Royal Commission into quakes won't investigate liability
Audio, Radio New Zealand
There's disagreement about whether a Royal Commission of inquiry into building collapses in the Canterbury earthquakes should apportion blame.
There's disagreement about whether a Royal Commission of inquiry into building collapses in the Canterbury earthquakes should apportion blame.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Canterbury earthquakes concludes its hearing into the collapse of the Pyne Gould building today.
Survivors of February's devastating earthquake in Christchurch are astounded the Royal Commission won't investigate whether anyone should be held liable for the collapse of so many central city buildings.
The Royal Commission into the Canterbury Earthquakes continues today with the focus on the Pyne Gould Corporation building, where 18 people were killed.
People caught up in February's earthquake in Christchurch want to know why a Royal Commission of inquiry isn't going to apportion any blame for building collapses.
After an appeal from the families of Christchurch earthquake victims, a third lawyer is being appointed to the Royal Commission, to work specifically with them.
Royal Commission hearings into the Canterbury earthquakes started in Christchurch today, with a indication that questions will be raised about whether some of those trapped in collapsed buildings could have survived.
The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission will hear this week that the cost of upgrading the city's unreinforced masonry buildings is more than the buildings are worth.
Scientists from GNS Science have faced tough criticism at the Royal Commission into the Canterbury earthquakes, being accused of funneling resources into the wrong areas and giving vague advice on earthquake risks.
Naval blockade: Greenpeace say its activists are willing to get arrested over their protest against a Brazilian oil company surveying off East Cape. Royal Commission: Legal experts are in agreement ... the purpose of the Royal Commission into February's earthquake in Christchurch is to investigate - not to incriminate.
The Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission is calling for changes to building standards as a matter of urgency.
The Government is welcoming a report from the Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission that calls for urgent changes to building standards.
The Christchurch City Council has faced tough questioning at the Royal Commission into the Canterbury earthquakes over its role in ensuring buildings are earthquake strengthened.
The Education Minister is waiting for the Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission to report back before considering a national survey of all school buildings in the country.
A spokesperson for the families of the victims of the Christchurch earthquake says without legal representation their voice will not be heard during the Royal Commission.
The families of some Christchurch earthquake victims are angry disappointed the Government is refusing to pay for lawyers for them at the Royal Commission of Inquiry.
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.
Why is the Royal Commission into Building Collapses in the Christchurch Earthquake not apportioning blame? Christchurch lawyer Grant Cameron represented the victims of the Cave Creek Tragedy.
The Royal Commission hearings into the Canterbury earthquake begin in Christchurch today to examine why some of the newer buildings in the city's CBD failed so badly.
The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission has heard the property manager of the Pyne Gould building did not organise detailed engineering assessments after the first quake in September.
A property manager has been questioned at the Royal Commission investigating the Canterbury earthquakes about why he didn't tell tenants the building they worked in was unsafe.
Pyne Gould building tenants in Christchurch have told the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Canterbury Earthquakes hearing they didn't feel safe there after the September quake.
The Royal Commission into the Canterbury Earthquakes continues today, with overseas experts critiquing a New Zealand report that calls for a two-billion dollar upgrade to strengthen earthquake-prone buildings.
A Christchurch businessman has told the Earthquake Royal Commission the city council was a nightmare to deal with when he was trying to strengthen his building before the September quake.
An American engineer has told the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission he was shocked at the failure of builders to properly fix the floors of the PGC building to its walls.
A structural engineer who ordered a building green stickered though he'd failed to do another thorough check on it has defended his inspections at the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission.
A geotechnical expert from the United States has told the Royal Commission into the Canterbury Earthquakes, developers should be required to submit soil reports before building on land prone to liquefaction.
The warnings, or lack of them from the government's scientists about the likely size of aftershocks following the first Canterbury earthquake have been a focus of the Royal Commission into the quakes.
The smaller buildings that collapsed in the Christchurch earthquake, killing those in them as well as passers by, will be the focus of the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission when hearings resume today
The Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission has heard that a breakdown in communication between structural engineers, a property manager and owner led the tenants of a building to wrongly assume their shop was safe.