Highlights from Radio New Zealand National's programmes for the week ending Friday 16 December. This week .... This week...another housing boom as property prices increase, the current state of Maori journalism, two stories from Canterbury's earthquake - a victim's recovery and a musician's return, a look back at the life of an albatross genius, the DNA of food, performing Shakespeare in te reo Maori and 200 years of wedding fashion on exhibition at Te Papa.
Christchurch and its surrounding towns are slowly starting to be rebuilt after the devastating earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. Our political editor Brent Edwards has been in Christchurch to find out whether the rebuild debate will dominate the election campaign in the city.
The sounds of Bruce Springsteen will ring out around Christchurch tonight, ahead of the sixth anniversary of the deadly February 2011 earthquake in the region. Long time fans join us to discuss what they're expecting from tonight's gig.
Years after the earthquakes, Christchurch is still desperately short of theatre space. But now the city council's investment of 30-million dollars to help the Court Theatre replace its very successful temporary home in Addington, is being widely applauded.
Christchurch central seems to have a business micro-climate. And right now it's chilly. The CBD is nothing like it used to be before the 2011 earthquake and those businesses that re-opened say they really had no choice because of the demands of insurance companies.
Earthquakes are one of the few natural disasters Australia seldom experiences. We find out from curator Felicity Milburn how our neighbours have responded to an exhibition of earthquake related art direct from Christchurch.
Some people in Christchurch who spent last night in freezing earthquake damaged homes with no power, are backing a call from the community group Cancern for emergency shelters to be set up when the next winter storm hits.
A couple of the most intriguing public art installations on in Christchurch. Dr Jessica Halliday discusses COCA gallery's window space project and Riki Manuel describes his art installations made from the ruins of earthquake hit buildings.
Fiona Farrell has been awarded the $100,000 Creative New Zealand Michael King Writer's Fellowship to research and write twin books, one fiction and one non-fiction, inspired by her experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes and the rebuilding of the city.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, says he is confident that Fletchers is vigilant about fraud and is doing what it can to prevent it in the Christchurch rebuild after accusations from New Zealand First.
It now seems unlikely that 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.
Overlapping claims and general confusion are delaying money payable to New Zealand for damage from the Canterbury earthquakes. The money involved is payable through reinsurance schemes taken out by insurance companies in this country, with firms overseas.
Nearly two years' after Christchurch's February earthquake and almost 6 months after the blueprint for the city centre was revealed, many questions remain about how much it will cost and who will pay for it.
It's emerged that engineers involved in the most serious building collapse of the Christchurch earthquake are unlikely to face any external action, with the profession's two top bodies telling the Government their hands are tied.
While most people are asleep at 5am in Christchurch, the city's florists and wholesalers are already hard at it, bidding for the best blooms. The industry has struggled after the earthquakes, but Katy Gosset finds enthusiasm levels high.
The head of the Christchurch cathedral thinks people visiting the church may have been killed there when the quake hit this afternoon. The Dean of Christchurch, Peter Beck, says they rushed to get as many people out of the Cathedral as they could.
The Christchurch Cathedral has suffered massive damage, with its spire reduced to rubble and the roof caved in. There were visitors inside the building when the earthquake hit, and it is still unclear whether anyone was trapped beneath the rubble.
Parliament has adjourned for two weeks following the declaration of a national emergency after yesterday's devastating Canterbury earthquake. The leadership of the various parties took turns to acknowlege the disaster and pay tribute to it victims and heroes.
The Christchurch City Council is looking to Scandinavia for help with the earthquake re-build. Two Danish based urban design experts are working with the Council over the next four weeks to develop a draft plan for rebuilding the central city.
The remaining victims of the Christchurch's CTV building will be the focus of a Coroner's inquest next month, as families of those killed in the February earthquake continue to question the safety of buildings in the inner city.
Full coverage of the budget and the cuts to kiwisaver, working for families and student loans. Plans to raise between 5 and 7 billion dollars from partial asset sales and a new Earthquake Kiwi Bond to raise money for Christchurch.
Canterbury novelist Joanna Orwin has a new, futurist story of a New Zealand changed by cataclysmic volcanoes and tsunami, Sacrifice. And we hear about some of the stories in a post-earthquake Christchurch anthology, Tales for Canterbury.
Nick Rogers, project director, Canterbury Land Assessment for Tonkin & Taylor. Tonkin & Taylor is the environmental and engineering consultancy doing the Canterbury land damage assessment work for EQC and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority.
Nat's been working on Earthquake relief in Christchurch with the development of the Christchurch Recovery Map and when not doing that, he's been looking at the iPad II, 3D Printers for schools, anti-lasers and other cutting edge tech.
Staying with the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake, the police in Christchurch are to start cold-calling on homes in the city where there is either a history of domestic violence, or the potential for it.
Scientists are just beginning to understand why the recent Canterbury earthquakes 'punched above their size', and their findings could change international scientific thinking about earthquakes. Alison Ballance talks with GNS seismologists Martin Reyners and Bill Fry to find out more.
The Prime Minister has signalled an election year austerity budget in May because of the Canterbury earthquakes. John Key says the Government needs to cut spending because of quake-related costs and a reduced tax take.
A memorial service for the 166 victims of the Christchurch earthquake has been held at Westminster Abbey. Attended by the Prince of Wales and the High Commissioner for New Zealander, the ceremony was led by the Dean of Westminster.
Some Christchurch business owners are criticising the government for winding down the earthquake support package. The Government has extended the package, which pays employees of quake effected business a wage subsidy for two more weeks.
A discussion on the hit to tourism following the Christchurch earthquake and the Japan tsunami. Is the industry and Government moving quickly enough to buffer the countries second biggest export earner against the worst effects?
