Document Review

NB: Some individuals identified with more than one ethnic category. Participants were able to type their own labels for their identity. The label New Zealander has been listed separately to Pākehā/NZ European due to ambiguity as to the similarities and differences between participants’

ideas of national identity.

3.4.3 Document Review

In addition to the analysis of interview transcripts and e-interviews I also analysed secondary documents such as media releases, government reports, official information act requests and parliamentary questions. Document analysis is an important source of data although there are specific ways that the documents need to be chosen and analysed (Finnegan, 2006; MacDonald, 2008; White, 2010). Part of this is due to the complexity of documents as socially constructed and organised objects that reflect different ideologies, discourses and practices depending on the type of document and its authors. In this research, document analysis was an important source of

information on the position of different agencies and individuals on various aspects of the

Christchurch earthquake. Through detailed analysis of key documents I was able to shed light on the political and social processes of disaster recovery in Christchurch while also providing greater context to the case than interviews alone. The use of documents as an element of triangulation for data collection is thus an important part of this study (Denzin & Lincoln, 2008; Stake, 2005).

To choose and categorise the documents I engaged the typology of documents suggested by Scott (1990) which separates documents as personal/official, and official documents as state/private, as well as the classifications of documents suggested by Jupp (2006) and Finnegan (2006). Here I have classified official private documents as official non-state documents to indicate that these

documents are freely available to the public but are not related to government procedures or departments. This typology is presented below in Table 7.

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Table 7: Documents used for Analysis

Personal Documents: Official State Documents: Official Non-State Documents:

• Life Histories and Memories

• Diaries

• Letters

• Blogs

• Government Reports

• Parliamentary Debates (i.e.

Hansard)

• Documents on Policy

• Works of Reference

• Planning Documents

• Statistic Records (including census data)

• Official Information Act Requests

• Cabinet Papers

• Research Reports

• Annual Reports

• Current Affairs (including media reports, media releases)

• Social Surveys

From this typology, I analysed official documents from both state and private sources. This includes government reports and cabinet papers as well as media reports and annual reports for various organisations. To assess the authenticity of the documents used, I followed the suggestion of MacDonald (2008), who recommends asking a variety of questions relating to the quality and authorship of documents in order to ascertain the likely value of the document. These questions include: do the documents make sense or contain glaring errors; is there consistency in literary style and typeface; and is the document derived from a reliable source? As all the documents used in this research are from official sources there is less risk regarding the authenticity of documents but it is still important to ascertain the origin and reliability of the source of data. Another important factor to consider is the availability of these documents (Jupp, 2006). Most of the documents used in this research are publicly available apart from the reports provided by Official Information Act requests.

However, the information contained in these requests is freely available to any other individual making a request.

There is a plethora of official documents relating to the recovery of Christchurch from the

earthquakes. The main rationale for the choice of the documents was the relative significance of the organisation in the recovery and rebuild of Christchurch. These documents, alongside official private sources such as media reports regarding the same organisation and their policies and plans were analysed as to ascertain the representation and position of the organisation on certain issues. Thus, the focus of the documents collected in this research is in relation to the activities of the Canterbury Earthquake Authority and the City Council (see Table 8). Outside of these documents, official

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parliamentary records and legislation have been utilised to gain perspective on the governing party’s position on recovery issues and plans.

Table 8: Analysed Documents and Source Official State Documents

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority:

• Recovery Strategy for Greater Canterbury

• Community Engagement framework and strategy

• Annual Reports 2011-2015

• Cost Sharing Agreement with Christchurch City Council 2013

• City centre anchor projects overview 2014

• Briefing to the incoming Minister 2014

• Transition Recovery Plan 2015 City Council Documents:

• Share an Idea consultation promotion

• Community engagement materials

• Christchurch City Council Annual Plans 2012-2015

• Original council city recovery plan 2012

• Korda Mentha Report for CCC on financial standing 2013

• Suburb Profiles 2013 Legislation:

• Environment Canterbury Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management Amendment Bill 2010

• Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010

• Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 Government Communications:

• Various minutes of Cabinet meetings

• Oral questions to Members of Parliament on the topic of the Canterbury earthquakes

• Written questions to Members of Parliament on the topic of the Canterbury earthquakes Other:

• Ministry for Education renewal report 2012

• Department of Building and Housing key indicators for Canterbury house prices 2012

• New Zealand Census Data

• Ministry for Business, Innovation and Economics Canterbury Housing report 2013

• TPA Christchurch Rental Survey 2013

• Statistics New Zealand report on Canterbury Housing 2014

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Official Non-State Documents:

Media Releases:

• Political party press releases on topics relating to the earthquake response and recovery

• Press releases by community organisations involved in earthquake recovery

• Official press releases from governance organisations such as Ngāi Tahu, CERA, CCDU and Christchurch City Council

News Articles:

• Articles sourced between 2010-2016 on the topics of earthquake response, earthquake recovery, housing, insurance, legislation, protests and community action in Christchurch, retrieved from:

New Zealand Herald Scoop.co.nz

The Press

The Otago Daily Times The Dominion Post

Official Information Act Requests

• Costs for the Christchurch Convention Centre plans

• Costs for public education campaigns for the city centre blueprint

• Net loss of housing stock in residential Christchurch (City Council and Earthquake Commission) Other

• Ngāi Tahu Annual Reports 2011-2015

Supreme Court Ruling for the Quake Outcasts vs Minister for Earthquake Recovery 2014-15