EQC confirms plans to half staff numbers

The earthquake commission has confirmed that it will go ahead with plans to cut almost half of its staff, despite an influx of new claims from the Kaikoura quake. The staff will be reduced next year from around 850 to 450, however with the recent Kaikoura quake the EQC is expecting around fifty thousand new claims, while they are also still meeting claims made from the 2011 Canterbury earthquake. Bfm reporter Dylan Kelly speaks to Labour’s Canterbury spokesperson Megan Wood, and Jess Smith speaks to insurance lawyer John Goddard about the inevitable effects of the cuts.