In Christchurch the Court Theatre is about to reopen, more than nine months after the earthquake ruined its inner city premises. The country's most successful professional theatre, which used to be in the 19th century gothic style Arts Centre, has moved to a shed in the suburbs.
Topics - New Zealand could begin full-scale military exercises with the United States within a year. A reported doubling of the number of supernatural events in Canterbury has been attributed to the 'sheer strength and power' of the September 4 earthquake, by a paranormal investigator.
The Student Volunteer Army (SVA) are pulling together their troops to assist in the Canterbury clean-up . SVA chief executive Sam Johnson has been putting out the call to arms. He says it's time to help the region's farmers who helped Christchurch after the earthquakes. Sam Johnson spoke to Susie Ferguson.
The lawyer for the man whose company designed the CTV building says it was the strength and number of Canterbury earthquakes that caused its collaspe, and not any design faults.
Three years on from the earthquakes that crippled Christchurch's infrastructure, the city has yet to see costings and timeframes for the delivery of a revamped transport system for the central city.
The Treasury is forecasting the Christchurch earthquake will slow economic activity and the Finance Minister says the forecast 11-billion dollar Budget deficit this year will also climb.
The All Blacks coach Graham Henry says he'd have wanted another test before the Tri-Nations, even if the New Zealand Rugby Union hadn't organised the Christchurch earthquake fundraiser match.
The company which runs Christchurch's water and sewage systems says it expects supply and wastewater problems in the wake of the earthquake to appear for at least the next six months.
The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission has heard evidence that a heritage order on a row of dangerous buildings may have contributed to the deaths of a dozen people in the February quake.
The director of the structural engineering company that designed the CTV building came under fire yesterday over documents missing from evidence his firm submitted to the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission.
The Earthquake Commission has settled with a Christchurch homeowner, just days before their test case was due to be heard at the High Court. Jamie Gibling used his KiwiSaver to buy his first family home in New Brighton after the quakes, believing it had been properly repaired. He later learned the repairs were botched and would cost $300,000 to fix. His "onsold" test case was supposed to be heard on Monday to clarify who was liable. But today EQC announced it had reached a settlement with the family and that agreement would provide a framework for the 54 other claimants also with Shine Lawyers. Finance and EQC Minister Grant Robertson last week announced an "onsold" settlement kitty of $300 million for the next 12 months but legal experts working with claimants have told Checkpoint it could cost taxpayers much much more. EQC's Deputy Chief Executive is Renee Walker. On Thursday she came into the studio and Lisa Owen asked her if the Giblings got what they asked for and if the 54 others who signed up to the class action would get the same.
There's good news of sorts on the building-inspection front in Auckland. After nearly seven days of fanning out across the city inspecting damaged buildings - the biggest such deployment of building inspectors since the Christchurch earthquake emergency - the operation will be scaled back this weekend. There are currently around 95 inspectors in the field who have checked 3,500 buildings. As of 6pm last night 190 buildings were red stickered, and a further 790 yellow stickered. The most red stickered areas are Mount Albert/Mt Eden with 54 and the North Shore with 32. Auckland Council general manager building consents Ian McCormick spoke to Corin Dann.
Gulls are well known for swooping in and flogging food off your plate or picnic and now they are making a complete menace of themselves in Christchurch's New Regent street. Local businesses are being over-run by the red and black-billed gulls that are nesting on the rooves of buildings along the street, swooping and pooping all over the place. It's not the first time they've invaded, they started breeding in 2019 in an earthquake damaged building on the corner of Armagh and New Regent streets. The problem is both the red and black-billed gulls are protected. Casey Alderson from Belle Cafe spoke to Lisa Owen.
More than 600 Christchurch home-owners face a wait of up to 18 months before its decided who foots the bill for earthquake repairs that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The problem - first revealed on Checkpoint in March - is that owners bought homes thinking all quake damage had been identified and fixed - only to find more problems that weren't addressed. The people affected cannot claim on their insurance - because the damage pre-dates them buying the house - and any grant from the Earthquake Commission is capped. EQC has publicly apologised to those affected but the Minster, Megan Woods, says it's unclear who will pay for the needed repairs.
