Today RNZ's Midday supervising producer, Denise Garland, looks at two brand new podcasts. Collapse is a podcast from Stuff, all about the Christchurch earthquakes in the lead up the to 10th anniversary of the devastating quake on February 22nd. She also looks at NZ Wars - Stories of Tainui from RNZ which over the three episodes covers the war of Waikato in the 1860s, the great war for New Zealand, a defining conflict of New Zealand.
The Aromaunga Baxters Flowers nursery in Heathcote, Christchurch sits right above the point where the earthquake struck on 22 February 2011. The greenhouses on the steep slopes of the Port Hills, as well as a big old villa and other brick buildings were badly damaged. Ten years on co-owner John Baxter says the earthquake damage is still being repaired, but sales have been boosted by a lack of imported flowers due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Christchurch is still struggling 10 years on from the earthquake with vacant spaces and little development. In the surrounding areas of Christchurch in Selwyn, inland and in the Waimakariri District to the north it's boom times, with the councils unable to keep up with building consents. The regions have continued to grow over the last 10 years after people initially moved there after the earthquake to escape the bumpy roads, red zones and EQC battles. RNZ's Sally Murphy reports.
In half an hour, the first passenger train since the devastating Kaikoura earthquake will depart Picton for Christchurch. The 7.8 earthquake that struck the region in 2016 ripped up much of the scenic Coastal Pacific railway - sweeping kilometres of tracks out to sea and buried beneath slips. The rebuild of the railway line has taken two years and the efforts of nearly 1700 workers. Todd Moyle is KiwiRail's acting chief executive. He talks to Susie Ferguson.
Red Cross aid worker Rosemarie North is in the Banten province of Java where authorities have lifted the alert level for the Anak Krakatau volcano to its second-highest level. She has worked on and off for the Red Cross since 2003 in all kinds of situations, including post-conflict in Sierra Leone, landslides in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, refugee camps in Chad, earthquakes in Nepal and Christchurch, and tsunamis in Southeast Asia and Samoa. [image_crop:72149:full]
It's been a long road to recovery for one of Christchurch's biggest post-quake projects. Eight years after the route connecting Sumner to Lyttleton was blocked off by the earthquakes, the road through Evans Pass will reopen on Friday. Sumner residents will now have a second route into the suburb, as well as a renewed connection to Lyttleton. Sara Templeton is the councillor for Heathcote Ward, which covers Sumner, and speaks to Guyon Espiner.
Johanna McCord moved to Christchurch just before the first earthquake in September nearly four years ago. But she fell in love with the city, regardless of its tectonic troubles. Johanna has just set up a blog called 'We Built This City' which is designed to showcase some of Christchurch's businesses and events. More than an information hub, it takes a personal look at some of the people who are really making a difference in the quake struck city.
Australia's controversial offshore detention regime hits a massive stumbling block; Fiji's parliament votes against reinstating the Great Council of Chiefs; Stalemate over probe into high profile PNG fraud case; Pacific thinking about collective action over long line fishing; Lessons from the Christchurch earthquakes used to heal in Fiji; CNMI school group to challenge court gun ruling; Secret to Pacific growth in its growing working age population; Fiji disappointed after Radradra picked for Australia.
A Christchurch woman whose mother died in the 2011 earthquake says an apology from the Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel does not lessen her grief. Yesterday - nine years and one day since the quake killed 185 people - Dalziel invited their families for a private apology. She acknowledged errors made by engineers and the city council in regards to the CTV building. Julie Hibbs lost her mother in the collapse of the building. She speaks to Susie Ferguson.
A Taranaki business owner is warning leaseholders to read the fine print of their contracts after being asked to pay his rent in full despite a clause in his lease allowing for a rent cut if he couldn't legally access the property. Clause 27.5 was included in the Auckland District Law Society commercial lease in 2012 in response to the Canterbury earthquakes, when many leaseholders were barred from their businesses. RNZ reporter Robin Martin has more.
Gaylene Preston has been making feature films and documentaries with a distinctive NZ flavour for over 30 years. Her latest venture is an epic six part drama series called Hope and Wire, which she produced and directed. Set in Christchurch in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes, Hope and Wire is a fictionalised mix of characters - families that fly apart, others that come together - and what happens to a city that loses it's centre in an instant.
Meet a local town hero from Auckland's Northshore - 86-year-old Māori Warden Peggy Hughes. Peggy has been serving in her community as a volunteer for about 60 years and officially as a Māori Warden for almost 50 years. She's won dozens of awards for her services - from working at the 1981 Springbok tour protests, supporting Christchurch residents after the 2011 earthquakes, serving at many memorable Waitangi Day events to the recent Black Lives Matter protests.
Topics - A Christchurch resident says he just wants to get on with his life after his house was flooded for the ninth time since the 2011 earthquake. Fairfax newspapers today feature the story of an elderly gentleman who has been burgled so many times he's afraid to sleep in his own home. In Southland - A 72-year old woman has had her 30-year church membership revoked because she is living in a de facto relationship.
Nine to Noon has been told that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is leading a multiagency group - including the Earthquake Commission, Fletcher Construction's EQR and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet - to try to identify which houses may have have had a high risk of containing asbestos and thereby quantify how many people may have been exposed. With Graham Darlow, Chief executive of Fletcher Construction and Gerry Brownlee, Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery.
Police prosecutor jailed for dealing drugs;Sharebrokers getting late rush of MRP investors;Pressure mounts on MP Aaron Gilmore;Police rule out anyone else being at risk;Mother of electrocuted son is pleased that electricians been named and shamed;NZ Post signals to Government it will need to invest in KiwiBank in two years;Judge says young killer could have made something of himself;Elderly in Christchurch say they are low on priority list for earthquake repairs and payouts.
