Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority
Audio, Radio New Zealand
The Government is promising the new authority set up to lead Christchurch's rebuilding will listen to local people.
The Government is promising the new authority set up to lead Christchurch's rebuilding will listen to local people.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commission is promising swift changes following criticism of the rebuilding efforts necessitated by September's big quake.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority will be travelling the length of New Zealand this week to drum up investment in the rebuild of Christchurch's city centre.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister's released what he says is a how-to strategy for the rebuild following the Canterbury earthquakes. Gerry Brownlee says the strategy for improving investment, innovation and job creation will extend beyond economic recovery and into education, culture and social recovery.
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 is denying accusations he's about to engineer a central government takeover of the rebuild of central city Christchurch.
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 creation of a new unit within the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority to oversee the rebuilding of central Christchurch is being welcomed by business leaders.
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.
A prominent Christchurch property investor says the Government's anchor projects meant to help rebuild the city faster, has instead slowed it down. After the 2011 earthquake, the Government launched a recovery plan for the CBD, which had 16 anchor projects designed to spur on the rebuild. However, many have been plagued by delays and are still unfinished. Property investor Antony Gough told RNZ reporter Anan Zaki that unlike the Government, it was the private sector which ploughed ahead with the rebuild.
Listening to that was the Earthquake Recovery Authority chief executive Roger Sutton.
Demolition companies and building owners in central Christchurch hope efforts by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority will speed up the city's rebuild after it's been languishing for weeks.
The jury's still out on whether changes at the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority represent a winding back of the government's involvement in the rebuild of Christchurch or simply a shift in its focus.
Eleven million dollars has been donated so far to the Canterbury Earthquake Appeal. It comes as the Government announced early details of a recovery plan for people wanting money to fix their damaged homes or start rebuilding.
Aid agencies in Canterbury say the earthquake recovery is putting buildings before people.
New assessment guidelines are reclassifying houses which were previously written off as being repairable, leaving owners up to $180,000 worse off. Kathryn talks to Leanne Curtis, spokesperson for the Canterbury Community Earthquake Recovery Network, and Renee Walker, spokesperson for IAG New Zealand.
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.
In Christchurch, almost two weeks after the earthquake, there are more stories coming out which suggest the recovery effort will be lengthy and difficult.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says all but a few Cantabrians will be able to rebuild on their original properties.
The Minister for Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee, has been accused in the High Court in Christchurch of abusing his powers and doing deals which allowed councils and Christchurch Airport to get their own way over zoning decisions.
As Auckland and Northland brace for more atrocious weather, city leaders are calling for funding to repair the city's broken infrastructure to be along the lines of the help given to Christchurch after the quakes. Auckland deputy mayor Desley Simpson says that the damage so far is equivalent to the biggest non earthquake event the country has ever had and should be treated accordingly. The Opportunities Party says the "alliance" model established after the earthquakes, was effective and would work for Auckland's rebuild, because it provides a structure that the Central Government can fund directly. ToP leader Raf Manji was a Christchurch councillor after the quakes and closely involved in the rebuild. He tells Kathryn Ryan it is vital to ensure water and transport infrastructure is repaired quickly and efficiently, especially with a view to future extreme weather events - and there is much to learn from the post-quake rebuild.
A Christchurch City Councillor is worried the wishes of local residents and the council could be by-passed once the Earthquake Recovery Authority takes over rebuilding the city.
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.
The rebuild of central Christchurch has been taken out of the control of the city council and will now be managed by a newly formed unit within the Government's Earthquake Recovery Authority.
Donations to the Canterbury earthquake fund now total about $11 million. It comes as the Government announced early details of a recovery plan for people wanting money to fix their damaged homes or start rebuilding.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister has been forced to concede he's received official advice on the Christchurch City Council selling some of its assets to help pay for rebuilding the city.
Cantabrians are still surrounded broken buildings and empty spaces on the 10th anniversary of the devastating 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The disaster forced 70 percent of the CBD to be demolished. The Government launched an ambitious recovery plan to help it recover in 2012. The Christchurch Central Recovery Plan, dubbed the "blueprint" would dictate the rebuild of the central city. To support it, the Government would complete a series of "anchor projects", to encourage investment in the city and make it a more attractive place to live in. As Anan Zaki reports, the anchor projects appeared to weigh down the progress of the rebuild.
The government is crowdsourcing the cyclone recovery bill. It has launched an international fundraising effort, modelled on the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal - which raised almost $100 million. A separate special Lotto draw will also be held on March 18 with all proceeds going to affected communities. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has urged New Zealanders to get behind the effort. He defended asking people to chip in when the cost-of-living is so high.
The government's looking overseas to get more hands on deck to help with the rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle. A new short-term Recovery Visa will bring in specialist foreign workers through a similar pathway used after the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes. The visas will be fast-tracked with officials aiming to get applications through within seven days. Corn Dann spoke with immigration minister Michael Wood.
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.