Former Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright will head the independent inquiry into the Earthquake Commission (EQC).
EQC Minister Megan Woods announced today that Cartwright, a former High Court judge who chaired the Cartwright Inquiry into cervical cancer treatment at National Women's Hospital in the 1980s, would chair the inquiry investigating EQC's handling of the Canterbury earthquakes.
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 and report directly to the Governor-General.
"The aim of the inquiry is to learn from the experience of the Canterbury earthquakes and ensure that the Earthquake Commission is fit for purpose in future events," Woods said in Christchurch today.
She stressed that the inquiry would look into the handling of insurance claims by EQC and other insurers after the Canterbury events, but would not consider past settlements or current claims, or comment on previous court decisions.
A report released earlier this year by independent ministerial adviser Christine Stevenson painted EQC as an agency hamstrung by disorder and dysfunction.
The report called for EQC Minister Megan Woods and Cabinet to intervene to resolve the thousands of outstanding Canterbury earthquake claims.
It highlighted the commission's poor record-keeping, claimants' lack of trust, stories of broken promises, and the unreliability of publicly available information. It recommended that staff's dealings with claimants be "respectful, empathetic, honest, timely", and that staff "do what they say they will do".
- Stuff
