The famous evangelist preacher, Billy Graham, has died age 99. Salvation is the topic of today's half-time discussion on The Panel. Julia Hartley Moore and James Nokise each have topics they want to talk about. One of the heroes from the Christchurch earthquake gives his take on where the city is at today and what needs to be done. Will beer-wine be a terrible idea or will it kick off? Worst. Olympian. Ever... with full stops between the words. That is a real Twitter-sryle putdown. It's alluding to Hungarian halfpipe skier Elizabeth Swaney. This year's New Zealander of the year will be announced at an award ceremony in Auckland tonight. It's between Mike King, Kristine Bartlett and Dr Siouxsie Wiles.
The names of each individual killed by the Christchurch earthquake were read one after the other at a memorial service to commemorate the quake's seventh anniversary today.
A Canterbury woman has finally settled an insurance claim seven years to the day her family home was damaged in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
Javier and Jackie Garcia Knight look back on the earthquake that changed Christchurch and New Zealand forever.
The much loved 'Dux de Lux' pub in Christchurch could be set to open its doors again in the next few years if enough money can be raised to restore it. The building was badly damaged by the earthquake in 2011 and a group looking to rebuild the pub say it could take around 12 million dollars to see it welcoming Cantabrians back. James Stewart of Gemelli Consulting had a yarn with Nathan Rarere about a couple of schemes to raise the money.
"There are major faults in low-seismicity areas that could produce a major event."
The cleared site, where 115 lost their lives in the February 22, 2011 earthquake, has been turned into a memorial garden, which is intended to be a place for reflection and rememberance.
Four years ago Christchurch City Council vowed to get tough on the owners of 30 central city buildings left derelict since the 2011 earthquake. A wander through central Christchurch shows many of the buildings, nicknamed the dirty 30, still look unchanged. There are boarded up windows, tarps covering gaping holes, and containers keeping bricks from falling on passers by. But council says progress is finally being made on most Rachel Graham has more.
Forty law students in Christchurch are volunteering their time to help local residents take the Earthquake Commission to the High Court.
The man who designed the CTV building that collapsed in the Christchurch earthquake has effectively scuttled any investigation into him by the Institution of Professional Engineers.
Insurance company, Tower, says it's started the year on a positive note despite bad weather and lingering complex claims from the Christchurch earthquakes.
MARK PATTERSON to the Minister of Defence: What progress has been made on the coalition Government’s commitment to expand the Limited Service Volunteer Scheme? Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s policies and actions? KIRITAPU ALLAN to the Minister of Finance: What discussions did he have on economic issues on his trip to South Korea and Singapore? Hon STEVEN JOYCE to the Minister of Finance: Does he still intend for all new capital expenditure in Budget 2018 to fit within the $3.4 billion capital allowance as stated in the 2018 Budget Policy Statement? Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Does he stand by all his statements on the proposed Kiwibuild programme? GOLRIZ GHAHRAMAN to the Minister of Statistics: How is this year’s census different from previous years? MELISSA LEE to the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media: Does she believe it is important for State-owned broadcasters to be independent? JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: Does he stand by all the decisions and statements he has made regarding the Provincial Growth Fund? Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission: What steps has she taken to speed up the fair resolution of outstanding claims relating to the Christchurch earthquakes that occurred seven years ago? Hon NATHAN GUY to the Minister of Agriculture: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions? Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Defence: Does he stand by all his statements? JO LUXTON to the Minister of Education: What concerns does he have about the future provision of vocational education in New Zealand’s regions?
Disaster teams in Papua New Guinea are still struggling to reach parts of the country hit hard by Monday's 7-point-5 earthquake: the Tongan branch of aid agency Live and Learn is still busy helping people patch up their homes two weeks on from the battering dished out by Cyclone Gita: Oceania leaders of the Anglican church gathering in Fiji will be looking at better preparing their people for natural disasters at a fono this week in Suva attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury; Pacific people call for more influence on global issues that affect the region's rapidly changing climate; a mould problem in Australia's refugee detention centre on Nauru posed a serious health threat.
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.
EQC CEO Sid Miller says the agency is currently defending 316 legal cases over the Christchurch earthquakes, and is considering legal action against Fletcher's for its project management of the repairs.
Victoria Square, the slightly less famous cousin of nearby Cathedral Square was re-opened today following $7.5 million worth of earthquake repairs.
A former works manager for Fletcher EQR says assessors didn't check behind walls or under floors to examine the true extent of damage caused by the Christchurch earthquakes because there wasn't enough time.
