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The state of emergency in the three Canterbury districts worst hit by the big earthquake 12 days ago has been extended until midday tomorrow.
Five aftershocks have shaken the area in the past 12 hours, the largest a 4.3 tremor.
It is hoped by tomorrow all the members of the newly created Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commission, which includes the mayors of the three affected districts, will be known.
There will be three government appointees and an independent chairman overseeing the Commission, which will advise ministers on the orders they need to make. The members will be a contact point between central and local government.
ONE News understands part of the reason for extending the state of emergency in Christchurch, Waimakariri and Selwyn, was to have the new commission in place.
Civil Defence Minister John Carter says mayors in the affected areas have decided to keep it in place "to ensure a smooth and safe transition from states of emergency to a state of urgency across the districts".
Under legislation passed last night, recommendations made by ministers can't be challenged, reviewed, quashed or called into question by any court.
The bill is aimed at speeding up the rebuilding
process in Canterbury by giving ministers the power to relax
building laws.
But one academic says its sweeping powers are a
"constitutional outrage".
Dean Knight, senior lecturer at Victoria University's law faculty, said the bill was undemocratic.
"A quick read show that it grants extreme executive power - unbridled and effectively unchecked - in a way that has the potential to undermine our very democratic foundations," Knight said in his blog.
While there was a need for some legislative changes to allow
rebuilding in Canterbury following the 7.1 quake this bill was too
extreme, he said.
The emergency bill went through all its stages in one day, as MPs
acknowledged the need to be able to quickly clear away red tape and
get on with the job of rebuilding homes and business.
The Greens backed the bill, but only after voicing serious concerns about the extent of its provisions.
"These are tough times and this is a tough bill," said MP Kennedy Graham.
He said the most worrying aspects of the bill were legal immunity and its lack of limitation - although it lists 22 Acts which are under its scope, it also says ministerial powers are not limited to those Acts.
Knight said the bill "confers powers that are more extreme than found in the Civil Defence legislation applicable to the original emergency itself".
He believes there were other ways the reconstruction of Canterbury could have been handled more democratically, adding "we must respect our important constitutional and democratic principles when addressing matters of urgency and emergency".
Labour fully supported the bill, although its MPs also questioned some of its provisions. Party leader Phil Goff said the situation would be carefully watched to ensure homeowners weren't exploited by "cowboy builders" during reconstruction.
The Waimakariri Council is holding a meeting tonight for Kaiapoi residents only, who have been particularly hard-hit by the quake.
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