Coroner to investigate Christchurch rescue operations
Audio, Radio New Zealand
Complaints about the response of emergency services after the February earthquake in Christchurch will be examined by a Coroner.
Complaints about the response of emergency services after the February earthquake in Christchurch will be examined by a Coroner.
Co-founders of Gap Filler, a creative urban regeneration initiative started in Canterbury in response to the earthquakes.
National MP Gerry Brownlee says it's a great tragedy that the former chairman of government insurer Southern Response has been treated the way that he has. Ross Butler resigned on Tuesday night after a State Services Commission inquiry found Southern Response had broken its code of conduct and possibly the law, when it used private investigators to secretly record meetings of earthquake victims. The Minister for Christchurch Regeneration Megan Woods says Mr Butler was aware of what was going on, as was Mr Brownlee when he was a Minister.
Hundreds of public servants are on their way to Christchurch to relieve their weary colleagues and bolster the Government's response to Tuesday's earthquake.
Simon Manning is a Wellington funeral director who is part of the funeral industry's disaster response team, which is mobilising in Christchurch.
The Minister for Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee, is due to give the government's response to the Christchurch City Council's draft central city plan tomorrow.
Two years on from the Christchurch earthquakes, a local author says the insurance industry has failed in its response to the disaster.
A Christchurch firefighter says the Fire Service's management team should be sacked because of poor conduct during the February earthquake emergency response.
This audio file was recorded in Lyttelton. It captures the human and electronic responses following the 22nd February 2011 earthquake such as people talking, snips of radio broadcast, and alarms going off.
David Neal is the national programmes manager for the Red Cross. The Christchurch Red Cross response team is out with the fire service, searching buildings for people who might be trapped.
The Labour Party says its crushing victory in the Christchurch East by-election is an indictment of the National Government's poor response to the earthquakes.
As IAG and Southern Response's limitation periods for claims resulting from the February, 2011 earthquake nears, Christchurch lawyer Peter Woods says the current situation is a "bloody mess".
What are the lessons from the Christchurch earthquakes? The Government was slow in their quake response, but does that mean we should give more property market power to the private sector?
A new Bill looks to make life easier for people affected by major disasters, following the human disaster created by shortcomings of the Earthquake Commission in its response to the Christchurch earthquakes.
Law experts have criticised the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act for creating a dangerous precedent. Our political editor Brent Edwards weighs up the arguments for and against the emergency legislation.
Amy Huang wrote this as a Year 12 student at Rangiruru Girls' School in Christchurch as a response to the earthquake and it was a finalist in a short story competition. For ages 8-18.
The Salvation Army has been helping earthquake victims find food and shelter, as well as providing support to distraught and fearful people around Christchurch. Chris talked to Major Campbell Roberts, who is co-ordinating the Sallie's national response.
Between demolition and rebuild stands a time of opportunity in the earthquake ravaged city of Christchurch. Greening the Rubble and Gap Filler are temporary pockets of enterprise which began as early responses and have built in momentum to define the new city.
Dr. Mark Quiqley is Senior Lecturer in Active Tectonics and Geomorphology in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Canterbury. He is part of the team involved in the scientific response to the Canterbury earthquake and has been monitoring it from the air.
Sam Johnson founded the Student Volunteer Army from a Facebook page in response to the Christchurch earthquakes. Sam spoke with Karyn on air ten years ago today, and he shares his memories including how the Student Volunteer Army has grown into a nationwide movement.
Police are investigating the origins of a letter which threatened Earthquake Commission staff and referred to the Christchurch mosque shootings. The Earthquake Commission has heightened security at all its offices in response. Renée Walker is EQC's deputy chief executive. She talks to Susie Ferguson.
In response to the Canterbury earthquakes, the Government has built two villages in the suburbs of Linwood and Kaiapoi to provide temporary accomodation for those who've lost their homes. Our Christchurch correspondent, Katy Gosset, visited the Linwood Village and spoke to residents as they prepared for Christmas.
The Supreme Court has ruled that a class action by Canterbury insurance holders against Southern Response can go ahead. Ali Jones, insurance claimants advocate explains to The Panel what this means for home owners who've been fighting for years to get their fair entitlements.
Rick Wentz is a Chartered geotechnical engineer originally from Northern California who has lived in New Zealand since 2011 - coming here in response to the Christchurch earthquakes. Rick talks to Mark about seismic risk - what it means for the general community and the role of a geotechnical engineering in helping to manage it.
The coroner has ruled the search and rescue effort at Christchurch's CTV building did not contribute to the deaths of eight people who survived the initial collapse. However Gordon Matenga criticised nearly every aspect of the fire service's response to the tragedy that claimed 115 of the 185 lives lost in the February 2011 earthquake.
Disaster officials warn that no amount of planning can prepare the country for the reality of a large-scale earthquake. The South Island Alpine Fault Earthquake Response Forum is in Nelson as part of its awareness-raising road-show, as the region is vulnerable to large quakes in both the south and north islands. Tracy Neal reports.
Architect Bob Burnett is part of a class action group yet to resolve claims with Southern Response. The group argues the insurer, which was established to settle outstanding AMI claims, has systematically short-changed them. Mr Burnett said the insurer had done more damage to his home than had been done in the earthquakes. The 40 members of the class action group head to court next Wednesday.
Christchurch MPs - Labour's Lianne Dalziel and National's Amy Adams - say it's not fair for seat-of-the-pants post-quake red/yellow and green sticker assessments to be formally recorded forever. They say the assessments were hastily done and inconsistent. But the Christchurch City Council says its required to do so under the provisions of the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act.
Is organising anarchists like herding cats? Apparently not. Sage Forest talks to an anarchists' collective with a deep faith in human nature. Beyond Resistance is a nation-wide anarchists' collective based in Christchurch. They hold regular meetings with the primary goal of empowering workers. But their faith in human nature has proven itself in the response to the earthquake crises. This, they say, is true anarchy at work.
A big bake off is being planned in Auckland this weekend to raise funds for the people affected by the Christchurch earthquake. The sale is taking place at Queen Elizabeth Square, opposite Britomart on Monday from 10.30 to 12.30. All the funds raised will go to the Red Cross. The organiser Glenn Browne has had such a strong response he's had to close the doors of his business and concentrate on the event.