Highlights from Radio New Zealand National's programmes for the week ending Friday 4 March. This week.......more news and interviews about the Christchurch earthquake and we delve into an ice cave created by Mt Erebus in Antartica.
Topics - A magnitude 4.7 earthquake that rattled Wellington early this morning was the second to hit the capital in less than a week. Your ideas for economic measures to stimulate Christchurch's recovery continue to flow in.
Our programme this morning is completely devoted to the aftermath of yesterday's Christchurch earthquake. Civil Defence says rescue teams in Christchurch are still recovering people alive who have been trapped in buildings in the city overnight. The emergency department at Christchurch Hospital is extremely busy with many seriously injured people. After an emergency cabinet meeting yesterday, the Prime Minister flew to Christchurch to view the aftermath of the quake first hand. Numerous stories, some of survival, others more tragic are emerging in the aftermath of the quake.
A review of the week's news including: national earthquake memorial service announced, former defence chief to be new Governor General, Reserve Bank slashes official cash rate, Christchurch businesses say OCR cut alone won't save them, mounting concern over Christchurch World Cup prospects, government says 10,000 Christchurch homes will be demolished, alarm over possibility of mass demolition in CBD, international crews head home, petrol prices at three year high, Pike River mine receivers take control from police and boulder sold for thousands in aid of Christchurch
A lawyer who is suing Southern Response on behalf of earthquake claimants says he was intimidated by private investigators for another government agency in 2013. Southern Response is in charge of settling the outstanding quake claims of former AMI customers in Christchurch, but is now under investigation by the public sector watchdog, the State Services Commission. The Commission is looking at whether standards of integrity and conduct for state servants have been breached in its hiring of security company, Thompson and Clark. Southern Response says it hired the firm in 2014 to assess the level of risk some customers posed to staff. Lawyer Grant Shand tells Guyon Espiner he's waiting to see the results of the inquiry.
The families of those who died in the CTV building's collapse during the Christchurch Earthquake in February of 2011 are vowing to continue their Fight For Justice after The Independent Police Conduct Authority rejected their complaint about the Police Investigation . The Police decided 3 years ago not to lay charges against the building's designer. Yesterday the families announced that the IPCA, the body that advised the Police, had told them that it had no jurisdiction over Crown Law. Families spokesperson, Maan Alkaisi, told reporter Conan Young that they will continue to push for somebody to be held to account. He wants a retired judge to take another look at the decision not to prosecute.
Topics - The Mayor of Christchurch says he's confident the city council will speed up the processing of building consents and won't lose its authority to grant them. Are Christchurch's frustrations with the Earthquake Commission a result of some kind of misunderstanding. Media hype's being blamed for skyrocketing house prices in parts of Auckland.
Some people in Christchurch who spent last night in freezing earthquake damaged homes with no power, are backing a call from the community group Cancern for emergency shelters to be set up when the next winter storm hits.
The remaining victims of the Christchurch's CTV building will be the focus of a Coroner's inquest next month, as families of those killed in the February earthquake continue to question the safety of buildings in the inner city.
Georgina Hanafin says EQC has offered her $48,000 to fix her house, which has a repair bill of $260,000. She also has a mortgage of $300,000 for the house she purchased after the Christchurch earthquakes.
Thousands of people in Christchurch and around the country paused at 12.51 on Monday afternoon to mark a decade since the February 22 magnitude 6.3 earthquake which claimed 185 lives. It was 10 years ago today when an ordinary Christchurch day turned to hell for so many. But in contrast to the harrowing scenes and sounds of that day, today a large peaceful crowd gathered at the Civic Memorial Service on the banks of the Avon River under large oak trees. Reporter Sally Murphy and cameraman Nate McKinnon were there.
A Burnside woman who's been helping tangata whenua has received a Christchurch Earthquake Award; The country's biggest Maori performance event is coming to Christchurch in 2015; The Ministry of Education will help fund up to 40 Te Pumaomao nation-building courses this year; One of New Zealand's most influential Maori academics is one of six recipients of Auckland University's 2012 Distinguished Alumni Awards.
Six years on from the Christchurch earthquakes, one in five residents of the city say the disaster is still taking its toll. The latest wellbeing survey by the Canterbury DHB found people living in north-east and east Christchurch were the most likely to be suffering from issues such as anxiety, from ongoing aftershocks, being in a damaged environment, and surrounded by construction.
For over a decade, an irreplaceable ring laser has been trapped in a cavern 30m below Christchurch port hills. The Carl Zeiss laser was installed in an old World War Two bunker in 1997 until a rockfall after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake sealed the cavern. But now it's been rescued and is fully operational. Professor Jon-Paul Wells is the principal investigator on the ring laser project.
