The government has set up a new department called the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority or CERA. The job of CERA is to rebuild Christchurch. CERA will exist for just five years. It will have a staff of 50, mostly from other government departments. The Minister of the Earthquake recovery, Gerry Brownlee, will be the Head of the department. The Christchurch City Council could not do this job alone; however, CERA will consult the three councils in the area. CERA will also have to consult the Christchurch MPs and a group of 20 people from the community and listen to their ideas.

The first thing that CERA will do is to produce a recovery plan by the end of October. The government is copying the Queensland government which set up a recovery department to rebuild after the floods earlier this year.

Questions

The Christchurch city council is elected by the people. This new department is not elected. Why are some people worried about this?

Who should be chosen from the community – architects, business people, parents, home owners?

Vocabulary

Recover means to get better. If you recover from an illness, you become well again. If a city recovers from a disaster, it improves.

Consult means to ask the opinion of other people and listen to what they say.

Produce a plan means make a plan. The words “produce” and “plan” go together.