Canterbury Earthquakes Symposium

The Canterbury Earthquakes Symposium, jointly hosted by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Christchurch City Council, was held on 29-30 November 2018 at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.

The purpose of the event was to share lessons from the Canterbury earthquakes so that New Zealand as a whole can be better prepared in future for any similar natural disasters.

Speakers and presenters included Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister, Hon Dr Megan Woods, Christchurch Mayor, Lianne Dalziel,  Ngāi Tahu chief executive, Arihia Bennett, head of the public inquiry into EQC, Dame Sylvia Cartwright, urban planner specialising in disaster recovery and castrophe risk management, Dr Laurie Johnson; Christchurch NZ chief executive and former Press editor, Joanna Norris; academic researcher and designer, Barnaby Bennett; and filmmaker, Gerard Smyth.

About 300 local and national participants from the public, private, voluntary sectors and academia attended the Symposium. They represented those involved in the Canterbury recovery effort, and also leaders of organisations that may be impacted by future disasters or involved in recovery efforts. The focus of the Symposium was on ensuring that we learn from the Canterbury experience and that we can apply those learnings.

Symposium Conference Report

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and Christchurch City Council have released on 13 December 2019 the conference report of the Canterbury Earthquakes Symposium.

Canterbury Earthquakes Symposium - Sharing the lessons from the Canterbury experiences: Conference Report - December 2019

The report includes forewords from Hon Dr Megan Woods, Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Hon Lianne Dalziel, Mayor of Christchurch and Lisa Tumahai, Kaaiwhakahaere, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.

Syposium Programme

The Symposium programme also included oral and poster presentations from recovery practitioners and within academia that focus on practical and future-focused lessons.

The full Symposium programme can be downloaded here.

Keynote talks: Te Maire Tau, Hon Lianne Dalziel, Arihia Bennett, and John Ryan

• Mihi whakatau
  Associate Professor Te Maire Tau, Director Ngāi Tahu Research Centre (University of Canterbury)
• Our journey and objectives of the Canterbury Earthquakes Symposium
  Hon Lianne Dalziel, Mayor of Christchurch (Christchurch City Council)
• Lessons from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu
  Arihia Bennett, Chief Executive Officer (Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu)
• Lessons drawn from the Office of the Auditor-General's Canterbury work programme
  John Ryan, Controller and Auditor-General (Office of the Auditor-General)

Panel discussion: Communicating the recovery story, and welcoming address by Dr Rod Carr

• Panelists:
  Barnaby Bennett, Co-founder (Freerange Press)
  Joanna Norris, Chief Executive Officer (ChristchurchNZ)
  Gerard Smyth, Film Maker ("When a City Falls" / "Christchurch Dilemmas")
• Welcoming address
  Dr Rod Carr, Vice-Chancellor (University of Canterbury)

Keynote talks: Dr Laurie Johnson and Hon Dame Silvia Cartwright

• Reflections on recovery: The Canterbury earthquakes within the context of other major disasters
  Dr Laurie Johnson (Laurie Johnson Consulting)
• Public inquiry into the Earthquake Commission (EQC)
  Hon Dame Silvia Cartwright, Head of the Inquiry into the Earthquake Commission

Panel discussion: Recovery governance arrangements and closing address by Hon Dr Megan Woods

• Panelists:
  Winton Dalley, Mayor of Hurunui (Hurunui District Council)
  Deon Swiggs, Councillor (Christchurch City Council) and Dr Suzanne Vallance, Lecturer (Lincoln University)
  Professor John Hopkins (University of Canterbury)
• Closing address:
  Hon Dr Megan Woods, Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration 

Panel discussion: Organisational leadership and governance

• Ten lessons for organisations: How to survive and thrive in a crises
  Dr John Vargo, Executive Director (Resilient Organisations)
• Collaborative governance in a recovery environment: the Residential Advisory Service
  Dr Sarah Beaven, Lecturer (University of Canterbury), Darren Wright, Former Chair of the Christchurch Earthquake Community Forum, and Jenny Hughey, Community Board Advisor (Christchurch City Council)
• Leadership in times of crisis and how to set priorities
  Jim Harland, Director Regional Relationships (NZ Transport Agency)
• Building urban and infrastructure resilience in Christchurch through connectivity
  Andreas Huck, PhD Researcher (University of Darmstadt)

Panel discussion: Building resilient communities

• What did we learn from the role schools played as social anchors?
  Associate Professor Carol Mutch (University of Canterbury)
• Positively adapting to a changed reality
  Rose Henderson, Director of Allied Health (Canterbury DHB)
• Building strong, resilient communities: What we learned from the Canterbury earthquakes
  Dr Karen Banwell, Whakaraupo Programme Manager (Whaka-ora) and Professor Simon Kingham (University of Canterbury)
• An indigenous perspective
  Robyn Wallace, Director Earthquake Response & Recovery (Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu) 

