Architect Bob Burnett is part of a class action group yet to resolve claims with Southern Response. The group argues the insurer, which was established to settle outstanding AMI claims, has systematically short-changed them. Mr Burnett said the insurer had done more damage to his home than had been done in the earthquakes. The 40 members of the class action group head to court next Wednesday.
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.
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.
Tomorrow will mark four years since a huge 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked North Canterbury. As well as severely damaging homes and roads, it left some hill country farms in the area with up to 40 percent of their land unusable. Four years on, sheep and beef farmers are finding new ways to work. Rural reporter, Maja Burry and cameraman Nate McKinnon have the story.
Residents of Christchurch's coastal suburbs around New Brighton are being promised they won't have to wait another decade for an urgently needed new bridge. The existing one is a critical emergency escape route but is almost 100 years old and suffered significant damage in the 2011 earthquake. And as Timothy Brown reports, plans for an upgrade are grinding slowly ahead.
An architect and art historian is setting up an action group to oppose the demolition of one of the most well-known churches in Christchurch, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The church, registered as a Category 1 building with Heritage New Zealand, was damaged in the 2011 earthquakes and has sat in a state of disrepair ever since. Dr Anna Crighton is from Historic Places Aotearoa. She talks to Susie Ferguson.
Canadian-born Mark Quigley is a senior lecturer in Active Tectonics and Geomorphology at the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Canterbury. He's become an unwitting star as the go-to scientific voice throughout the Canterbury earthquakes, using plain language to help people understand what's behind the earthquake sequence. He's also had his own personal quake story - his Avonside home was badly damaged and is in the red zone.
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.
Exactly 75 years ago today, Superman made his debut in "Action Comics" No. 1. Campaigners for the restoration of the Christchurch Cathedral are "thrilled" that rebuilding the earthquake-damaged church remains on the table. The Press reports Christchurch's hotel shortage is so critical that at times visitor centre staff have had to put tourists up in their own homes.
A story of hope, at least when it comes to the rebuilding challenge ahead, particularly of Christchurch's badly damaged Cathedral. The Australian city of Newcastle suffered a major earthquake in 1989, and over the next few years put huge effort into rebuilding, virtually brick by brick, its ruined Cathedral. John McNaughton, who was the Lord mayor of Newcastle who oversaw the rebuild, joins us.
Shift to quake recovery operation devastating for survivor;Brother of missing woman speaks out;Police say end of rescue effort sad day for all concerned;Other families trying to come to grips with rescue's end;Hundreds struggle on with life inside Christchurch cordon;Christ's College spared from large scale damage;Gang patches can return - Hells Angels lawyer;Botany to elect new MP tomorrow;Earthquake Minister on shift to recovery operation.
A review of the week's news: Another earthquake in Christchurch, Prime Minister tight-lipped over what land will be abandoned because of repeated earthquake damage, volcanic ash cloud strands thousands of air passengers, tragic death of teen reignites debate over alcohol reform, problem gambling advocate objects to proposed casino expansion, wool the star at Fieldays and New Zealanders flock to the ballet.
Moves towards returning the famed rose window to Christ Church Cathedral begin today. An eighteen-tonne steel frame is being installed onto the cathedral's west facade as part of restoration work. It will eventually housing the rose window. The cathedral was critically damaged in the Christchurch earthquake of 2011. Project director Keith Paterson is in Cathedral Square. He speaks to Susie Ferguson.
It's almost eight years to the day since the first Christchurch earthquake, and as anyone who lives in Christchurch knows, some insurance claims are still in dispute. Dodgy repairs are still being discovered and previously undiscovered damage is being found. Earthquake Commission minister Megan Woods says as problems emerge, people can come back and ask for re-repairs or have their home looked at. But just how much money is in the National Disaster Fund?
The chair of the inquiry in to the Earthquake Commission has grave concerns about the state of the housing stock in Christchurch due to EQC's failure to properly fix quake damage. It's just one of a raft of findings released by Dame Silvia Cartwright today, after a year and a half long inquiry that heard from hundreds of homeowners and key players. Conan Young has the story.
Topics - Emergency services are at the scene of a cliff collapse at the Port of Lyttelton that has damaged fuel storage tanks. Police say evacuations are underway from Brittan Terrace and Cressy Terrace, with people being taken to Lyttelton Main School. Meanwhile - University of Canterbury researchers have confirmed that Christchurch is now experiencing more frequent and severe flooding due to the impact of the earthquakes.
