Dame Silvia Cartwright to lead EQC inquiry
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Former Governor-General and High Court Judge Dame Silvia Cartwright will lead the public inquiry into the Earthquake Commission (EQC).
The inquiry aims to learn from the experience of the Canterbury earthquakes and will have until the end of June 2019 to report back.
Thousands of homes were damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes.
“Dame Silvia has enormous mana and experience with public inquiries, having led the famous Cartwright Inquiry into Auckland National Women’s Hospital in the 1980s and served on the Cambodian War Crimes Tribunal. To have someone or her standing, skills and experience agree to lead this very important public inquiry is really exceptional,’’ says EQC Minister Megan Woods.
“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, be independent of Government and make its report directly to the Governor-General,’’ Dr Woods says.
“How the Inquiry approaches its task is a matter for the Inquiry team, but I expect it will engage with all interested parties, especially those with direct experience of submitting and managing insurance claims.
“It’s important to this Government that the people of Canterbury who have been through so much with EQC get the chance to have their say and that the whole country can learn from the experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes,” Dr Woods says.
Releasing the Inquiry’s terms of reference, Minister Woods emphasised it will not have a role in considering past insurance settlements or current claims, nor will it comment on previous decisions made by the courts on insurance-related matters.
“The focus of the Inquiry is on the handling of insurance claims by EQC and, as appropriate, other insurers following the Canterbury events.
“It is important to put a boundary around the work of the Inquiry. There are a range of avenues open for claimants to pursue their individual cases, including the recently announced one-stop shop - the Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service,’’ the Minister says.