The coroner has ruled the search and rescue effort at Christchurch's CTV building did not contribute to the deaths of eight people who survived the initial collapse. However Gordon Matenga criticised nearly every aspect of the fire service's response to the tragedy that claimed 115 of the 185 lives lost in the February 2011 earthquake.
Maddie Leach and Jem Noble, collaborators on I was using six watts when you Received me... The broadcast of sounds that are special to the city but were lost after the earthquakes are part of the SCAPE Public Art Biennial which starts in Christchurch this Friday.
A complaint against an engineer whose firm designed the CTV building that collapsed in the Christchurch earthquake will be heard by a disciplinary committee on Monday. One-hundred-and-fifteen people were killed when the six-storey building came down in February 2011. Dr Alan Reay lost a High Court bid to stop the hearing. Reporter Anna Sargent spoke to Corin Dann.
After the magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Canterbury on 4 September 2010, most media reports claimed that no lives had been lost. But In fact, this first earthquake killed at least 3000 chickens, eight cows, one dog, a lemur and 150 aquarium fish. University of Canterbury associate professor Annie Potts, along with co-author Donelle Gadenne, wrote Animals in Emergencies: Learning from the Christchurch Earthquakes, revealing what happened to the animals during and after the series of quakes. Annie Potts will give a public lecture, 'Animals and natural disasters: Learning from recent earthquakes', on Thursday 16 March, 7pm at UC Ilam campus, Christchurch. Register to attend free at: www.canterbury.ac.nz/ucconnect
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.
Motoko Kakubayashi joins us from Toyko where they are also about to mark a significant anniversary. A few weeks after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit the east coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami that destroyed large parts of the coast, including damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant. More than 15,000 lives were lost, more than 2000 still remain missing. In one afternoon, half a million people became homeless, and the search for family and friends at evacuation shelters began.
When the 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch at 2:20 on Monday afternoon Barry Ross was outside his home at Godley Head on the Port Hills, where is he is the Department of Conservation caretaker. Barry's house is thought to be the closest to the epicentre that day and such was the force of the quake he was thrown to the ground and some of the cliff nearby fell away. He lost power and water for a few days but now he's back home, clearing up and determined to get on with life.
At 12.51pm it will be 10 years since a devastating 6.2 earthquake struck Ōtautahi Christchurch, bringing down buildings and killing 185 people. A National service will get underway at half-past-12 at the city's Canterbury Earthquake Memorial site, to mark the anniversary. Maurice Gardiner's sister, Donna Manning, died in the CTV building collapse. Mr Gardiner told Māni Dunlop that at the Avonhead Cemetery this morning, he and his family joined others who have whānau buried there for a private service, where they remembered those they lost 10 years ago.
Survivors of our biggest national disasters say new guidelines will better supporting families in the wake of future tragedies. The new "Public Service Commission Model Standards" - to be released at parliament today - addresses what survivors say have been consistent shortcomings in the treatment by government agencies of those most closely affected by disaster. The standards were co-authored by the Pike River Families Group after consulting with families of survivors caught up with events such as the earthquake and mosque shootings in Christchurch, the Aramoana massacre, the Cave Creek platform collapse and the Whakaari White Island eruption. Sonya Rockhouse, who lost her son Ben in the Pike River mine explosion 12 years ago, spoke to Corin Dann.
A review of the week's news including... Mt Albert voters head to the polls to select a new MP this weekend, we hear from three candidates contesting the by election, Maori political leaders respond explosively to the Labour leader's comments that the Maori party is "not kaupapa Maori", how did a senior council roading manager receive over 1.1 million dollars in payments from a council contractor without his bosses knowing? the High Court rules Kim Dotcom is eligible for extradition US, the Fire Service's principal rural fire officer says lives may have been lost had firefighters not been told to return to their station, Sky TV says a decision to deny its billion dollar proposal to buy Vodafone is bizarre and disappointing, Pharmac considers funding women's sanitary products, we have coverage from the 6th anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake, the Prime Minister puts the board of the NZ Super Fund on notice after it approved a 23 percent pay increase for its Chief Executive, an Australian woman helping New Zealand dairy farmers across the Tasman who have fallen onto hard times is horrified by a lack of Government help and helicopters to Hercules and F-16s to classic spitfire replicas are on display at Ohakea airforce base during this weekend's Air Tattoo.