Tonight on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Ali Jones & Shane Te Pou to discuss No Pay Day - the day that women in Aotearoa effectively begin working for free. Plus the reopening of Christchurch Cathedral. Ali Jones is a communication adviser / writer/Broadcaster/ Christchurch earthquake claims preparer. Shane Te Pou is a former labour party activist and CEO of Mega
The sounds of Bruce Springsteen will ring out around Christchurch tonight, ahead of the sixth anniversary of the deadly February 2011 earthquake in the region. Long time fans join us to discuss what they're expecting from tonight's gig.
While most people are asleep at 5am in Christchurch, the city's florists and wholesalers are already hard at it, bidding for the best blooms. The industry has struggled after the earthquakes, but Katy Gosset finds enthusiasm levels high.
Johnny Moore is the owner of the Goodbye Blue Monday bar in Christchurch, which has been closed since the 22 February earthquake. He talks to Kim about the turbulent times since then and his career in the hospitality industry.
There's a big weekend in store for Christchurch where the curtain is being raised on the new Court Theatre. The new $56 million playhouse is the theatre's first permanent home since the 2011 earthquake destroyed its Arts Centre venue.
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.
Children not even born when the city was devastated by the 2011 earthquake are showing signs of quake-related stress. A Christchurch-based clinical psychologist Catherine Gallagher says the children are living with the ongoing impact of the quakes.
Nine to Noon continues to look at who's in the running to head up our biggest cities after local elections in October, with a focus today on the 11 candidates vying to be mayor of Christchurch. Three-term mayor Lianne Dalziel announced last July she'd be stepping down as mayor, having overseen nearly a decade's worth of the city's rebuild following the devastating earthquakes. The two major contenders for the role are Burwood city councillor Phil Mauger and former Canterbury District Health Board chief executive David Meates. Other contenders include the city's Wizard, a coffee boss, pro-gun pastor and a candidate who's stood in every election since 1971. For more, Kathryn is joined by David Williams, the South Island correspondent for Newsroom.co.nz.
Several thousand people attended the Christchurch red-zoned suburb of Brooklands' swan song gala. About five hundred homes have had to be abandoned because of earthquake damage, meaning Brooklands as it has been known will soon no longer exist.
The Christchurch-based insurer, AMI, says it won't be until June next year before it knows the final cost of earthquake claims, though the company's confident it won't need to draw on the government's backstop support package.
TVs, shopping trolleys, beds, mattresses, even a gun. That is just some of the rubbish found by residents surrounding Christchurch's residential red zone. The area used to be filled with houses, but damage after the Canterbury earthquakes forced thousands of homes to be demolished. While many of the old suburban roads remain, the area now resembles a park. But it is now attracting those wanting to dump their rubbish for free - and Land Information NZ, which controls the land, has removed 25 tonnes of trash since January. Residents have had enough as well - with some taking matters into their own hands. Checkpoint reporter Logan Church has the story.
Gulls are well known for swooping in and flogging food off your plate or picnic and now they are making a complete menace of themselves in Christchurch's New Regent street. Local businesses are being over-run by the red and black-billed gulls that are nesting on the rooves of buildings along the street, swooping and pooping all over the place. It's not the first time they've invaded, they started breeding in 2019 in an earthquake damaged building on the corner of Armagh and New Regent streets. The problem is both the red and black-billed gulls are protected. Casey Alderson from Belle Cafe spoke to Lisa Owen.
Ravenscar House Museum holds an extraordinary, previously private art collection. The new building has been gifted to Christchurch by art collectors Susan Wakefield and her late husband Jim. The art remains in the ownership of the Ravenscar Trust. Artists in the collection include Colin McCahon, Bill Sutton and Frances Hodgkins. The treasures were previously in the Wakefield's Christchurch home which suffered irreparable earthquake damage. They're now displayed in the purpose-designed and built Ravenscar House Museum in the city's Arts precinct. The story of the art and artefacts is told in in the book - Ravenscar House: A Biography, written by Christchurch journalist and writer Sally Blundell.
Full coverage of the budget and the cuts to kiwisaver, working for families and student loans. Plans to raise between 5 and 7 billion dollars from partial asset sales and a new Earthquake Kiwi Bond to raise money for Christchurch.
Since the February 22nd earthquake, an influx of displaced Christchurch residents have made North Canterbury their temporary home. Cosmo Kentish-Barnes finds out how some people have coped with this dramatic event and what locals are doing to support them.
An investigation is continuing into the CTV site, where 115 people died in the Christchurch earthquake five years ago. Dr Maan Alkaisi, whose wife died in the collapse, is keeping a close eye on developments as engineers examine the site.