Facing an Uncertain Future
MTA members around the country are rallying around their North Canterbury colleagues who have been hit by last month’s 7.8 earthquake and aftershocks.
At the time of publication, five MTA regions and individuals have pledged a total of $25,300 to the MTA Chairs Earthquake Relief Fund, set up by Coast to Coast Chair Joris Sanders. MTA in Wellington is also helping with HR advice, free EAP counselling support and other assistance. It will also contribute to the quake relief fund.
So far nine members in Kaikoura, Seddon and Waiau are known to be affected.
Joris says, “After going through the Christchurch earthquakes myself I know what these guys have ahead of them and that it is going to take a long time to get things sorted out. I wanted to do something that would help and my executive members were also in favour of setting up some sort of fund.”
He has invited other regions to also contribute to the fund and the Kaimai, Northern and Cook Strait regions have been quick to offer help.
“I’m really pleased by the response. We have yet to set out exactly how the grants to members will be issued but the intent is to see the money used in a way that may make their lives a little bit easier.” Joris says this could include a relaxing weekend away for a stressed family, or specialist business advice or other support a member asks for.
He says other individual members around the country could also contribute to the fund, or perhaps offer to help in some other way.
“I remember after the Christchurch earthquakes, a member offered me and my family his bach on the West Coast for a short break. It was a great escape for us from all the aftershocks and we really appreciated the support.”
Business Interrupted
Kaikoura members are facing uncertain futures following the quake.
Ian Walker’s workshop repairs mostly heavy vehicles and machinery and Ian reckons he’ll be able to continue trading.
“With all the roading and rail reconstruction to come, we may even be better off.” He employs four staff and a part-timer and while the workshop contents were shaken around, there doesn’t appear to be much structural damage. It was a different story for his prized Corvette, which he had up on a hoist at the time of quake."
“Someone messaged me that he’d be happy to help fix it up, but I’ve been incredibly busy since the quake and have lost track of who that was.” Ian is also the Chief Fire Officer for the Kaikoura Volunteer Fire Brigade.
It’s a different story for Murray Green, who owns Kaikoura Marine and Auto Services. The company has six staff and relies heavily on the local tourist operations for business. He’s expecting tough times ahead.
“Our building doesn’t seem to have been structurally damaged, at this point it looks like it’s just superficial. While, we do have business interruption insurance but there’s an excess of 5 percent of value insured, but because my doors are open to trade, it doesn’t look like we’re covered anyway.”
Murray says all his staff and their families came through okay as did his family, so he’s looking on the bright side. However, he says it’s possible he may have to lay staff off if there’s not enough work to keep them going.
Kaikoura Auto Centre is on State Highway 1, and owner Dean Counsell has really noticed the drop from passing tourists and travellers. When spoken to by Radiator, the access road to Kaikoura was opening only intermittently and Dean was running out of parts and having real difficulty ordering in replacements.
“It’s amazing how much work has dropped off. I had a call from the Springs Junction Service Centre saying that their workload had increased dramatically as all the traffic to Picton was now coming past them and he needed help. We have sent him our apprentice for a few months.”
His workshop seems structurally sound but has yet to be fully assessed.
Waiau Shaken
Waiau workshop owner Ross Forbes (Ross Forbes Motors) says being at the epicentre of an earthquake 30 times stronger than the biggest Christchurch quake was terrifying.
“Everyone in town has been left in a very fragile state.” He has yet to get a structural engineer into his workshop but says it doesn’t look as if it’s badly damaged.
“Business is already down, no one is thinking about warrants and repairs while they’re fixing up their houses and worrying about another earthquake. I’ve put my part-time mechanic on leave.”
Ross expects business to drop off significantly but doesn’t hold out hopes from getting anything from his insurance company, as he too is open for business.
MTA Business Advisor for the area, Mark Houghton was living in Christchurch at the time of the 2010 and 2011 big quakes so understands the challenges facing these businesses, as well as their families. Often it is the small things that we take for granted which really surprise you, he says. Not being able to flick a light switch on, turning the tap on to make a cup of coffee as well as using your own toilet at night. “Most of my discussions with the members have been around their staff and families’ wellbeing and making them aware of the resources available to them with EAP Counselling Services.
“We’ve also talked about insurance and building inspections. It’s really important to find out exactly what type of business interruption insurance you have, and whether it will cover you if damaged roads or structures prevent you from trading as usual. As far as I know, none of these businesses are covered in this way. It’s also important that a geotechnical engineer checks your building and land for damage. A post-earthquake assessment needs a specialist rather than just a builder’s report.”
MTA’s insurance partner is Crombie Lockwood and its Partnerships Sales Manager Paul Kuhn says the latest earthquakes should be used as a prompt by unaffected businesses to review their business interruption cover.
“Our policy has a specific clause relating to business interruption caused by damage to roads or other transport infrastructure. Like other insurance policies there is an excess that will apply and this varies depending on the condition of the building.”