Today, art is my inspiration, at least as a starting point. The title of this blog post may seem whimsical, but it is both a practical description of our subject today and a reference to the art of centuries past. … Continue reading →
We have published previously on the importance of buildings, be they residential or commercial, as an artefact in understanding 19th century culture in New Zealand. While it’s easy to overlook the humble cottage as a source of archaeological data, houses … Continue reading →
There's been a huge outpouring of emotion in Australia at the death of cricketing legend Shane Warne, aged 52, while he was on a holiday in Thailand. Comedian, Ben Hurley, talks to Jesse about meeting him at a Christchurch earthquake charity match in 2011.
Just last week the city was rocked by four small earthquakes.
Documents obtained by Radio New Zealand show WorkSafe New Zealand was still grappling to get on top of asbestos dangers in the Christchurch rebuild nearly two years after the February 2011 earthquake.
A review of the week's news including... Laila Harre says she is returning to politics to lead the Internet Party because young people, in particular, have been ignored by politicians, Kim Dotcom's US lawyer says a bid by Hollywood's movie studios to have the Internet businessman's assets frozen here is a bid to ensure Mr Dotcom can't win in court in the United States, Fiordland's controversial 240 million dollar monorail is scrapped by the Conservation Minister, documents show WorkSafe New Zealand was still grappling to get on top of asbestos dangers in the Christchurch rebuild nearly two years after the February 2011 earthquake, a train smashes into a concrete barrier at a Lower Hutt station, the New Zealand First leader accuses a South Auckland Maori trust of mis-spending of hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayers money, the associate Immigration Minister stands by her decision not to intervene to allow a Fijian man with kidney failure who has since died in Fiji to stay in New Zealand for treatment, a British writer and academic's use of creative writing to help rehabilitate young offenders and sheep on a farm in Queenstown are being covered in a repellent spray to stop them being eaten alive by Kea.
The idea of a ‘souvenir’, as a physical keepsake of a place or event, is not a new concept. It’s been around for as long as people have been bringing home exotic treasures from far-off lands, or trying to preserve … Continue reading →
Imagine, if you will, that you were born in 1870. Your parents are colonists who journeyed to Christchurch to build a new life for themselves and their family. They’re not rich, but you live comfortably enough in this new country. … Continue reading →
Work to restore one of Christchurch's most recognisable heritage buildings can now begin with the help of a grant from the Earthquake Appeal Trust.
The bill to fix botched EQC repairs from the Canterbury earthquakes has hit $270 million - four times what the previous Government predicted just two years ago. The Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission, Megan Woods, has asked Treasury to urgently crunch some figures to give the Government an idea of its future liability, with many experts warning thousands more homes may be affected. The former Canterbury Rebuild Minister Gerry Brownlee, who was in the job for six years until a year ago, speaks to Guyon Espiner.
A review of the week's news including... The bill to fix botched EQC repairs from the Canterbury earthquakes is now four times what the previous Government predicted just two years ago, immigrants are being computer profiled, MPs are told that medicinal cannabis should be legalised for more people, Middlemore Hospital's woes continue, the Government orders a compulsory recall of 50 thousand vehicles with faulty airbags, Auckland drivers face a double tax hike under proposed sweeping changes to transport funding, Parliament changes the law so New Zealand men with historical homosexual convictions can have them wiped, a bus company wants to recruit more than 100 drivers from overseas because it can't find enough people to do the job here, Dunedin has its biggest weekend ever in terms of money spent thanks to Ed Sheeran, first it was closing - now it's not, Kaikohe's Warehouse is to stay, it all comes together for the New Zealand cricket team against England, an international consortium reaches a verbal agreement to buy the New Zealand Warriors and the woman who was RNZ's Washington correspondent for more than 20 years has died.
More than 600 Christchurch home-owners face a wait of up to 18 months before its decided who foots the bill for earthquake repairs that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The problem - first revealed on Checkpoint in March - is that owners bought homes thinking all quake damage had been identified and fixed - only to find more problems that weren't addressed. The people affected cannot claim on their insurance - because the damage pre-dates them buying the house - and any grant from the Earthquake Commission is capped. EQC has publicly apologised to those affected but the Minster, Megan Woods, says it's unclear who will pay for the needed repairs.
It could be up to 18 months before 660 Christchurch homeowners know who will pay for earthquake damage repairs with a $1 billion price tag. The bill to fix houses in Christchurch that weren't repaired properly the first time round, or have suffered more damage in aftershocks, is climbing - and the government can't say who's liable. The problem is the homes have new owners who can't claim on theri insurance because the damage pre-dates them owning the home. Earlier Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister Megan Woods told us the previous National government put no plan in place, and the current government is being left to pick up the pieces. Former Christchurch earthquake recovery minister Gerry Brownlee disputes the issue.