Legislation and regulations for post-disaster reconstruction

Legislation cannot be used for purposes other than those for which it is intended and where there is no provision in relevant legislation for post-disaster situations it can provide a barrier to reconstruction If the legislation and regulatory processes exists and are well formulated they should be an effective means of facilitating reconstruction projects

The issues surrounding the implementation of the pieces of legislation concerning reconstruction after an unexpected disaster are complex and interrelated

Thought the existing regulatory framework in NZ seems to point to the right direction more issues have to be addresses in practice by:

• harmonising the conflicts in the interpretation of the different pieces of legislation
• clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the various CDEM agencies and other stakeholders
• overcoming the apparent division between those who, in practice, take responsibility for reconstruction and those who set policy and legislation

In order to reach these goals the following issues have been identified and ranked as high priority for the research:  

            A1. Extent of liability for reconstruction and where it lies
            A2. Simplification of consenting process for reconstruction
            A3. Study of gaps in legislation and wider government initiatives and the consequent constraints on recovery
            A4. Public acceptance of identified changes in legislation

 Research objectives, outputs and estimates of the timescales