Seismic upgrade cost $3 billion to save one life in 4,000 years

Reacting to the report by Tailrisk Economics released this morning that questions the value of the billions of dollars required to strengthen buildings deemed ‘earthquake prone’ in Auckland, Jordan Williams, Executive Director of the Taxpayers’ Union, says:

“If the Tailrisk report is right, the Government is about to force more than $3 billion to be spend on earthquake strengthening in Auckland which will take 4,000 years to save a single life.”

“While it isn’t a tax, it’s a massive regulatory burden which appears to lack evidential foundation.”

“The Taxpayers’ Union is urging Treasury to peer review the advice on earthquake policy by MBIE . If the allegations have substance, why were the flaws not picked up in the regulatory impact statement?”

The report is available on the New Zealand Herald’s website: http://nzh.tw/11229826