Quake complainers are being simplistic - Brownlee

Mounting calls for the Government to reveal the fate of Christchurch's quake-ravaged suburbs are overly simplistic, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says.

Mr Brownlee has said the Government would not release information on which areas could be rebuilt and which needed to be abandoned until decisions were made on what happens next.

He said today any decisions made now would have an impact on future insurance premiums.

"Some of the calls for a more simplistic approach simply indicates a lack of appreciation for the complexity of what we're dealing with," he told Radio New Zealand.

"We know that premiums are going to go up in New Zealand, but how far they go up and in fact whether or not they're available will depend on how well we make our decisions moving forward in this."

Mr Brownlee said the criteria for declaring land either safe or unsafe must be very robust, and he would not back down on that.

He did not accept people were in limbo.

"I've made it as clear as possible that there are some things that are blindingly obvious about future occupation of some land in Christchurch," he said.

Mr Brownlee acknowledged there was pressure for answers.

"I don't like it, I lose sleep over it quite frankly, but I can't buckle. We're going to get it right so that when we get to an announcement point we have the minimum disruption," he said.

"There'll still be lots of people who don't like those decisions, but at least when we make them we can be confident we've gone about everything in the absolutely right way."

Labour leader Phil Goff today said there was a huge amount of uncertainty hanging over the people of Christchurch.

"They want to know as soon as possible what the future hold for them so they can get on with their lives, that's really important," he told reporters.

"All of us feel for the situation that Cantabrians are in -- the people who spent last might without power, without eating, without water and sewerage. It's an impossible situation for them."

Christchurch East MP Lianne Dalziel said people needed to know what had happened to the land and what solutions were possible before navigating the economic of any proposals.

"What happens with the land next is very much secondary to the facts as they stand."

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei said she could understand why families were frustrated, but a lack of certainty would cause problems if decisions were based on inaccurate information.

"The issue is that families need certainty about what's happening with their lives, and the longer the minister mucks around the more difficult it will be for those families, and that's not justified," she said.

"I think that the minister needs to move much, much faster."