The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission hearing into the collapse of the Canterbury Television Building has ended for the week after four days of compelling evidence.
Maori business leaders who've recently returned from China say the trip has already resulted in new export deals - including a five-tonne shipment of mussels to a Chinese town; One of five Maori social service providers losing a Family Start contract is choosing not to fight the decision in court - and will instead attempt to win back the business; A new Maori education group says iwi are sleeping giants that have woken up to help tamariki do better at school; A new study into the effects of the Canterbury earthquakes on Maori mental health patients is promising to offer a unique perspective on how Maori live after devastating events.
Christchurch poet Jeffrey Paparoa Holman whose new collection Shaken Down 6.3 looks at the impacts and aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes. It's published by Canterbury University Press.
A new temporary housing village for residents with earthquake-damaged homes in Christchurch has opened in the east of the city.
Canterbury retail spending surges following earthquake disruptions. Traders face potential prison terms in Britain's rate-rigging scandal and the sharemarket falls half a percent.
The head of the structural engineering firm that supervised the design of the Canterbury Television building appeared yesterday at the Royal Commission into the Canterbury Earthquakes.
The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission has heard that evidence crucial to working out what caused the collapse of the Canterbury Television Building, was destroyed by the firm which oversaw its design.
Christchurch Hospital has just celebrated its 150th anniversary. The major medical facility is in the heart of the city, beside Hagley Park, and played a key role in the February earthquake, treating the many who were seriously injured. Christchurch correspondent Katy Gosset discovers the hospital faces its own quake-related challenges as it plans for the future.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority wants private insurers to provide homeowners with clear timeframes for when earthquake repairs will be carried out.
The High Court in Christchurch has ruled the Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee was wrong to use his special powers to fast track housing development following the earthquakes.
DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement “My expectations are that this will be a busy, hard three years’ work and we will need to deliver results for New Zealanders”? Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that “we don’t favour one group over another”? PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on housing affordability? GRANT ROBERTSON to the Prime Minister: When his office had a “quick look at the matters involved” with regard to the funding of the Mackenzie Sustainable Futures Trust, whom did they speak to and what documents did they look at to arrive at their conclusion that “we did not find anything that raised concerns to us”? MELISSA LEE to the Minister for Social Development: What initiatives has the Government put in place to better protect children? ANDREW WILLIAMS to the Minister of Finance: Does the Government still intend to achieve a budget surplus by 2014/15; if so, how? GARETH HUGHES to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Does he stand by his statement on the Campbell Live 9 February programme on fracking that, “In Taranaki, it’s actually been done very, very well. There’s been no effect on the environment whatsoever”? Dr JIAN YANG to the Minister of Health: What progress has been made in providing improved child health services? Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement regarding migration to Australia “What’s the point of standing in the airport crying about it?”; if so, how many of the 158,167 people that have migrated to Australia since November 2008, as reported by Statistics NZ, are from 18 to 30 years of age in number and percentage terms? COLIN KING to the Minister of Science and Innovation: How will the Advanced Technology Institute boost business-led research and development? Hon LIANNE DALZIEL to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: Why did he use section 27 of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 to amend the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement instead of using the Order in Council provisions of the Act or developing the recovery strategy or a recovery plan? SHANE ARDERN to the Minister for Primary Industries: What recent announcements has he made to further improve New Zealand’s biosecurity system?
An earthquake engineer has told the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission that the intense vertical shaking during the February 2011 earthquake wasn't unique and was similar to events overseas.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister says he's sick of insurance companies giving baseless excuses for delaying earthquake claims in Christchurch .
The Insurance Council says it can give Cantabrians a guarantee that insurers will go as fast as they can to settle earthquake-related claims.
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee says insurers have obligations under their policies.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, says he's lost patience with the private insurance industry over delays in settling quake related claims.
Co-founders of Gap Filler, a creative urban regeneration initiative started in Canterbury in response to the earthquakes.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says Christchurch will be a better city.
The man who documented the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes with the film 'When A City Falls' says this week's plan for a new Christchurch CBD will forge a new path for the damaged city.
An engineer who worked for the company that designed the CTV building, has criticised the attitude of his former boss at the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission.
As the first of a series of Government earthquake buy-out offers approach their deadline, some home-owners in Christchurch's residential red zone are pleading for more time.
The downpours have added yet another problem for Christchurch residents living in earthquake-stricken homes.
TODD McCLAY to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on progress in building a faster-growing economy? GRANT ROBERTSON to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in his Ministers; if so, why? Dr PAUL HUTCHISON to the Minister of Health: What progress can he report on the numbers of patients receiving elective surgery? JACINDA ARDERN to the Minister for Social Development: Does she stand by her answer to oral questions on Tuesday that "There is in New Zealand no actual poverty line" and "I do not see the measurement as a priority"? Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Prime Minister: Does he agree with the statement made by the Hon Bill English, in relation to the release of Natasha Fuller's private details by his Social Development Minister, that, "People who enter into public debate are welcome to do so … and should provide their full information to the public"? CHRIS AUCHINVOLE to the Minister of Broadcasting: What percentage of households in Hawkes Bay and on the West Coast of the South Island have gone digital ahead of the digital switchover in these regions on 30 September? CHARLES CHAUVEL to the Minister of Justice: What assistance will be available to families unable to afford the fee of over $900 she proposes to introduce in order to access the new Family Dispute Resolution Service? JOHN HAYES to the Minister for Courts: In light of the opening of the temporary courthouse in Masterton last week, what is the range of services that courts can now offer in Masterton? DENIS O'ROURKE to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: Was restoration of the Christchurch Cathedral included in the Christchurch Central City Recovery Plan; if not, why not? SUE MORONEY to the Minister of Women's Affairs: Is she satisfied with the action this Government has taken to improve the lives of women in New Zealand? JAN LOGIE to the Minister for Social Development: Is she concerned that Wellington Rape Crisis is shutting its doors one day a week because of funding shortfalls? IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY to the Minister of Transport: Which commuter rail services, if any, do not receive funding from the New Zealand Transport Agency?
The increase began after Christchurch's 2011 earthquakes, but the District Health Board is expecting to face even more challenges following effects of the Port Hills fires and last year's earthquake in Kaikoura.
The Christchurch City Council is proposing a rate increase of more than 7 percent to help cover the rebuild of the city's earthquake damaged infrastructure.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee is denying accusations he's about to engineer a central government takeover of the rebuild of central city Christchurch.
Canadian expert on the development of healthy communities in British Columbia is in New Zealand to explore possibilities for contributing to the rebuilding of a resilient Christchurch following the earthquake and aftershocks.
After a year's earthquake-enforced absence, the New Zealand International Jazz and Blues Festival is back and opens in Christchurch this evening.
A freshwater biologist says a tsunami of sediment and sand caused by the Canterbury earthquakes is choking the city's riverbeds and killing aquatic life.
The worst of the exodus from Christchurch after last year's earthquakes is over, according to a group which studies population trends.