A Christchurch couple in a long running dispute over the insurance payout for their earthquake damaged home have reached an out-of-court settlement with Southern Response. The class action was brought on behalf of former AMI Insurance/Southern Response policyholders who believe the company misled them into settling their claims for less than their policies entitled them to. The lawyer for Brendan and Colleen Ross, Grant Cameron, talks to Max Towle about the settlement.
The decision on what to do with Christchurch's earthquake damaged redzone is one step closer, with the end of the public consultation period on the plan for the area. Over the past month Christchurch people have been asked to comment on a draft land use plan for the 602 hectares of land. Now those pitching ideas want the authorities to get on with the next step, so they can have some certainty about whether their projects can go ahead.
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.
The Christchurch City Council has confirmed the demolition of the earthquake-damaged Lancaster Park sports stadium will begin this year. Lancaster Park Cricket club was one of the sports ground's first tenants when it was established in 1881. An act of parliament means the ground has to be used for sport and recreation. "We're certainly looking foward to being able to get back on the ground and for it to be turned back into green space," Ric Horsfall from the cricket club says.
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.
Canterbury got a big shock this morning with a long and strong earthquake that sent people running for the nearest door frame. While the region seems to have escaped any major damage, it's left locals thankful it wasn't worse. The quake measured 6.0 on the richter scale and was centred 45 kilometes north of Geraldine. Since then, there have been more than 40 aftershocks. Checkpoint producer Anastasia Hedge has been near the epicentre.
A Christchurch couple locked in an ongoing legal battle with state-owned quake insurer Southern Response says it is sobering for a Court of Appeal decision to go their way, one decade on from the harrowing earthquakes. An earlier High Court decision found Southern Response guilty of misleading and deceptive behaviour when it short-changed Karl and Alison Dodds tens of thousands of dollars after their quake damaged house was written off. The Dodds say they were tricked into accepting a lower offer from Southern Response only to later discover the insurer had kept secret from them a second higher estimate to rebuild their damaged house, a so-called second secret detailed repair and rebuild analysis (DRA). The High Court ordered Southern Response to pay the Dodds almost $180,000 in damages, plus costs. But the government appealed the decision, saying it needed clarity, because of the thousands of similar cases it could be liable for. The Court of Appeal reduced the damages Southern Response has to pay $10,656.44 due to an earlier error in calculations. The Minister responsible Grant Robertson has declined to be interviewed. Southern Response also declined to be interviewed. Neither have ruled out appealing the decision in the Supreme Court.
From the time it opened in the 1920s, the Winter Garden ballroom was the place to go for debutante balls and big-band concerts in Christchurch. Queen Elizabeth II even dined there during her visit in 1954. But this special part of Christchurch's history is over and the Armagh Street building has been placed on the urgent demolition list because of earthquake damage. Tiny Kirk is the chairman of the Trade Union Centre which has owned the building since 1984.
On 22 February 2011, Christchurch police sargeant Dave Harvey was outside the earthquake-damaged Hotel Grand Chancellor on Cashel Street, unsure if anyone was trapped inside. In case they were, he grabbed a can of spray paint and painted 'Help is on the way' in one-metre high letters on the road. Harvey's quick thinking really helped the people trapped in the hotel, says Clare Mackey, producer of the new documentary Help is on the Way.
Topics - the latest twist in the Kim Dotcom saga is that the police have announced they're investigating the Government Communications Security Bureau's illegal surveillance of the internet mogul. New research has shown that membership of all mainstream Christian denominations has fallen to historic lows - except for Catholicism. New research has uncovered the role underground rock structures played in stopping the September 2010 Christchurch earthquake from linking up with the Port Hills faultline and causing greater damage to Christchurch.
A UN report warns today that the world is running out of time to make sure there is enough food, water and energy, The Government says residents forced to sell up and leave their earthquake-damaged houses in the red zones of Christchurch can't expect to be told when their former homes will be demolished. A big story in the current Atlantic Monthly concludes, after looking at many studies, that cellphone use isn't harmful to your brain.
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.
As Christchurch prepares to mark 10 years since its deadly earthquake, the impact of that day continues to be felt differently. The less affluent eastern suburbs, which bore the brunt of the damage, continue to lag behind the rest of the city in their recovery. The former dean of Christchurch and fellow east sider, Peter Beck, told Conan Young that while government agencies such as EQC often failed people in their hour of need, what did not fail was the willingness of people to help out their neighbours.
Some of Christchurch's earthquake damaged red-zone land is another step closer to having some long term decisions made about its future. Today the Minister of Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Megan Woods, formally handed over ownership of 70 hectares of land to the Christchurch City Council. The land gifted to the council is in the coastal suburbs of Southshore, South Brighton and Brooklands, where residents have been waiting almost a decade to find out what the future holds for their area. Rachel Graham reports