Music we know is a great healer, and members of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra have just been to quake-hit Kaikoura to play for children and for people who're struggling. Kaikoura Earthquake Recovery Team invited five CSO musicians to perform for local schools, for residents in the Kaikoura Health Facility, and the wider community during the week. CSO first violin Cathy Irons talks to Lynn Freeman about the experience.
A school pool, a BMX bike club and a music school are among twenty organisations in Christchurch that have benefitted from the final grants from an international appeal for re-building the quake-damaged city. The Christchurch Earthquake Appeal has so far raised almost 100 million dollars, and as our reporter Teresa Cowie discovered, the latest 8 million dollars that's been released from the fund is giving a welcome boost to residents.
Former drama teacher and casting director Rosie Belton (right) has a motto she lives by: "When all else fails - cook!" Her new book Wild Blackberries explores her life through food. It's about how food enhances the feeling of celebration, and comforts in times of sadness. Having lived through nearly four years of earthquakes in her hometown of Christchurch, Rosie tells Wallace Chapman about why the kitchen and dining table provided so much solace in such unstable times.
The only Christchurch street still closed following the 2011 earthquake will reopen later in 2018 only to close again in 2019 so the council can extend the route for the tram. The proposal has raised the ire of fledgling businesses along High st worried about the disruption the road works will cause them and wanting the work done now, before they open their doors to the public.
Four years ago Christchurch City Council vowed to get tough on the owners of 30 central city buildings left derelict since the 2011 earthquake. A wander through central Christchurch shows many of the buildings, nicknamed the dirty 30, still look unchanged. There are boarded up windows, tarps covering gaping holes, and containers keeping bricks from falling on passers by. But council says progress is finally being made on most Rachel Graham has more.
Topics - Emergency services are at the scene of a cliff collapse at the Port of Lyttelton that has damaged fuel storage tanks. Police say evacuations are underway from Brittan Terrace and Cressy Terrace, with people being taken to Lyttelton Main School. Meanwhile - University of Canterbury researchers have confirmed that Christchurch is now experiencing more frequent and severe flooding due to the impact of the earthquakes.
Those displaced or affected by the Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle can get help with insurance claims through a new service from today. The Government has launched the New Zealand Claims Resolution Service for homeowners to resolve issues and settle claims. The service is modelled on two that were used during the Canterbury earthquakes. Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Duncan Webb spoke to Guyon Espiner.
The government's looking overseas to get more hands on deck to help with the rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle. A new short-term Recovery Visa will bring in specialist foreign workers through a similar pathway used after the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes. The visas will be fast-tracked with officials aiming to get applications through within seven days. Corn Dann spoke with immigration minister Michael Wood.
The government is crowdsourcing the cyclone recovery bill. It has launched an international fundraising effort, modelled on the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal - which raised almost $100 million. A separate special Lotto draw will also be held on March 18 with all proceeds going to affected communities. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has urged New Zealanders to get behind the effort. He defended asking people to chip in when the cost-of-living is so high.
Sir Miles Warren and Maurice Mahoney were architectural revolutionaries who built a legendary partnership spanning 37 years. A new film currently in production aims to celebrate their incredible legacy and document the bitter fight to save their most iconic building - the Christchurch Town Hall - from demolition after the 2011 earthquake. Co-director and Maurice's daughter Jane Mahoney talks to Mark Leisham about the pairs legacy and the process of making the film.
A panel with Michael Bell, Steph Walker and Kiri Jarden. It’s almost 13 years since the devastating earthquake of 22 February 2011, which forced 70 percent of the Ōtautahi Christchurch CBD to be demolished. While the rebuild has been a slow and often difficult process in visions meeting reality, there is also much to celebrate in the city taking up the opportunity, through art and design, to remake it as a place for all.
A year after the first earthquake on 4 September 2010, aftershocks continue to be felt in Canterbury, and they're not always seismic ones. When buildings collapse or are cordoned off, or even just closed for repairs - what happens to the lives and livelihoods of those who used to fill them with noise and energy? Kris Vavasour returns to Lyttelton to catch up with performers and friends, to hear about life in an altered landscape.
A new office building in central Christchurch has multiple flaws in its earthquake design that the city council was warned about almost two years ago. Construction of the seven-storey building above the busy shopping precinct at 230 High Street, continued even after those warnings in December 2017. Three leading engineering firms have found critical faults - the latest are detailed in a Government-ordered report that's been leaked to RNZ. Phil Pennington joins Corin Dann with the details.
A Christchurch couple in a long running dispute over the insurance payout for their earthquake damaged home have reached an out-of-court settlement with Southern Response. The class action was brought on behalf of former AMI Insurance/Southern Response policyholders who believe the company misled them into settling their claims for less than their policies entitled them to. The lawyer for Brendan and Colleen Ross, Grant Cameron, talks to Max Towle about the settlement.
Canterbury farmers say they're at breaking point. A recent Ministry of Health report presented to MPs shows suicide is up 20 percent in rural areas compared with a drop of 10 per cent in cities and towns. Droughts, floods, earthquakes, farm debt, M Bovis, looming water quality reforms and climate change legislation have Canterbury farmers feeling under the pump. Political reporter Jo Moir has been in the region talking to locals like Chris Allen.
The decision on what to do with Christchurch's earthquake damaged redzone is one step closer, with the end of the public consultation period on the plan for the area. Over the past month Christchurch people have been asked to comment on a draft land use plan for the 602 hectares of land. Now those pitching ideas want the authorities to get on with the next step, so they can have some certainty about whether their projects can go ahead.
