Insurers warn economic damage from quakes will linger
Audio, Radio New Zealand
Public and private insurers are warning the damage from Canterbury's series of earthquakes will have economic impact for years.
Public and private insurers are warning the damage from Canterbury's series of earthquakes will have economic impact for years.
The Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee says it would be an absolute disaster for Christchurch, if the City Council stopped issuing building consents next week.
Record fines for two companies and a director who illegally dumped contaminated demolition material has highlighted problems with the costs of dumping earthquake rubble from Christchurch.
A professor studying the economics of disasters says Christchurch will struggle to ever fully recover from the earthquakes that have devastated the city.
The earthquake was felt as far afield as Te Awamutu and Christchurch, with residents from all the places in between describing it as extremely frightening.
The latest news and updates on last night's earthquake; a former resident of a Christchurch complex, where a woman was found dead over the weekend, says altercations are common; NZ says law change on asylum seekers justified; doubts Kiwisaver tweaks would help first home buyers; and veterans want answers about exposure to radiation.
A Christchurch catering company has joined forces with the City Mission to tackle what is being described as a new era of poverty after the Canterbury earthquakes.
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.
Mental health experts in Christchurch are warning the worst could be still to come for people suffering from anxiety, depression and stress related to the earthquakes.
The Christchurch City Council has received a strong warning from the Earthquake Recovery Minister to speed up its processing of building consents or lose its power to authorise consents.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister says this is a final warning for the Christchurch City Council.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says officials have tried for months to help the Christchurch City Council but it's consistently failed to make the necessary improvements and is still taking far too long to process applications.
The Earthquake Recovery Authority is knocking on the door of every red and orange zone resident in Christchurch to check on their welfare and offer them temporary accommodation if they need it.
A lack of building inspections and the engineers to carry them out has come under further scrutiny at the Royal Commission of inquiry into the Canterbury earthquakes.
Despite Government pressure on the Christchurch City Council to sell off some of its assets to help fund its 40% share of the city's earthquake repairs, the council has instead decided to raise rates, and rents.
EQC's manager for the Canterbury home repair programme, Reid Stiven, respondes to claims of misleading estimates of damage to household foundations from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
Some Canterbury homeowners say their houses have dropped in value because the damage to their properties was inadequately assessed by the Earthquake Commission after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. Independent land surveyor, Adrian Cowie, and a Burwood homeowner affected by the quakes, Selwyn Stafford, talk about the issues facing them.
Some Canterbury homeowners say their houses are dropping in value because of misleading estimates of damage to foundations from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
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.
A further round of fraud cases sent to the police by the Earthquake Commission may just be the beginning as the rebuild of Christchurch moves into high gear.
A truck that simulates earthquakes to test soil quality is being tried out in Christchurch today.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister says he's instructed government agencies to prosecute any fraudulent activity during the Christchurch rebuild, to the full extent of the law.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister says he's instructed government agencies to prosecute any fraudulent activity during the Christchurch rebuild, to the full extent of the law.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, says he is confident that Fletchers is vigilant about fraud and is doing what it can to prevent it in the Christchurch rebuild after accusations from New Zealand First.
The company that has the main contract for repairing houses in Christchurch, Fletcher Earthquake Recovery, is assuring taxpayers it's doing everything it can to avoid any fraudulent behaviour.
The man who received Earthquake Commission files detailing claims by 83,000 Christchurch people says he's appalled the slip-up has become a political football.
It now seems unlikely that engineers involved in the most serious building collapse of the Christchurch earthquake will face any external action, with the profession's administrators telling the Government there's nothing more they can do.
It is unlikely engineers involved in the most serious building collapse of the Christchurch earthquake will face any external action, with the profession's administrators telling the Government there's nothing more they can do.
The president of the Structural Engineers' Society, John Hare, says since the Christchurch earthquakes, engineers have been too conservative in evaulations for fear of liability.
John Key farewells Parliament by remembering the funny and the proud moments of being Prime Minister, but also the heartbreak of the Christchurch earthquakes, the Pike River disaster and the deaths of troops in Afghanistan.