr Knight said the crew was in the air because it flew to Mt Hutt Ski Area to pick up two men in their 60s – one with a broken lower leg, and the other with a fractured arm. They also flew to Porters Ski Area, where a child had suffered abdominal injuries after being hit with the T-bar. • By Shelley Robinson THE CITY council has met with Housing New Zealand over concerns it was regularly “picking up the tab” for overdue rent for state tenants who were under the threat of eviction. On most occasions, the city council paid the bill because children, some with disabilities, were involved. Payments for state housing rent arrears via the Mayor’s Welfare Fund, increased 700 per cent over three years, from $2673 in 2013 to $21,867 in 2015/2016 financial year. City councillor and housing task-force chairman Glenn Livingstone has hit out at Housing New Zealand and the Ministry of Social Development saying they lacked “compassion” and were “unreasonable” in their dealings with those facing eviction due to rent arrears. “The city council is picking up the tab for Housing NZ. People come and see us because they are under threat of eviction, and it happens fairly regularly – it has been a source of frustration Glenn Livingstone Vicki Buck for staff in those areas,” he said. “They [Housing NZ and MSD] need to step up and become a landlord . . . and treat its people like subjects not objects,” he said. But deputy mayor and welfare fund chairwoman, Vicki Buck said MSD and Housing NZ have now stepped up, after she met with them recently to resolve the issue. “This was about ensuring everyone in Christchurch has a home and we have invited them [Housing NZ] to go on the welfare fund committee,” she said. A Housing NZ spokesman said it was “proactive work” with MSD to identify clients’ rent arrears early, to get them assistance. “Housing NZ has been invited to join the welfare fund committee so we are around that table and can address issues and concerns directly and quickly,” he said. A MSD spokesman said in the 2012/2013 financial year it paid $2.8 million in Canterbury for accommodation-related hardship grants. State rent arrears only represents a mere 10 per cent of the $290,000 paid by the welfare fund over three years for those struggling with housing costs. Of the $1 million paid out by the welfare fund since the 2012/2013 financial year, 31 per cent was for electricity costs, 28 per cent on rent arrears and 13 per cent on bonds. About 3300 grants were made. The welfare fund paid out about $899,000 from 2010 to 2012. The fund is boosted by about $342,305 from city councillors’ directors’ fees. City councillor David East has not paid his director’s fee to the fund, while Cr Ali Jones has paid half. Certified Group One Stop Access Shop More on offer than ever before! From our yard at 203 Maces Rd, hire: • Scissor Lift and Knuckle Boom Hire • Scaffolding erect and hire • Aluminium Scaffolding • Shrink-wrapping Service • New scaffold sales, H frames, fittings and accessories Elegant Enduring Eco Friendly Easy to install Mention this ad when booking, receive a FREE measuring tape on confirmation www.nzscaffolding.co.nz 0800 475 2657 | www.scaff.co.nz 0800 816 611 66C Kingsley Street, Sydenham, Christchurch. Phone: 03 352 3628 www.venusflooring.co.nz Insulate your Home for Winter Ceiling Insulation Up to 100 sqm FRoM JusT $995 Do you have a rental home? Call us today for a SPECIAL DEAL on ceiling and underfloor insulation Phone 0800 434 600 or 027 655 3064 www.livinghouse.co.nz We offer a wide range of wall, ceiling, underfloor, thermal and acoustic sound absorbing insulation. FREE QUOTES L iving H ouse
The Star follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch Thursday July 28 2016 13 Canterbury’s weather updates with Mercy Cornish Mon-Fri bulletins: 5.30pm, repeats at 7pm and 9.30pm Freeview 40 | Live and on demand at ctv.co.nz | facebook.com/canterburytv More people seeking new jobs in Canterbury • By Bridget Rutherford IF YOU are looking for a new job you are not the only one – nearly half of Cantabrians are in the same boat. The latest Hudson Report released on Monday showed that 46 per cent of Cantabrians were actively seeking new jobs. That was the highest out of the areas surveyed in the report. Thirty-two per cent were passively looking for new jobs, which meant if they were approached and offered a new job, they would consider it. Twenty-two per cent of Cantabrians were happy to stay in their current job. The report was based on the upper North Island, lower North Island and Canterbury. It found, overall, three out of four New Zealanders were actively looking for new jobs, which was up more than 20 per cent in six months. Hudson New Zealand regional general manager Roman Rogers (above) said Canterbury was JOB HUNT: Nearly 50 per cent of Cantabrians are looking for new jobs, according to the latest Hudson Report. leading the charge for shifting of employers. “Cantabrians are more active than their countrymen when it comes to change,” he said. “Close to 50 per cent of Cantabrians are actively looking for new jobs.” He said it was now a lot easier for companies and recruitment agencies to tempt the passive market with social media such as LinkedIn. They were able to find people, and see what sort of experience they had online, he said. “People are so much easier to find.” Mr Rogers said boredom was a key driver for people to seek another role, as well as creative opportunities. Enterprise Recruitment and People chief operating officer Ian McPherson said it was difficult to distinguish between people actively looking and passively looking. People may sign up with LinkedIn or register for Seek, but that did not necessarily mean they were looking for jobs at the time, he said. In Canterbury, trades, construction and IT were areas where people were wanting jobs, he said. The report said in the upper North Island, 39 per cent of people were actively seeking new jobs, with 32 per cent thinking about it. The lower North Island also saw 29 per cent looking, while 40 per cent could be tempted to change. CERA spent $18k on recruitment in final year • By Shelley Robinson IN ITS final year of operation the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority spent $18,000 on recruiting staff members. This is part of a nearly $600,000 spend on recruitment since it was established in March 29, 2011, released under the Official Information Act. CERA was disestablished in April. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Greater Christchurch Group director Kelvan Smith said the spend in the final year was because when it establish a “change management office” it used current staff, leaving roles to be filled. “Key positions” within CERA were also required to be filled during the final year. “CERA staff needed to ensure that recovery progress continued throughout the transition period and that work was efficiently handed over to inheriting agencies,” he said. It comes after The Star revealed last month that Otakaro Ltd, which took over delivery of the anchor projects from CERA, spent $108,000 CERA was based in level eight of the HSBC building until it disestablished in April. recruiting “internationally” for its chief executive role, later filled by Albert Brantley, of Kaiapoi. Otakaro spent $348,000 on recruiting 48 staff, including Mr Brantley. CERA spent the most on recruitment in 2013/2014 with $193,000 when it was undergoing “significant structural changes”. CERA underwent restructure in November 2012, and then again in July 2013. THE HOME OF GOOD BAKING LAST WEEK TO ENTER! Purchase 2 x 2L Dairy Dale milk to enter the draw to win $1,000 worth of bread & milk for your family! 25 WINNERS - 1 PER STORE! Promotion valid 1st July - 31st July 2016. Winners will be contacted Friday 5th August 2016. Terms & conditions apply. Full terms and conditions can be found at couplands.co.nz MILK Dairy Dale 2L varieties. $ 5 98 2 FOR or $3.19 each RASPBERRY BUNS 4pk $ 3 49 Promotional pricing available while stocks last from 25/07/16 to 31/07/16. Images are serving suggestions only. Open 7 days | 8 Convenient local locations Hornby • Barrington • Ferry Rd • Papanui • Riccarton • Upper Riccarton • New Brighton • Rangiora BAKERIES www.couplands.co.nz
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The Star: July 28, 2016

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