Questions to Ministers 1. Hon PHIL GOFF to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements on the privatisation of New Zealand State-owned power companies? 2. MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Finance: What progress has the Government made in making the tax system fairer? 3. Hon ANNETTE KING to the Prime Minister: At recent meetings he has had with Grey Power, have they raised with him their concerns about the sell-off of state assets? 4. Dr CAM CALDER to the Minister of Corrections: Has she received any reports on the rate of escape from New Zealand prisons? 5. Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE to the Minister of Finance: Why doesn't his Budget's net debt track take into account lost dividends from SOEs and sales costs arising from his policy of privatising state assets? 6. KEVIN HAGUE to the Minister of Labour: Is underground mining safe in New Zealand? 7. COLIN KING to the Minister of Transport: What progress has been made on the Christchurch Southern Motorway Road of National Significance following the earthquakes in the city? 8. Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: How many of the 5,100 properties in the red zone have been deemed to be uneconomic to repair by the insurer and how many of those, approximately, had unimproved land valuations of less than $150,000? 9. JOHN BOSCAWEN to the Minister of Māori Affairs: Does he stand by all of his recent statements? 10. Hon TREVOR MALLARD to the Prime Minister: Further to his answers to Oral Question No 1 yesterday on the purchase of state assets by foreigners, what percentage of Contact shares are currently held by foreigners or corporations? 11. RAHUI KATENE to the Minister for the Environment: Does he agree with the statement in Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, that "direct infusion of indigenous values into mainstream environmental regulation may well be unique in the world"; if so, how will he advance the opportunities for Māori to take more positive and proactive roles in environmental decision-making? 12. NICKY WAGNER to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What reports has she seen on the Canterbury unemployment figures?
Questions to Ministers 1. GARETH HUGHES to the Minister for Primary Industries: Will he extend the Taranaki set net ban after the recent death of a Maui's dolphin in a fishing net? 2. DAVID BENNETT to the Minister for Economic Development: What actions is the Government taking to boost economic linkages with China? 3. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that his hour-long show on Radio Live on 30 September 2011 was an "election free zone"? 4. Dr PAUL HUTCHISON to the Minister of Health: What improvements, if any, have been made to the Government's national health targets? 5. Hon LIANNE DALZIEL to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: Did he discuss with the Christchurch City Mayor reported claims that there had been overtures from within The Treasury that there was scope for the city's rates to be increased or for assets to be sold to pay for the quake recovery, and that this could be done under the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act before he called him a clown; if not, why not? 6. JACQUI DEAN to the Minister of Local Government: What reports has he received on increases in local government council debt since the Local Government Act 2002 was enacted? 7. DARIEN FENTON to the Minister of Labour: Does she stand by her statement that the new minimum wage announced yesterday "strikes the right balance between protecting low paid workers and ensuring that jobs are not lost."? 8. PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA to the Minister of Consumer Affairs: What recent announcements has the Government made on protecting consumers from loan sharks? 9. CLARE CURRAN to the Minister of Broadcasting: Is he aware that Stephen McElrea is part of a working group within NZ On Air, which includes a representative of MediaWorks, and which is determining details of a documentary about Whānau Ora? 10. TIM MACINDOE to the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector: What recent announcement has she made in her portfolio that will benefit communities? 11. HOLLY WALKER to the Minister for Social Development: Does she consider low family incomes to be a major contributor to childhood vulnerability? 12. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Does he still have confidence in all his Ministers?
TE URUROA FLAVELL to the Minister of Justice: Is she satisfied with the Electoral Commission's engagement with whanau, hapū, iwi and marae around the 2013 Māori Electoral Option; if so, what advice has she received that would explain why halfway through the process there are only 5,000 new enrolments? DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: On what date was he, his office or the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet first informed that David Henry would not meet his deadline of the end of May as set out in the terms of reference for reporting back and what reason did Mr Henry provide for the delay? KATRINA SHANKS to the Minister of Finance: What do recent indicators show about the economy's performance this year and its outlook for the next three to four years? DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Has he received any information that shows foreign intelligence agencies are routinely collecting emails, other communication or location data on New Zealand citizens and residents while they are in New Zealand; if so, has the resulting information been passed on to the Government Communications Security Bureau? ALFRED NGARO to the Minister of Education: What recent announcement has she made about achievement against National Standards? METIRIA TUREI to the Minister for Economic Development: Will the Government sign the legal contract between it and SkyCity for the SkyCity Convention Centre this week; if not, when will it sign this agreement? JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Housing: What policy conclusions, if any, does the Government draw from Priced Out – How New Zealand Lost its Housing Affordability and how consistent are its findings with those of the 2012 Productivity Commission Report on housing affordability? Hon ANNETTE KING to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by all his statements on health; if not, why not? NICKY WAGNER to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: How will the Government support the redevelopment and repopulation of the Christchurch Central Business District following the Canterbury earthquakes? CHRIS HIPKINS to the Minister of Education: Is she confident that the National Standards data being released today gives an accurate picture of student progress; if not, why not? Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Did he discuss with David Henry the requirement for Mr Henry to see the full unedited electronic record connected with the Kitteridge report leak; if not, why not? JOHN HAYES to the Minister of Customs: What information has he received regarding the success of automated passenger processing systems at the border?
