As we approach the tenth anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake there are renewed calls for an inquiry into how Southern Response dealt with Canterbury earthquake claimants. Last year the government set up a support package for those who were short changed by Southern Response for their earthquake repairs. It came after a landmark High Court case found Southern Response misled and deceived Karl and Alison Dodds. Insurance claimants advocate, Ali Jones, says ten years on, lessons haven't been learned from how people were treated by Southern Response. She told RNZ reporter Sally Murphy that dealing with them is hell.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, is leading the government's response to the latest round of earthquakes.
Forty Christchurch homeowners have headed back to court, as they seek to take a class action against earthquake insurer Southern Response.
It is understood 26 Christchurch earthquake claimants who took class actiona against Southern Response are close to reaching an out of court settlement.
The High Court has said 40 Christchurch homeowners wanting to take a class action against earthquake insurer Southern Response can move forward with their claim.
A independent review of Fire Service's response to deadly February earthquake in Christchurch has heavily criticised the organisation for allowing tensions to fester for years.
Caroline Bell, consultant psychiatrist and the clinical head of the Anxiety Disorders Unit at the Canterbury District Health Board talks about the psychological fallout from the Christchurch quakes.
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.
Several hundred people gathered in central Christchurch yesterday to voice their anger at a growing list of complaints about local and central government's response to the earthquake.
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.
When the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes struck, the region was hit with disaster on an unprecedented scale and the health system was challenged like never before. The injured needed immediate treatment, buildings and equipment were badly damaged, and yet those working in health system rallied to keep it going. Emergency Medicine specialist Dr Mike Ardagh and independent science writer Dr Joanne Deely have written a book, Rising from the Rubble, which tells the stories of those who were part of the health system response, and a record of the long-term issues that have been caused by it.
Southern Response is back in court today - this time having a final go at arguing that a class action against it should not be an 'opt-out'.
Christchurch residents Brendan and Colleen Ross say the state insurer deliberately withheld the true cost of repairing their home which was damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes.
They are now among 3000 people represented in a class action led by Christchurch lawyer Grant Cameron.
In September last year the Court of Appeal decided the class action could proceed on an 'opt-out' basis - which means it would cover more people and potentially cost the state-owned insurer more money if it loses.
Southern Response is challenging that decision in the Supreme Court, a two day hearing wrapped up on Tuesday.
Checkpoint reporter Logan Church was there.
The Fire Service may have announced another investigation into its response to last year's deadly February earthquake in Christchurch, but there are already claims it won't go far enough although some feel it will indicate the need for a Royal Commission of Inquiry.
The Defence Force's deployment in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake is the military's biggest ever domestic operation.
A lawyer acting for Christchurch home-owners short changed in earthquake settlements says a new plan announced by the government is likely to run into trouble.
Last year in a landmark case, the High Court found the government's claim settlement agency, Southern Response, misled and deceived Karl and Alison Dodds.
It ordered the government to pay the couple nearly $180,000.
The government has now set up a package for other Southern Response claimants who settled before October 2014.
Its estimated about 3000 people will be eligible to benefit.
But most of them are already taking part in a class action led by Brendan and Colleen Ross.
Their lawyer Grant Cameron speaks to Corin Dann.
A Christchurch couple fighting their insurer and the Earthquake Commission in court say accepting EQC's offer would leave them massively out of pocket.
Major Australian law firm Maurice Blackburn has agreed to underwrite a class action law suit against Southern Response seeking redress for Canterbury earthquake claimants. Christchurch lawyer Grant Cameron says "hidden costs" led to significant underpayments to about 3000 people. Maurice Blackburn is a law firm which specialises in class actions, its principal lawyer Martin Hyde joins Kathryn, along with Grant Cameron, to talk about why they think they have a strong case.
The first police officer at the scene of the collapsed and burning CTV building has recounted harrowing details of his efforts in the hours after the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch.
Tommy discusses future building procedures in response to the Christchurch earthquake.
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.
A short symphony written by eight-year-old Bob Gaudin in response to the Christchurch earthquake.
Colonel Roger McElwain has recently been briefed on the military response in Christchurch.
A class action taken by 40 Canterbury earthquake claimants against Southern Response heads to court tomorrow.
The political consensus over the response to the Christchurch earthquake is in danger of collapsing.
Christchurch-based 11 year-old piano player talks about the compostition he wrote in response to the Sepetmber 4 earthquake.
Is Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee pleased with the initial response to the plan?
The Prime Minister was challenged about the earthquake response in Christchurch's hard-hit eastern suburbs during a walkabout today.
The State Services Commission is investigating Canterbury earthquake insurer Southern Response. A new pharmacy council ethics code has upset doctors.
The Government's response to the Canterbury earthquake, and the South Canterbury Finance bail-out and republicanism.
Our correspondent Motoko Kakubayashi on Japan's response to the Christchurch earthquake, being that it appears that a number of Japanese students will be counted as fatalities.
