Canterbury Earthquake Recovery- Arbitrators & Mediators Institute of New Zealand Presidents Silence at the Queenstown Conference happening now, Earthquake Commission Funded Mediations, The commitment to the people of Canterbury by the Arbitrators & Mediators Institute, National Party candidate John Key’s misleading conference foreword, Incredibly he is still internationally advocating the suitability of the Justice Minister Judith Collins M P when the majority of New Zealanders believe he should sack her since she refuses to resign and the national party has lost control of its candidate selection process Look at the Nationals Party’s Constitution please , The Minister or Earthquake Recovery M P & National Party candidate in the Ilam Electorate here in Christchurch Mr Gerry Brownlee competing against Labours Mr James Dann
The President of the Arbitrators and Mediators Institute headed by President Mr Ranald Gordon , from the Taranaki region, whom are currently holding their Annual Conference in Queenstown Otago right now has been formally asked on 26/8/2014 to comment publically on its level of commitment by the Institute and its members to the Canterbury Recovery. For those Queenstown Labour voters I ask that you rise up & ensure President Ranald makes some public comments and get them to me at GordonDickson@labour.org.nz please please! Stand up for the people of Canterbury today and again tomorrow too if necessary
To date I haven’t seen the President’s comments. Have you? Ask him to put them URGENTLY on the Institutes website as well for all of New Zealand to see. I am confident that each and every one of the international attendees to the Queenstown conference will want to see his comments and like all the Christchurch earthquake victims I additionally await the formalised view of the full Council with interest. To all the other the attendees at conference I implore you also to verbally request our President and the numerous other Council members present to commit pen to paper immediately and certainly not wait till after the conference like he /they would prefer to do. The opportunity exists to impress our international guests of the accountability that exists within the Institute. In particular the commitment to the Earthquake Commission funded Mediation process
What I can confirm is that AMINZ members are not entitled to minutes of the Extraordinary meeting held on 22/8/2014, one week ago now, during which I another long outstanding issue was discussed and the papers had been supplied to all the Council members and the President won’t put pen to paper himself but passes the duty of Correspondence to the Executive officer Lots have been said about lack of accountability in regards to the Canterbury earthquake recovery and I implore Ranald to show our institute is not like that The institutes formal view that I will not get an answer till after the conference i. e. by “ 5 September 2014” is totally unacceptable sir
The Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery letter to me of 27 May 2014 Reference EQCGB13-14/0327 to me seems at odds to the Institutes (AMINZ) position in regard to how much the Institute and its members can and should very well be doing for the recovery
I am also confident my Labour Party colleagues Clayton Cosgrove and Ruth Dyson and our leader David Cunliffe will want to be seen to be coming to the aid of Canterbury victims & commenting on candidate Brownlie’s letter. The Minister then and now also Nationals candidates file reference again is EQC13-14/0327 Date 27 May 2014
The Institute (AMINZ) has had another issue before it which originally was commenced formally by myself on 24/8/2012 was not to be dealt with till after the election Fortunately with the Extraordinary meeting advised formally to me to be held on 22 August 2014 which is a considerable period before today and tomorrows last day of conference I expected a response but who knows when 24/8/2014 to 29/8/2014 equals two years which is long enough. Do not the Labour, enrolled non-voters and not yet enrolled but please become so voters and people of the Selwyn electorate think To young voters its your future at stake here and apathy is not the answer Be “POSITIVE” about the right to vote
EQC & AMINZ Mediations paid for by the Earthquake Commission
The worth of a completed mediation, lets call it the “Kirwee example”, needs to be debated
Imagine if you will walking away from such a mediation with what you thought to be a signed sealed and binding on the Earthquake Commission Mediation agreement in middle to late 2013 and looking at your still damaged house this and every morning since then. Dispair is what I witnessed
Ask yourself why these elderly recipients of an Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of New Zealand and Earthquake Commission agreement to settle should have to use the Courts system to enforce an agreed signed and picked up at the time document? These private individuals should not have to. In effect the Earthquake Minister Brownlee is ignoring the system he helped establish. He is “Nero” like in this regard. To candidate Gerry I ask is it the National Party’s plan that all these signed agreements between the EQC and the Earthquake victims are going to be tested all the way to the highest court of the land? If not all how many and upon what basis please? The voters have a right to know sir. Pop your reply in an envelope to me c/o Post Restante Rolleston and I will collect it. Surely the Commission should be acting in the utmost of good faith to the victims of the 2010 earthquake These are not huge sums Gerry!!!!
As a resident of Church Corner, Christchurch at the time of both major events, not forgetting the minor ones either, and being a resident of Ohope Beach, in the eastern Bay of Plenty for the 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake I realised the opportunity of mediation as an economic way to resolve earthquake related issues given the maximum value allowed by the commission. My motto “Mediate or Arbitrate then no need to litigate” fails to find favour with those previously deemed to upheld the law of New Zealand. We all can agree we don’t trust car sales persons, lawyers, politicians and real estate salespersons. After the global financial crisis add company directors, finance in particular but as you will see in a subsequent blog not just finance company directors The Canterbury recovery will feature further
I wrote to the Earthquake Commissions Chief Executive Ian Simpson advocating such a service and if you cup your hands together you can view the response yourself It was much much later that EQC agreed to allow selected members of the Institute to Mediate a certain type of Dispute Those being the extremely extremely fortunate “Panel Members” only
Therefore I was pleasantly surprised when National Party candidate Mr Gerry Brownlee formally advised me that the institute holds a “contract” “with the Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of New Zealand (AMINZ)” paragraph 1.