Gerry Brownlee is the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister. Hugo Kristinsson is a South Brighton resident who stood for mayor last year on the issue of flood risk and land damage. David Stringer is the spokesperson for the community lobby group Insurance Watch - which has been seeking answers from the council since 2011 about the flood risk to the city. Nine to Noon speaks with all three about the recent flooding in Christchurch.
The Temple for Christchurch is an enormous work, representing the seismic wave of the February 22 earthquake. Made mostly from salvaged wood it's taken a team of volunteers two years to build. But it will meet a fiery end on Saturday night when it is deliberately set alight. Justin Gregory meets the designer and his volunteers with two weeks left until burn day. But when he gets there, none are to be found.
Protecting live music venues is taking on a new urgency in Christchurch, with the popular 12 Bar announcing it will close at the end of the month. With people flocking back to live in the central city after the earthquakes, there have been more complaints about noise from entertainment venues. But the local music scene says positive changes are in the works, so residents and live venues can live in harmony. Niva Chittock reports.
A business owner wants more stringent background checks for people creating professional online profiles after discovering a potential business advisor is currently on home detention for corruption. Gerard Gallagher was convicted in June after trying to personally profit from information obtained while working for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and Ōtākaro Limited between 2014 and 2017. Online, he promotes himself as a Business Advisor despite still serving a sentence of 12 months' home detention. Niva Chittock reports.
Canterbury got a big shock this morning with a long and strong earthquake that sent people running for the nearest door frame. While the region seems to have escaped any major damage, it's left locals thankful it wasn't worse. The quake measured 6.0 on the richter scale and was centred 45 kilometes north of Geraldine. Since then, there have been more than 40 aftershocks. Checkpoint producer Anastasia Hedge has been near the epicentre.
An icon of Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour is set to re-open tomorrow, after being damaged in the Canterbury Earthquakes. The Governors Bay jetty, locally known for its extraordinary length and unofficial jetty jump competitions, has been closed since 2015. Now, it's back to its former glory, just in time for summer. Niva Chittock went for a sneak peek ahead of the official opening. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6338047392112
Twelve years after the CTV building collapsed during the Christchurch earthquake, families of the victims killed inside have told an engineering disciplinary hearing they want justice and accountability. 115 people died when the six-storey building came down in February 2011. A complaint against an engineer whose firm designed the building is being heard by an Engineering New Zealand disciplinary committee. Dr Alan Reay lost a High Court bid to stop the hearing. Anna Sargent reports.
On today's First Up pod: The fallout from the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury continues - Henry Riley joined First Up from London, an overnight earthquake and the world's worst pollution - Anas Mallick reports from Pakistan, Waikato is our neighbourhood this week - Natalie Akoorie is RNZ's eyes and ears in Hamilton, and Treaty of Waitangi expert Dr Aroha Harris tells Nathan Rarere that Treaty Principles have been around since our founding document was signed. First Up - Voice of the Nathan!
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.
From the time it opened in the 1920s, the Winter Garden ballroom was the place to go for debutante balls and big-band concerts in Christchurch. Queen Elizabeth II even dined there during her visit in 1954. But this special part of Christchurch's history is over and the Armagh Street building has been placed on the urgent demolition list because of earthquake damage. Tiny Kirk is the chairman of the Trade Union Centre which has owned the building since 1984.
There are hopes an earthquake simulation in Porirua might result in homes being better prepared for a big shake. Houses on Christchurch's Port Hills suffered more damage than houses in other areas during the Canterbury Earthquakes - even though the ground shaking was roughly the same. Now the Earthquake Commission is on a mission to find out why that was - and prevent the same level of damage in a future quake. Checkpoint reporter Logan Church and video journalist Dom Thomas start their report up on a hilly farm above Wellington.
On 22 February 2011, Christchurch police sargeant Dave Harvey was outside the earthquake-damaged Hotel Grand Chancellor on Cashel Street, unsure if anyone was trapped inside. In case they were, he grabbed a can of spray paint and painted 'Help is on the way' in one-metre high letters on the road. Harvey's quick thinking really helped the people trapped in the hotel, says Clare Mackey, producer of the new documentary Help is on the Way.
Topics - the latest twist in the Kim Dotcom saga is that the police have announced they're investigating the Government Communications Security Bureau's illegal surveillance of the internet mogul. New research has shown that membership of all mainstream Christian denominations has fallen to historic lows - except for Catholicism. New research has uncovered the role underground rock structures played in stopping the September 2010 Christchurch earthquake from linking up with the Port Hills faultline and causing greater damage to Christchurch.
Despite a hasty retreat from its iconic building in Christchurch's Square following the February earthquake, 'The Press', is in celebration mode. It's 150 years since the paper began with a six page edition that sold for six pence. It's first pages warned of the crippling cost of a new tunnel and rail line connecting Lyttelton to Christchurch, and on the back, a for sale ad for 100,000 gorse plants! Deb Nation finds the paper celebrated their centenary 50 years earlier, with memories of pigeon post and paper boys.
Topics - Eight days on from the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that killed at least 161 people in Christchurch, officials have announced that the rescue effort will now transition to a recovery operation. Dunedin shares the nation's sorrow for Christchurch - but the ODT reports today that it could also benefit from an influx of workers and businesses relocating from the Garden City. Some Christchurch landlords have been labelled opportunistic vultures for ramping up rents for homeless businesses trying to find temporary office space.