Earthquake Recovery Minister gives Chch council strong warning
Audio, Radio New Zealand
The Earthquake Recovery Minister says this is a final warning for the Christchurch City Council.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister says this is a final warning for the Christchurch City Council.
Christchurch residents are pouring cold water on the Earthquake Recovery Minister's efforts to celebrate post-quake recovery in the city.
For six weeks after the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake millions of litres of raw sewage - along with lots of liquefaction - poured into the Avon and Heathcote Rivers. A team of biologists quickly got to work to measure the impact of this catastrophe on life in the Heathcote River and as they tell Alison Ballance, they were surprised by what they recorded over the next few months.
Listening to that was the Earthquake Recovery Authority chief executive Roger Sutton.
More now on Canterbury people having to pay an extra 5 dollars 20 on their monthly power bill from next April with the Commerce Commission telling the Orion lines company it can put up prices.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee refused to be interviewed on Checkpoint.
The former Christchurch East Labour Party MP, Lianne Dalziel, is now the Mayor of Christchurch and, as such, is set to work much more closely with her former political foe, Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee.
Christchurch city councillors wants to know what the Earthquake Recovery Authority's plan is to hand back power to the council.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, has defended the government's handling of the Christchurch City Council's consenting crisis in Parliament this afternoon.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister has revealed the rebuild of Christchurch's damaged sewage and water pipes will be quite a bit more expensive than predicted.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, says the Government's got the price 'about right' for land it's bought for Christchurch's refurbished central business district.
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 Christchurch City Council and the Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, have hammered out a compromise deal over setting the council's long term spending priorities.
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 Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority spent more than three million dollars on communications staff and consultants in the last financial year, up by a third on the previous year.
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.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister is giving the Christchurch City Council until this morning to approve a major land development plan otherwise he'll force it through himself.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister has given the Christchurch City Council until this morning to approve a development plan, or else he says he'll do it for them.
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has backed off on his threats to the Christchurch City Council and one of the New Zealand Greenpeace activists is freed from a Russian detention centre.
The Christchurch City Council says it has reached a compromise with the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, and voted unanimously to support a plan to intensify housing in the city.
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 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 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 newly elected Christchurch City Council had its first meeting with the Earthquake Recovery Minister last night, and councillors say it was the beginning of a much better working relationship.
The Christchurch City councillor in charge of council housing says he accepts trenchant criticism from the Earthquake Recovery Minister that the council has been woeful in fixing its quake-damaged housing stock.
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.
Phil Holdstock, a homeowner; Leanne Curtis, relationships manager for the Canterbury Communities' Earthquake Recovery Network, a network of residents association and community group representatives from the earthquake-affected neighbourhoods of Canterbury; and Jeremy Johnson, insurance partner at Wynn Williams in Christchurch.
Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers? DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements? MAGGIE BARRY to the Minister of Finance: What measures is the Government taking to help increase national savings? Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: What reports has he received about the extent of fraud allegations in the Christchurch rebuild? Hon ANNETTE KING to the Minister of Health: Is he confident that the Government's initiative to provide "Better, Sooner, More Convenient" health care, is meeting his expectations; if not, why not? MARK MITCHELL to the Minister for Economic Development: What progress is being made in encouraging firms to invest in New Zealand through the Business Growth Agenda? PHIL TWYFORD to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements? DAVID BENNETT to the Associate Minister of Transport: What recent announcements has he made on transport safety? Hon LIANNE DALZIEL to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: Will he extend the deadline for residential red zone property owners who have been offered only 50 percent of rating valuation for their land? SCOTT SIMPSON to the Minister of Justice: What recent report has she received showing that crime is falling under this Government? METIRIA TUREI to the Minister of Education: Will she wait until the Chief Ombudsman's investigation of the Ministry of Education's processes on school closures is complete before making a final decision on the Salisbury and Christchurch school closures? GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister responsible for the GCSB: Did GCSB Director Ian Fletcher attend the three briefings he received from GCSB in February 2012; if not, which, if any, of the briefings did Ian Fletcher attend?
TODD McCLAY to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on the Government's financial position? DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements? METIRIA TUREI to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his reported statement that "anyone expecting details of a 'cosy sort of little deal' would be disappointed" by the Deputy Auditor-General's report into the SkyCity Convention Centre negotiations. DENIS O'ROURKE to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: What criteria did he use in deciding that owners of vacant sections in the red zone of Christchurch should only be compensated at half of the sections' most recent rateable value? KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI to the Minister for Economic Development: What economic opportunities will a new convention centre bring for Auckland? Hon DAVID PARKER to the Prime Minister: Did he or his office receive the 12 November 2009 report from Ministry officials to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, summarising the process with SkyCity for the building of a convention centre; if so, did he read it? MIKE SABIN to the Associate Minister for Social Development: What steps is the Government taking to reduce welfare fraud? Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE to the Minister for State Owned Enterprises: What contingency plans, if any, does the Government have in place regarding its asset sale programme should the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter reduce production? KEVIN HAGUE to the Minister of Trade: Will New Zealand support Australia's objection to signing up to investor-state dispute provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement; if not, why not? Hon LIANNE DALZIEL to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: Why is he offering only 50 percent of rating valuation for commercial or bare land in the residential red zone where the land could not be insured? MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Corrections: What announcements has she made on improving prisoner employment training in New Zealand prisons? CHRIS HIPKINS to the Minister of Education: Does she stand by all her decisions in relation to schools in Christchurch?
Mike Rutledge and zoologist Meg Selby are new owners of Nelson's Natureland Zoo and a mob of meerkats, an African porcupine, and a menagerie of native birds and farm animals. The Orana Wildlife Trust took over the care of the Tahunanui zoo in 2008, but the financial strain caused by the Canterbury earthquakes has been too much. The zoo has been around since 1966. The Nelson City Council, which owns the land, called for expressions of interest last year when Orana decided to pull out and Meg and Mike got the nod. They will be taking over in November.