The ability to get on this panel is a matter that the Institute have failed to address despite it being formally brought to their attention far too long ago for them to claim credibility of high order
The list of correspondence I have goes back at least as far as 24/8/2012 but the Executive Director Deborah Hart LLB says “copying your emails to provide to you takes valuable office resource” I believe there are only 2 or 3 additional items of correspondence within the Institutes walls in Wellington Unable or unwilling? Let the EQC victims decide
List of outwards correspondence (emails) from paid up Institute member to the Institute and President Ranald Gordon of Taranaki dated 24/8/2012 (note 2012) , 3/9/2012 (note 2012), 2/5/2014, 22/5/14, 28/5/2014, 8/8/14, 26/8/14 Plus possibly another 2 or 3 Total Say 6-7 I know there more because I sent it with the express intention of expecting the President to address the issues raised at the local members gathering on Bealey Avenue recently prior to the 22/5/2014 email. I further can confirm there is additional correspondence to the Institute as I refer it in my email to President Ranald in my email seeking an explanation of 22/5/2014
List inwards to me ex Institute President Ranald Gordon 4/6/2014 Total 1 This contains 16 words of substance commencing with “Apologies for the delay in responding” That’s 6 words for a kick off
List inwards from Executive Director Deborah Hart LLB 4/6/2014,21/7/2014, 28/7/2014 (of no real relevance) , 5/8/2014 ( of no real relevance), 18/8/2014, 19/8/2014, Total 4 of relevance whereas repeated formal requests have been made for the President to answer my correspondence Reminds me of an addage a pommie friend used about the monkey and the organ grinder. Maybe he is able but unwilling Surely not when the expectations of the Canterbury EQC claimants are at stake This includes women, children young and old alike
Originally and disappointingly my correspondence was to be tabled 6 days after the Election in which I am trying to gain votes and need the Institutes views However with the recent revelation that my correspondence has been tabled on 8 August 2014 I expected some answers so we can indulge in the normal election debates There are other members on the Council of the Institute but those contact details are withheld for some reason As an EQC victim needing EQC funded Mediation can you think of one ? Transparency is paramount for the Institute to continue to be held in high regard
N B Just in case there be a changing of President of the Institute please ensure both the incoming and outgoing President comment formally or at least on tape please
From the Arbitrators and Mediators Institutes website you can see the full list of speakers both local and international and so I simply ask them also to comment as well. If you can stand up inside the conference and speak surely you can stand outside the venue and speak to the waiting public and voters of Queenstown who can inform the victims in Christchurch. Additionally many will be flying back through Christchurch and possibly sitting alongside or meeting Canterbury earthquake victims as well Please tell the public what you know about the Institutes view is as the President is sitting on his hands and to do so for much longer may do irrevocable damage to the Institutes (AMINZ) reputation The Institute does have a “ contract” with EQC Lets see it Gerry. Is this available under the Official Information Act which we know now can be achieved in 37 minutes? However I am not a right wing blogger Simply a paid up Selwyn electorate candidate whose first aim is to get my deposit back on election day Early voting is recommended and available please Labour has a better plan
Future blog topics to be Team Key and his role as the Minister of Tourism including Health and Safety of the Industry and more , “Nationals Team Key Team Violence” involving 2 more Cabinet Ministers, Conservation, Environment, my perception of Political bias by Lincoln University, our URGENT need for a Constitution, the “glass ceiling” etc
Regards
Gordon Dickson Associate Member of the Arbitrators & Mediators Institute of New Zealand & New Zealand Labour Party Candidate for the Selwyn Electorate in the 2014 Parliamentary Elections
Rolleston Canterbury New Zealand
E. & O. E.
P S I don’t claim this is perfect but best get the debate started on behalf of the Canterbury and other nationwide EQC victims previously known as clients or customers and a blog seems much better than relying on the N Z media particularly “Radio Live” participants whom when they are able but unwilling to ask the Prime Minister if, after the Auckland Mayoral candidate and former National Party Member of Parliament, being found guilty, he still has confidence in the Minister of Police and National’s East Coast candidate Mrs Anne Tolley of Ohope Beach, in the Bay of Plenty? When they are asked to do so and fail to do that by default they become an advocate for the National Party in my political opinion
Best also I acknowledge I am an un”Registered” Quantity Surveyor to avoid the obvious claim of commercial bias I am also a Life member of the New Zealand Labour Party having contested two previous parliamentary elections with Labour Electorate Committee References and my deposit back to boot
To those mentioned above The intent of is to genuinely ask you for help move forward the reasonable expectations of the victims of the Canterbury Earthquakes in your capacity as a candidate, an Institute member, an International visiting speaker, a National Party Candidate et al and should not in any way shape or form be considered in a personal sense please. Labour needs to be seen to be doing all it can to help these victims of the EQC and the National Party’s malaise is not the answer Please vote for me