This came in via the tipline. It is from someone I know and is not a government source, they reside in Christchurch.
It seems that Big Gerry may well have been justified with his intemperate language. It seems the reporters Kurt Bayer and Kate Shuttleworth haven’t fact checked as thoroughly as they could have.
I notice this in the Herald:
Mrs Holmes, who is still living in her badly damaged red-zone home in one of the worst-hit streets in Christchurch, was disgusted.
“Brownlee is an absolute idiot,” said Mrs Holmes, who is still forced to use a portaloo in her front garden more than 18 months after her house sunk, snapped, and cracked in the February 22, 2011 quake.
“With the way he’s acted, and by making comments like this, he must be the most disliked man in Christchurch.
“I only hate two people in this world – my ex-husband and Gerry Brownlee.”
I’ve met Mrs Holmes (I won’t say in what capacity), and of all the hundreds of people I’ve met who were affected by the earthquake, she would be the one I respect least.
- It is not true that she has had to use a portaloo – she has a chemical toilet and a large bathroom she can put it in. After she made the same complaint last year the street’s poraloo was moved onto her driveway, right beside her front door.
- Their financial problem is not because of Brownlee – it’s because they cancelled the sale of their house after the September 2010 earthquake and lost their deposit on the section they were buying. This was the honorable thing to do, but it is also not Brownlee’s fault.
- She has, on her front door, messages expressing their hatred towards Brownlee. Asking Sue Holmes to comment on Gerry Brownlee is like asking Bomber to comment on John Key.
- Sue Holmes has consistently courted the media (not hard in Seabreaze Close), complaining about her lot – while admitting when asked that she has done nothing herself to improve it (such as calling one of the agencies who are doing makeshift repairs). She’s even complained that melting snow would come into the house – which is quite a feat since their house is uphill from the road!