Panel discussion: Construction and housing

• Research findings from QuakeCoRE Flagship 4: Next generation infrastructure
  Associate Professor Tim Sullivan, Leader Flagship 4 (QuakeCoRE)
• Connecting women to construction jobs for the Canterbury earthquake rebuild
  Gill Palmer, Principal Policy Advisor (Department of Internal Affairs)
• Providing technical leadership for the recovery following large-scale disaster events
  Dave Brunsdon, Director (Kestrel Group) and Mike Stannard, Consultant (Kestrel Group)

Panel discussion: Mental health lessons

• Presenters/Panelists
  David Meates, Chief Executive Officer (Canterbury DHB)
  Toni Gutschlag, General Manager Allied Health (Canterbury DHB)
  Associate Professor Caroline Bell (University of Otago)
  Dr Phil Schroeder, Primary Care Coordinator (Canterbury Primary Response Group)
  Nigel Loughton, Clinical Director (Odyssey House Trust Christchurch)

Panel discussion: Business recovery lessons

• Presenters/panelists
  The Chamber - The Home and Voice of Canterbury Business
  Leeann Watson, Chief Executive Officer (Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce)
  Dr John Vargo, Executive Director (Resilient Organisations)
  Russell Cull, Client Manager & Agency Liaison (ChristchurchNZ)

Panel discussion: Youth in disaster recovery

• Student Volunteer Army
  Sati Ravichandiren, President (Student Volunteer Army)
• Pacific Youth Leadership and Transformation
  Riki Welsh, Team Leader Pacific Development Team (University of Canterbury)
• Nothing About Us Without Us
  Hannah Dunlop, Team Leader Youth Engagement (Environment Canterbury)

Panel discussion: Social recovery lessons

• Speed of recovery
  Hamish Dobbie, Chief Executive Officer (Hurunui District Council)
• Social Recovery 101 – Waimakariri District Council’s social recovery framework and lessons learned
  Sandra James, Director (Connecting People)
• Lessons learned about promoting wellbeing post disaster: evaluation of the All Right? Campaign
  Dr Lucy D’Aeth, Public Health Specialist (Canterbury DHB)
• Surviving trauma: Learning about post-traumatic growth from the Canterbury earthquakes
  Dr Virginia McIntosh, Senior Lecturer (University of Canterbury)

Panel discussion: Arts, culture and heritage

• Lighter, Quicker and Cheaper: How has temporary activation shaped the recovery of Christchurch?
  Martin Kozinsky, Assistant Planner (Christchurch City Council)
• Building a Digital Archive to Support Post-Disaster Research: What Works and What Doesn’t
  Professor Paul Millar, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (University of Canterbury)
• Ōtautahi creative spaces: Strengthening the recovery context through a collective arts-based approach
  Dr Catherine Savage, Director (Ihi Research) and Kim Morton, Director (Ihi Research)
• Lessons in heritage: Caring for our community identity in a disaster
  Amanda Ohs, Senior Heritage Advisor (Christchurch City Council)

Panel discussion: Cross-community perspectives

• Communicating with CALD communities
  Sally Carlton, Settlement Support (Citizens Advice Bureau), Maria Fresia, Christchurch Coordinator (Interpreting New Zealand), and Shirley Wright, Manager (Christchurch Resettlement Service)
• Community recovery following the Canterbury earthquakes for wheelchair users
  Dr Johnny Bourke, Deputy Director (Burwood Academy of Independent Living)
• Shaken but not stirred
  Trisha Ventom (Earthquake Disability Leadership Group) and Michael Krammer (Earthquake Disability Leadership Group)
• Protecting the mental health of children and families in post-disaster communities
  Associate Professor Kathleen Liberty (University of Canterbury)

Panel discussion: Infrastructure recovery

• Infrastructure Recovery
  Ian Campbell, Former Executive General Manager (Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team)
• Delivering the Vision
  Stephen Selwood, Chief Executive Officer (Infrastructure New Zealand)
• Places for People
  John Bridgman, Chief Executive Officer (Ōtākaro Limited)

Panel discussion: Community leadership

• Gap Filler Christchurch
  Ryan Reynolds, Founder (GapFiller)
• Leanne Curtis, Founder (CanCERN)
• Lessons we Learnt
  Margaret Jefferies, Chair (Project Lyttelton)

Panel discussion: Psychosocial recovery and wellbeing lessons

• Psychosocial recovery and wellbeing lessons
  Dr Lucy D'Aeth

For more information or if you have any questions please contact eqrecoverylearning@dpmc.govt.nz.

EQ Recovery Learning on Facebook and Twitter

Media releases by Ministers on the Beehive website

Christchurch to host earthquake symposium (Hon Dr Megan Woods, 13 June 2018)

Speakers announced for Canterbury Earthquakes Recovery Symposium (Hon Dr Megan Woods,
2 November 2018)