Letter to Manukau – Issue 86

Evacuation of homes
Some of the greatest challenges in my time as mayor has been dealing with people in situations where urgent evacuation of their homes is required.

Certainly the most public was with my predecessor, former Mayor Sir Barry. The personal impact of having to leave his home because of a landslip was obvious to those who knew Sir Barry.

We are currently going through a similar issue with a number of Mangere families having to vacate their homes because of leaky home problems.

These homes are rotting from the inside out and the situation has deteriorated so much that the inner structural timbers have to a large extent completely rotted into a spongy mush.

It is my duty to front up to these owners and tenants on behalf of the council and the city. Obviously in these situations people are not happy and are seeking clear direction and understanding of their concerns.

Our immediate focus was re-housing these residents and securing their properties. We've achieved these outcomes and will continue to work with the residents recognising the need for us to show some compassion in the face of very difficult personal circumstances.

Most of the residents were unaware of the extent of the building rotting away around them and the structural concerns which have been found.

The whole issue of leaky homes is being reviewed by government, local government and the building sector and I hope progress will be made towards a goal of a resolution package for the 'Leaky Home' problem throughout the country.

This resolution will by necessity be a considerable financial impact on us as ratepayers or taxpayers. But it is a problem that needs a final agreement and resolution to allow those who are innocent victims to move on in their lives.

Have a good week.

Len Brown
Mayor of Manukau

ENDS

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