The political consensus over the response to the Christchurch earthquake is in danger of collapsing.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister accuses parts of the Christchurch council of slowing the recovery.
A family who lived through the 2010 and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes is now in isolation in Spain because of the Covid-19 virus. Spain is currently the fourth most affected country in the world, with more than 2000 new cases reported in the past 48 hours. More than 600 people have died, 90 of which have been reported in the past 24 hours. Yuri Bacas Hosaka, who grew up in Madrid says the family's quake experiences helped prepare them for what they're experiencing right now. Indira asked her how she and her family are coping
Chaos predicted with switch in give way rules, The first GST increase in 21 years comes into force at midnight tonight, Villages around Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga are today remembering the day one year ago when lives, homes and businesses were destroyed by a deadly tsunami , One of Auckland most distinctive local bodies has made an emotional exit one month before the creation of the new super city, The Law Society has added its voice to condemnation the government is giving itself far too much power by passing the emergency Canterbury earthquake legislation.
The beloved Christchurch Arts Centre - built in the 1870s - has slowly been reopening after repairs and restoration. An open day last weekend saw the public getting their first look into the complex's school of art building since the earthquakes. One beneficiary has been singer-songwriter Bic Runga, who has kick-started the Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora's revived Creative Residencies programme. She tells Mark Amery she's been trying out all sorts of new things. Applications for Bic's song-writing workshop in Christchurch in early July close on Friday 31 May.
Tests have revealed that New Zealand's latest building designs will stand up to earthquakes of a greater intensity than the ones that occurred in Christchurch and Kaikōura. Researchers from the University of Auckland and Canterbury, in collaboration with QuakeCoRE and Tongji University in China, built a two-storey concrete building and put it on one of the largest shake tables in the world. All of the building's details were based on existing buildings in Wellington and Christchurch. The project leader is the University of Auckland's Dr Rick Henry. He talks to Guyon Espiner.
The families of the victims of the CTV building collapse in Christchurch have told an engineering disciplinary hearing they've been waiting 12 years for accountability. The building collapsed in the February 2011 earthquake killing 115 people. It was designed by Dr Alan Reay's firm - Reay was criticised by the Earthquake Royal Commission for handing sole responsibility of it to an inexperienced employee. Reay has tried to stop the disciplinary process going ahead but it got underway in Christchurch today. Reporter Anna Sargent spoke to Charlotte Cook.
Rachel Conley's family has flown to Christchurch for the first time for the unveiling of the memorial wall. They are staying with a NZ family, whose son died along with Rachel in the earthquake.
The Royal Commission investigating the Canterbury earthquakes has heard that the premises where a man was killed by a falling concrete wall was not inspected by structural engineers between the September and February quakes.
It is unlikely engineers involved in the most serious building collapse of the Christchurch earthquake will face any external action, with the profession's administrators telling the Government there's nothing more they can do.
The Earthquake Commission has admitted the details of all 83-thousand clients in its Canterbury Home Repair programme have been accidentally emailed to the wrong place, not just the almost 10 thousand it said on Friday
The Canterbury earthquake is taking a toll on the mental health of people in the region. 30% more people in Christchurch are requesting treatment for anxiety, depression and addiction, compared with usual numbers.
More now from today's post cabinet news conference where the Prime Minister announced that a national memorial service to mark the Christchurch earthquake will be held in the city on Friday March the 18th.
The Chief Executive of the Earthquake Commission, Ian Simpson, talks to the programme about how payments are being made to Christchurch earthquake claimants and what if anything can be done to speed up the payment process.
Rolleston is a town in the Selwyn District of Canterbury, just outside the Christchurch City boundary. It was close to the epicenter of the September earthquake last year, but suffered little damage because it sits on very stable rock.
The smaller buildings that collapsed in the Christchurch earthquake, killing those in them as well as passers by, will be the focus of the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission when hearings resume today