Hon PHIL HEATLEY to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on the economy – and especially on further signs of economic momentum in the regions and among manufacturers? Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Minister of Finance: How much did the Government's share sales in Mighty River Power, Meridian, and Air New Zealand raise, given that the Supplement to the 2010 Investment Statement of the Government of New Zealand projected that those sales would raise $5.18 billion? Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister for ACC: How much did ACC invest in Pike River Coal Limited and in New Zealand Oil and Gas Limited over the last eight years, and how much has it made or lost in total on its investment in each company, taking into account share purchases, subscriptions and sales, dividends, and current share prices? Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Māori Affairs: Does he stand by his statement "I know Māori want to talk about the place of the Treaty of Waitangi in our constitution, and how our legal and political systems can reflect tikanga Māori."; if so, why? Hon SHANE JONES to the Associate Minister of Finance: Is he satisfied with his performance in regard to his delegations as Associate Minister of Finance? JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister for Building and Construction: What reports has he received regarding the state of the building and construction sector? GARETH HUGHES to the Minister for the Environment: Did the Environmental Protection Authority assess the full version of Anadarko's Discharge Management Plan and Emergency Response Plan as part of its evaluation of the company's Environmental Impact Assessment for the Deepwater Taranaki Well; if not, why not? Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE to the Minister of Finance: When, if at all, did Cabinet approve the timing of the Air New Zealand sell-down and what directions did Cabinet give the shareholding Ministers? NICKY WAGNER to the Minister of Housing: What steps is the Government taking to rebuild Christchurch's housing stock damaged or destroyed by the earthquakes? Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR to the Minister for Primary Industries: Does he stand by his statement "The opportunity, and challenge, for our meat producers now is to add value to different cuts of meat and continue to sell the New Zealand story"; if so, why? IAN McKELVIE to the Minister of Local Government: How is the Government improving councils' financial reporting? DARIEN FENTON to the Minister of Labour: Does he stand by his statement that "I am especially keen to hear what affected parties have to say on the Part 6A proposals in the Bill, and will carefully consider their submissions and the recommendations of the select committee"?
ANDREW LITTLE to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in the Minister for Building and Housing given the falling rate of homeownership, especially among young people? RON MARK to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements? MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that “There are more jobs, and people are being better paid”; if so, why? Dr MEGAN WOODS to the Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration: Does he agree with the Prime Minister, who said with regard to the Canterbury earthquakes, “on behalf of the Government, let me be clear that no one will be left to walk this journey alone”; if so, does he think all relevant information prepared by his Government has been made available to Cantabrians to assist them in navigating post-earthquake decisions? METIRIA TUREI to the Prime Minister: Ka tū a ia i runga i te mana o āna kaupapa here Kāwanatanga katoa, nē? Translation: Does he stand by all his Government’s policies? Dr JIAN YANG to the Minister of Education: What recent announcements has she made about expanding 21st century learning options for parents and whanau? CHRIS HIPKINS to the Minister of Education: How will her Communities of Online Learning (CoOL) proposal differ from online charter schools in the United States, given a study partially funded by a private pro-charter foundation found students attending those schools lost an average of about 72 days of learning in reading, and 180 days of learning in maths during the course of a 180-day school year? CATHERINE DELAHUNTY to the Minister for the Environment: Will he commit to a regulatory regime that includes swimmable rivers in light of the comment from a Havelock North café owner who said that, “we’d trade all the compensation in the world if it would spur the Government into tidying up or cleaning up the waterways”? IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY to the Minister of Immigration: How many of the 209,000 work visas issued last year were for occupations on one of the Essential Skills in Demand lists? JONO NAYLOR to the Minister of Police: What is the Police doing to assist potential victims of family violence? STUART NASH to the Minister of Police: Does she believe that the Police have enough resources to implement their part of the Prime Minister’s 2009 promise to use the full force of the Government’s arsenal to “confront the P problem” given that P is cheaper, and as easy as it was to get in 2008? PAUL FOSTER-BELL to the Minister for Primary Industries: What recent reports has he received on growth in wine exports?