EQC to reviews recruitment process.

As the Earthquake Commission (EQC) moves to review its recent appointments, The Press has uncovered another senior commission employee whose child was given a lucrative EQC job.

It emerged yesterday that Ross Johns, son of chief estimator Terry Johns, has been employed as an estimator at $60 an hour for most of the year. Since he is from out of town, he is entitled to free accommodation in a motel or hotel and a food allowance of $70 a day.

This latest example of what critics see as "jobs for the boys and girls" comes after The Press yesterday revealed EQC Canterbury events manager Reid Stiven, claims manager Gail Kettle and senior manager Barry Searle have children working as estimators or assessors for the commission. Assessors earn $75 an hour.

Zac Stiven, 19, is an assessor, as is Nikki Kettle, who is aged in her late 20s. Matt Searle, who had only just completed his building apprenticeship when he was employed, is an estimator. Searle has also worked in a leadership role in his pod.

All came to Christchurch to take up their positions and are therefore entitled to a daily food and accommodation allowance of $110 a day, plus their salary.

Nikki Kettle and Matt Searle have both secured EQC jobs for next year.

All 500 or so EQC field staff were invited to apply for about 100 positions as assessors or estimators working for the commission next year.

The commission is scaling back its work force as inspections in Canterbury come closer to completion. The Press understands the positions attracted 800 applications. The successful candidates were told this week.

The appointments have been questioned by existing staff and the disclosures this week throw doubt on how the commission has recruited its staff since September last year.

Inquiries by The Press reveal field staff include not only the children of EQC senior staff but also bankrupts, failed property developers and builders with questionable professional backgrounds.

In an EQC bulletin yesterday, chief executive Ian Simpson said he had asked an independent human resources specialist to conduct a review of the commission's recruitment process "to protect staff from unwarranted criticism".

"EQC has been fielding criticism over its recruitment process for some time, mostly from anonymous former employees, unfairly maligning capable, talented staff," Simpson said.

"To confirm the robustness of our processes, I have today requested an experienced HR professional with no links to EQC to conduct independent inquiries into how we have recruited assessors and estimators for next year.

"I am confident any review will support what I already know: that EQC recruits people on their merits, and the process is fair and robust.

"We don't discriminate against applicants just because they have relatives already working for EQC. Rather, any potential conflicts of interest are identified and managed."

Simpson said the review would begin as soon as possible and the findings would be made public.

An assessor whom The Press agreed not to name, and who was unsuccessful in obtaining one of the 100 jobs, said he was outraged when he found out about the members of his pod (36 staff) who did get the jobs.

Six assessors from his pod had secured assessor jobs, he said. Of those, all but two were former police officers in New Zealand, Australia or Britain.

One of the successful candidates was only about 20 years old and formerly a barman at the hotel where some of the top EQC staff were staying.

He knew of one assessor in his pod with 30 years' experience in the insurance industry in New Zealand who was turned down.

Another assessor said he had been surprised that his pod leader, Gerald Bell, and his wife, Shirley, who are from Hamilton, had secured positions for next year, given the expense of employing them.

"They have had a pretty good go on the gravy train already," he said.

Bell is a pod leader and his wife works as an assessor. They flat with other EQC staff in Merivale and each are entitled to separate living allowances of $110 a day.

The Press calculates the couple could make at least $9000 a week, plus allowances of $1320. Throughout the year they have been entitled to fly home to Hamilton for a week each month at EQC expense.

The Bells own a building company called GPS Build, which went into liquidation this year owing Inland Revenue, ACC and other creditors about $119,000, according to the liquidator's report.