Canterbury University bailout not on National or Labour's cards
Audio, Radio New Zealand
The acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Ian Town, speaks to Checkpoint about the massive losses sustained because of the Christchurch earthquake.
The acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Ian Town, speaks to Checkpoint about the massive losses sustained because of the Christchurch earthquake.
Repair work on Christchurch's iconic Town Hall, badly damaged in the earthquakes, has nearly hit the halfway mark.
For the first time in six years, music has filled Christchurch's Town Hall, which suffered significant damage in the February 2011 earthquake.
One of the areas most affected by the February earthquake was the port town of Lyttelton, south of Christchurch.
People who want the Christchurch Town Hall restored are optimistic the City Council will today commit to saving the earthquake damaged building.
A temporary village has opened in the small Canterbury town of Waiau to help residents who lost their homes in the Kaikoura earthquake.
Its budget may have blown out by almost a third more than the original figure, but this weekend the doors to the Christchurch Town Hall will re-open for the first time since the 2011 earthquakes. It was touch and go whether the 47 year-old building would even be repaired after the 6.2 quake eight years ago today. 167-million-dollars later and the city is finally getting its town hall back. Conan Young was allowed inside for a sneak peak ahead of Saturday's official opening.
Bob Batty is a town planner in Halswell.
Provincial towns and rural communities around the country say they will be financially ruined under proposals to strengthen buildings following the Christchurch earthquakes. Dale Williams is Mayor of Otorohanga, Dave Cull is Mayor of Dunedin and Lawrence Yule is Mayor of Hastings and president of Local Government NZ.
Kaiapoi, just north of Christchurch, has unveiled a bold new plan for the parts of the town wiped off the map in the Canterbury earthquakes. The plan proposes having house boats on the river that runs through the town, there'll be a place for campervans to park up and a covered sports facility is on the cards.
Elderly residents in Lyttelton have been enjoying free meals while their supermarket is closed and their town is being rebuilt. After February's earthquake, locals found that many of the community's older members felt isolated and had no means of buying groceries for themselves. Christchurch correspondent Katy Gosset finds that Lyttelton is a town that looks after its own.
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.
It was just a little under an hour and a half ago, two years today, that a seven-point-one magnitude earthquake shook Canterbury.
Thirty properties are unlivable while another 170 have restricted access following the Kaikoura earthquake last year. RNZ reporter Conan Young reports from a town meeting.
A plan to revitalise the centre of the small rural service town of Kaiapoi will be fast-tracked in the wake of the Canterbury earthquake.
The founders of a post-quake farmers market in Christchurch have taken the idea to Kaikoura, and has set up shop in the earthquake hit town.
Several earthquake volunteers, including those who helped deliver more than 400 tonnes of food to hard hit suburbs, have been recognised at a ceremony in the Canterbury town of Kaiapoi.
People in the Canterbury town of Kaiapoi say they are determined to preserve their community despite learning yesterday hundreds of earthquake-damaged homes will have to go.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister says the Christchurch City Council has wasted an opportunity in deciding to save the Town Hall, instead of building a new performing arts precinct.
Rolleston is a town in the Selwyn District of Canterbury, just outside the Christchurch City boundary. It was close to the epicenter of the September earthquake last year, but suffered little damage because it sits on very stable rock.
They were world - famous in Hororata and now the aftermath of last year's devastating earthquake has forced the Canterbury town's pub to give up the secret of its crowd pleasing pie recipe.
International Red Cross Manager Bob McKerrow talks with Deborah Nation about his long career spent helping others. Bob is no stranger to disaster but it's a new experience to see the sufferings of his earthquake-hit home-town of Christchurch.
Christchurch and its surrounding towns are slowly starting to be rebuilt after the devastating earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. Our political editor Brent Edwards has been in Christchurch to find out whether the rebuild debate will dominate the election campaign in the city.
The organ at the Christchurch Town Hall made a welcome return yesterday in front of a capacity crowd of 2,500. The instrument was badly damaged in the 2011 earthquake. Conan Young was there as another important part of the city came back to life.
Residents in the Marlborough town of Seddon say they are relieved their post-quake rebuild hasn't been hit by the same delays as Canterbury. Eight months on from the Cook Strait earthquakes, repairs and remedial works are continuing apace in Marlborough.
Businesses in the Christchurch suburb of New Brighton are demanding urgent action 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.
The Hororata Highland Games are an initiative of the Hororata Community Trust. The Trust was established to support the community through fundraising activities and help the Mid-Canterbury town rebuild after the September 2010 earthquake left many facilities damaged. The inaugural Highland Games in 2011 was a huge success and this year, Trust director Mark Stewart and dozens of local volunteers have organised another tartan extravaganza.
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.
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.
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.