ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on legal policy responses and the key players involved in strategic governance following the earthquakes. One of the reasons for the high residential insurance penetration rates is the existence of the Earthquake Commission (EQC). The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE), on the other hand, was not engaged directly in hazard management before the earthquakes, but played a key role in the development of several important policies in the earthquake aftermath. Reconstruction in Christchurch is being progressed through collaborative and innovative processes. The position of Minister for Earthquake Recovery, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA), and the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) did not exist prior to the earthquakes, but played significant roles in shaping response and recovery. The city of Christchurch was planned and built on the Canterbury plains, which were formed by alluvial and fluvial deposits from two overlapping glacier-fed river systems.
