Winter heating 'tragedy' looms for Christchurch - Labour
Many homes in Canterbury still don't have satisfactory heating regardless of whether the power is on or off, Labour says.
Many homes in Canterbury still don't have satisfactory heating regardless of whether the power is on or off, Labour says.
Many homes in Canterbury still don't have satisfactory heating regardless of whether the power is on or off, Labour says.
Port Hills MP Ruth Dyson said today three of the 55 emergency incidents responded to by St John after Monday's quakes were elderly people suffering severe hypothermia.
"Christchurch Labour MPs have been warning for months that home heating is going to be a real problem this winter, but the Government's response has been far too slow," she said.
"While the home heating contract is now going full steam ahead, nothing happened between the September and February quakes when the extent of the problem was already quite apparent."
Ms Dyson said Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee "finally got things going" after February, but by then the heating industry's usual slack period was past.
"There was no excuse for his inaction," she said.
"Many Canterbury families now face two grim realities.
"The first is that winter could well be over before some of them have appropriate heating installed. The second is that struggling Cantabrians simply won't be able to afford to pay their power bills if they are forced to use expensive alternatives like electric heaters."
Ms Dyson said she was worried that Monday's three cases might be "simply a tragic forerunner' of what was to come when winter really set in.