Businesses in the Christchurch suburb of New Brighton say something needs to be done urgently to pull the area out of an economic slump. The seaside town has struggled since the Canterbury Earthquakes, with thousands of people - and customers - leaving the area due to land damage under their homes. And they're pointing the fingers at city leaders like the Christchurch City Council and its rebuild agency, Development Christchurch. Logan Church spoke to New Brighton business owner Nigel Gilmore.
Topics - Hundreds of people have lost their lives in Egypt overnight, and it's expected the death toll will continue to rise. This comes after the military over threw the democratically elected leader last month, and has now forcibly closed down protester camps. Power company Orion - owned by Christchurch City Council and Selwyn District Council - is looking to hike its prices until 2019, to help recover revenue lost because of the Canterbury earthquakes.
The Christchurch City Council has confirmed the demolition of the earthquake-damaged Lancaster Park sports stadium will begin this year. Lancaster Park Cricket club was one of the sports ground's first tenants when it was established in 1881. An act of parliament means the ground has to be used for sport and recreation. "We're certainly looking foward to being able to get back on the ground and for it to be turned back into green space," Ric Horsfall from the cricket club says.
Topics - appalling stories of Christchurch families living in garages and tents - even a couple renting a wash-house - are continuing to surface almost two years on from the February 2011 earthquake. Youth crime is described as "steadily falling" in New Zealand, with rates of police apprehensions and prosecutions of young people at record lows. Auckland Grammar has employed the services of a private investigator to check on parents trying to cheat on school zone boundaries.
In quake-ravaged Christchurch businesses are tentatively restarting, and infrastructure is being restored, but there's ongoing uncertainty about job losses and how people will survive financially. Within six days of the February earthquake; the Government had introduced a subsidy scheme for businesses and their employees, as well as people who'd found themselves out of a job. Now there's growing disquiet about what will happen to thousands of Cantabrians when that support scheme finishes at the end of May.
Thousands of Christchurch refugees have poured into Timaru since the earthquake on February 22, boosting its population by nearly 20 per cent. Social services are giving out hundreds of food parcels, blankets, toiletries and clothes every day as well as finding accommodation for people who have turned up in town with nothing. Major Dean Herring of the Salvation Army in Timaru has been helping evacuees find places to live as well as dealing with the huge piles of donated goods.
In the programme this week - the former New Zealand cricket captain Stephen Fleming talks about plans for a charity cricket match to raise funds for victims of the Canterbury earthquake. We hear about the role of sports chaplaincy in New Zealand sports teams, Blyth Tait talks about his return to top level Equestrian competition after a seven year absence and one of the country's premier mountain biking events, the Karapoti Classic, near Wellington is underway again.
Pike River Mine will be put up for sale soon, People allowed into another area of Christchurch cordon, Relative, friends of quake lost describe pain of waiting, Doubts swirl around Rugby World Cup in Christchurch and the ongoing questions surrounding the death of a New Zealander and other tourists in Thailand, Earthquake puts unprecedented pressure on Reserve Bank, Sovereign may not be last failure in struggling building sector, Space shuttle Discovery lands safely in Florida.
The Week In Review for week ending 12 August 2011... featuring a new rebuild plan for Christchurch's earthquake ravaged CBD, problems at the Waikato-Tainui Tribal Parliament, a pricing fiasco surrounding the Adidas All Blacks Rugby World Cup jersey, the Mana party confirms it will contest all seven Maori seats and some general seats in November's general election, the renaming of Mt Cook's South Ridge to The Hillary Ridge and the White Mouse passes away.
A review of the week's news including: The Labour Party's capital gains tax policy announcement, Act's creative director resigns over newspaper ad, day two and three reports from the Pike River Mine tragedy Royal Commission Of Inquiry, the treatment of Crete veterans during recent 70th anniversary commemorations, Sydenham recovery following Christchurch earthquake, Lonely Planet puts Christchurch back on it's visit list and small brewers angry over Radler beer trademark ruling.
Sam Harvey says that holding on to grace is one of the things that keeps him striving towards his calling to help others. He's a young pastor of the Beach Campus of Grace Vineyard Church in Christchurch, and moved to the city on the eve of the first earthquake. Sonia Sly finds out what it takes to adhere to the faith during difficult times, and candidly asks about God's voice, New Zealand's attitude to Christianity, and the process of healing through exorcism.
Our Christchurch correspondent, Katy Gosset takes us on a musical journey with the help of one of the city's longest serving pianists. For 23 years Peter Lewis played the piano in the Crowne Plaza Hotel before being made redundant by the February 2011 earthquake. Peter has since struggled to find a way to share his music with others. Today Katy seeks out some city pianos and takes him on a mystery tour to rediscover the pleasure of playing.
Christchurch artist Mike Beer creates miniature models of Christchurch buildings that were lost in the Canterbury earthquakes. Through these tiny models Mike hopes to remind people of the buildings that once shaped the city - and bring back the feelings and memories associated with them. Mike, who goes by the name Ghostcat, says It's all about the connections people have with a time, and place. His models are to be displayed at Fiksate Gallery in Christchuch from April 9.
Ang Jury of Womens' Refuge talks about the announced changes to family violence law and if the government's got it right. Labour's Andrew Little "rejected" yesterday's One News Colmar Brunton Poll so the party released its own results today. Bruce Springsteen has announced dates for a New Zealand tour including a concert in Christchurch for the anniversary of the February 2011 earthquake. Your feedback about the long hours hospital doctors work.