The Fire Service responds to the Coroner's criticisms over the CTV building collapse in the Christchurch Earthquakes, Teina Pora will be released on parole after 21 years inside prison for crimes he says he did'nt commit, and in Dateline Pacific, A newly elected leader in Fiji issues a challenge to Rear Admiral Franf Bainimarama.
Taking a break from our recent musings on society, smells and legacies, this week’s post features another selection of artefacts from the archives. All of these were found on the same site in Christchurch’s central business district over the last … Continue reading →
Haydon Wilson of Kensington Swan discusses the ongoing legal ramifactions of the Canterbury Earthquakes, in particular the Quake Outcasts case.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister says Christchurch City Council must take responsibility for the city's flooding problems as it's not the government's problem to sort out.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister is denying that Christchurch flooding has become worse since the quakes, and says it's not the government's mess to fix.
Prime Minister, John Key, denies money is being held back from the Canterbury earthquake recovery to make the Government's books look better.
Despite low international coal prices, the financially troubled State-owned coal company, Solid Energy, says its time to mine for more coal. A referendum on self-rule is held in eastern Ukraine overnight, we'll have the latest on the turnout and Prime Minister, John Key, is denying money is being held back from the Canterbury earthquake recovery to make the Government's books look better.
The magnitude 4.0 quake was 15km east of Christchurch.
Over the last few weeks, as archaeologists do, I’ve found myself thinking about the physical legacies people leave behind them. In particular, I’ve been thinking about the contrast between the monumental (buildings, in this case) and the artefactual and how, … Continue reading →
As a cemetary near her home is cordoned off, fears for Blessie Gotingco intensify. In Christchurch, there's questions over asbestos and potential danger in the earthquake rebuild and a sub zero wake up for the south, as temperatures plummet.
A Christchurch man who's made his name battling the Earthquake Commission says he has secured a forty-five-million-dollar joint venture with a Chinese company that will regenerate Christchurch's residential areas.
A project manager for a company doing home repairs in the Christchurch earthquake rebuild says it is highly likely as many as 60-thousand people have been exposed to potentially lethal asbestos fibres.
Nine to Noon has been told that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is leading a multiagency group - including the Earthquake Commission, Fletcher Construction's EQR and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet - to try to identify which houses may have have had a high risk of containing asbestos and thereby quantify how many people may have been exposed. With Graham Darlow, Chief executive of Fletcher Construction and Gerry Brownlee, Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery.
Investigations into handling of asbestos in Canterbury earthquake repairs and a man's appeared in court charged with the murder of the Auckland woman, Blessie Gotingco.
Some Canterbury homeowners are rejecting assurances from authorities that they wouldn't have been exposed to asbestos in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes.
There's a warning that a return to pre-earthquake numbers of houses in Christchurch may not be enough to ease the city's housing crisis.
Nearly seven years on from the Christchurch earthquake, some quake damaged homeowners with unresolved insurance claims say they are being driven to the point of complete exhaustion.
EQC said it would provide the Ross family with a cash settlement by February 20, almost seven years to the day since the Christchurch earthquake. Now it's commissioning another rebuild estimate.
The only Christchurch street still closed following the 2011 earthquake will reopen later in 2018 only to close again in 2019 so the council can extend the route for the tram. The proposal has raised the ire of fledgling businesses along High st worried about the disruption the road works will cause them and wanting the work done now, before they open their doors to the public.
Christchurch builders are worried asbestos repairs in the earthquake rebuild will continue to cause problems for years to come.
Christchurch's historic Theatre Royal will reopen for business in November, with bookings about to open for the first show, the Royal New Zealand Ballet season of "A Christmas Carol" The 106-year old theatre has been closed for almost four years because of earthquake damage in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. The $40million rebuild and restoration project will be completed over the next five months and on 17 November 2014, the 'Grand Old Lady' of New Zealand theatre will reopen her doors for performances. With so few venues for performance left in the city, including the Town Hall out of commission indefinitely, the rebuild of the Theatre Royal is very good news for Christchurch audiences Chief executive Neil Cox explains the process of getting oldest Edwardian theatre in the country back in use and mounting the large scale theatrical productions it has been famous for.
The public policy think tank, the New Zealand Initiative, says this country is still under-prepared for the next big earthquake. The group of economists has reviewed the policy response to the Canterbury earthquakes and has just released its report: Recipe for disaster: Building policy on shaky ground. It says recovery from the quakes was hindered by avoidable policy mistakes that still haven't been addressed. One of the report's co authors Dr Eric Crampton joins Susie Ferguson to discuss the issues.
It seems almost expected now that many of us will go on semi-frequent overseas jaunts and visit the spectacular local scenery that New Zealand has to offer. However, most of us probably don’t often think about when these destinations became … Continue reading →
Nikki Ross is still waiting on an insurance settlement almost seven years after her family home was damaged in the February, 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Trish Keith from EQC says they're hoping to offer the family a settlement in the next three weeks.
The woman who guided the Christchurch Art Gallery through the "earthquake years" is our guest today. Jenny Harper is retiring from the gallery in March and she shares her favourite books and things with Jesse.
Ravenscar House Museum holds an extraordinary, previously private art collection. The new building has been gifted to Christchurch by art collectors Susan Wakefield and her late husband Jim. The art remains in the ownership of the Ravenscar Trust. Artists in the collection include Colin McCahon, Bill Sutton and Frances Hodgkins. The treasures were previously in the Wakefield's Christchurch home which suffered irreparable earthquake damage. They're now displayed in the purpose-designed and built Ravenscar House Museum in the city's Arts precinct. The story of the art and artefacts is told in in the book - Ravenscar House: A Biography, written by Christchurch journalist and writer Sally Blundell.
In this week’s programme we’re featuring evening hymns, and you can hear a setting of Psalm 23 – it’ll be the third in our series so far. We’re also commemorating the Feast Day of German theologian Martin Luther, and the 11th anniversary of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
Yet another year gone! It’s been a strange one, out there in the world, but here at Underground Overground it’s been a year of excavation, discoveries, stories and all things archaeological. In the proper spirit of history, let’s take a … Continue reading →
It’s that time of year again, the summer season is upon us, and this year has really has brought the heat! With much of the country sweltering in the late 20s and early 30s lately, it’s made us appreciate the … Continue reading →
During recent earthquake repairs at a residential property on well-known Sumner Road in Lyttelton, our archaeologists uncovered a small assemblage of artefacts that represented everyday Victorian household items. At first glance these appeared a somewhat ordinary – but when Lydia … Continue readi...