The Earthquake Commission (EQC) criticised for misleading and inadequate measurements on housing foundations when assessing damage to Canterbury homes; Wellington historic building champions vow to save heritage structure in the capital; the spread of didymo in Fiordland; Defence Force sentencing today after drowning last year; the censorship of Maniac, arty audiences only please, and; the PM changes tack on working with NZ First.
Dire predictions about the death of books and of publishing in this country with the advent of e-books and the amalgamation of big publishing houses have proved to be way off the mark. One of the standout publishers to have emerged is Wellington's BWB - Bridget Williams' Books - with its focus on New Zealand non-fiction and championing of the topical essay. Titles in their popular BWB text series include The New Zealand Project by Max Harris, Holly Walker's The Whole Intimate Mess, and Antibiotic Resistance by Dr Siouxsie Wiles. Their latest publications include The Expatriates by expat Martin Edmond, and Paul Gorman's take on the Canterbury Earthquakes - Portacom City.
A review of the week's news including: Accusations in a new book that the defence force misled Ministers about what it's been doing in Afganistan, the EQC more than doubles it's estimate of how much it will pay out on Christchurch earthquakes claims, more than 800 military medals worth a quarter of a million dollars revealed stolen from the Waiouru National Army Museum, strong support for a proposed coal mine on the West Coast's Denniston plateau, will the Rugby World Cup deliver a hoped for economic boost as forcast, New Zealand shotput champion Valerie Adams wins her third straight World championship and the Penquin 'Happy Feet' heads south.
A selection of the week's news including a former New Zealand cricketer demanding answers over how his name has been linked an investigation into match-fixing, the Act Party leader announces he is quitting as party leader and will leave parliament next year, the biggest drug haul in New Zealand history, the Auditor General apologises to Mangawhai locals for Audit New Zealand's failure to identify a 60 million-plus waste-water debacle, the Labour Party says its victory in the Christchurch East by-election is an indictment of the Government's response to the earthquakes, we hear from the author of a book about the building blocks of our words and literature and the national champion who will proudly represent New Zealand at an international competition in Perth.
A review of the week's news including... New questions are raised by leaked video footage showing a robot and two workers inside the Pike River mine just months after the 2010 disaster, fresh happy faces in the newly announced Labour list line up, the country's two biggest media companies have been given a strong message from the regions after their proposed merger is knocked back, a full biosecurity operation launched in Kerikeri, Wellington house prices soar, a helicopter pilot describes his crash north of Wellington as 'frightening', women in the Mongrel Mob say there is now less violence towards women, a review of the Kaikoura earthquake reveals it generated a tsunami of nearly 7 metres, the most annoying driving habits on Christchurch roads and one half of a champion rowing crew is surprised by the other half's retirement announcement.