As a cemetary near her home is cordoned off, fears for Blessie Gotingco intensify. In Christchurch, there's questions over asbestos and potential danger in the earthquake rebuild and a sub zero wake up for the south, as temperatures plummet.
The historic home of New Zealand's most popular beer has been secured with a forty-million dollar upgrade. The Prime Minister John Key yesterday officially opened the redeveloped Speight's Brewery in central Dunedin, which has taken over the Lion company's South Island production because of the Christchurch earthquakes.
A new study suggests young Maori wahine are being let down by the health system, because of inadequate information to help them find a midwife; A South Island marae has accepted a donation to repair its wharekai damaged during the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes; About 750 Maori and Pasifika Auckland tertiary students will celebrate their academic achievement.
A new study suggests young Maori wahine are being let down by the health system, because of inadequate information to help them find a midwife; A South Island marae has accepted a donation to repair its wharekai damaged during the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes; About 750 Maori and Pasifika Auckland tertiary students will celebrate their academic achievement this week.
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.
A review of the week's news including... Laila Harre says she is returning to politics to lead the Internet Party because young people, in particular, have been ignored by politicians, Kim Dotcom's US lawyer says a bid by Hollywood's movie studios to have the Internet businessman's assets frozen here is a bid to ensure Mr Dotcom can't win in court in the United States, Fiordland's controversial 240 million dollar monorail is scrapped by the Conservation Minister, documents show WorkSafe New Zealand was still grappling to get on top of asbestos dangers in the Christchurch rebuild nearly two years after the February 2011 earthquake, a train smashes into a concrete barrier at a Lower Hutt station, the New Zealand First leader accuses a South Auckland Maori trust of mis-spending of hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayers money, the associate Immigration Minister stands by her decision not to intervene to allow a Fijian man with kidney failure who has since died in Fiji to stay in New Zealand for treatment, a British writer and academic's use of creative writing to help rehabilitate young offenders and sheep on a farm in Queenstown are being covered in a repellent spray to stop them being eaten alive by Kea.
TRACEY MARTIN to the Minister responsible for Novopay: Does he stand by his statement of 11 February 2014, "education payroll is the most complex in New Zealand and more work remains to be done to simplify the business processes to ensure it runs as smoothly as possible each year"? Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that "the true builders of that future are the millions of New Zealanders working in the homes, the businesses, the industries of our country"? MAGGIE BARRY to the Minister of Finance: What progress is the Government making with its share offer programme, which is freeing up money for reinvestment in new public assets without having to increase Government debt? ANDREW LITTLE to the Attorney-General: Will he release all correspondence between the Christchurch Crown Solicitor or any other solicitor acting for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and counsel for Peter Whittall on the decision not to proceed with the prosecution of Mr Whittall under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 relating to conditions at the Pike River Mine that lead to the deaths of 29 miners; if not, why not? KEVIN HAGUE to the Minister of Health: When were Ministry of Health officials first informed that the dispute between the Southern District Health Board and South Link Health involved allegations of the misuse of public funding, and when were they first informed that this alleged misuse was suspected to involve elements that could be fraud? Dr CAM CALDER to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment: What announcements has the Government made on the Tertiary Education Strategy for New Zealand? Hon RUTH DYSON to the Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission: Does he stand by his statement made yesterday in the House with regard to Canterbury Labour Members of Parliament that they "have made no more than five requests for assistance through the Earthquake Commission"; if not, when will he be correcting his statement and apologising? MARK MITCHELL to the Minister for Communications and Information Technology: How is the Government's Information and Communication Technology programme improving New Zealanders' access to improved technology and better connectivity? GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister of Justice: On what date did she receive an invitation to visit the Shanghai office of Oravida Ltd during her Ministerial visit to China in October 2013, and what actions did she take to ensure this visit met her obligations under the Cabinet Manual? CATHERINE DELAHUNTY to the Associate Minister of Education: Did the communities in Christchurch, Auckland and Queenstown, where four schools are to be built using a public-private partnership (PPP) model, ask the Government for private sector management of their school buildings? PAUL FOSTER-BELL to the Minister of Health: What investment is the Government making in improving nutrition and exercise for pre-schoolers? JOANNE HAYES to the Minister of Corrections: What steps has the Government taken to improve access to alcohol and drug treatment for prisoners?