Will uninsured be out in the cold?

By David
in Christchurch

I’m shocked to learn that the Earthquake commission’s “EQCover applies only to residential homes that are insured against fire.”

In my naivety I had always assumed that the state’s EQC covered everyone, because private insurance wouldn’t cover earthquake damage. I should have known better.

So will all those too poor to afford fire insurance be out in the cold?

The Cabinet is meeting today and John Key has already recognized that the bill beyond what is covered by insurance will be “large”.

The government was quick to extend the South Canterbury Finance bailout to investors who weren’t covered under the Government Guarantees Scheme.

The Left must demand that the same thing happens to the far needier victims of the Christchurch earthquake.

And we must work to ensure that Christchurch doesn’t end up like New Orleans, where working class people received little or no assistance, while the disaster was used as an excuse to unleash an experiment in “disaster capitalism”.