A Christchurch homeowner in a five year battle with the Earthquake Commission over the damaged house she unwittingly bought says a critical new report about EQC tells her nothing new. The 27 page review by Independent Ministerial Advisor Christine Stevenson looks at how to resolve the 3,600 claims that still haven't been settled after the 2010 and 2011 quakes. The recommendations include getting the Commission to hire more staff and to stop forcing people to use the Official Information Act to get their files. It also suggests giving EQC more power to settle the on-sold claims where people bought houses under the impression all damage had been identified and fixed. Georgina Hannafin has a home that needs $260,000 worth of repairs but EQC has offered her just $48,000.
A photograph captioned, "I miss living here, right by the river. I'd been there for quite a long time, 12 years or so. I realize now I took it for granted a bit. I used to get a bit bored with having a big old house that was cold, difficult to clean, and perhaps hard to keep warm. But now, when I go back there, I miss living in a big house by the river with an open fire and a big lounge and everything. I had the park there on the other side of the river. And there was a little bridge down there where you could walk over to it. There was actually a circuit you could do, up to the New Brighton Bridge and back. Yeah, it was beautiful".
An aerial photograph of New Brighton. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Anzac Drive Bridge over the River Avon. The houses in the bottom half of this photograph are residential red zoned".
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "You can recognise the houses where someone is still residing by their neat lawns amidst a street with mostly long grass verges. Jean Batten Place, Horseshoe Lake, Burwood".
A photograph of members of the Wellington Emergency Management Office Emergency Response Team inside an earthquake-damaged house. One of the ERT members is climbing a staircase covered in rubble from a collapsed interior wall.
A photograph of a car and digger parked in front of a house. The photograph is captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Odd juxtaposition of the digger with the car in Kingsford Street, Horseshoe Lake, Burwood".
An abandoned residential property at 20 Waygreen Avenue in New Brighton. The section is covered with weeds and silt from liquefaction. 'HM' has been spray painted in green on the front wall of the house. The gutter has partly flooded.
A photograph of the site of the Crowne Plaza Hotel taken from Radio New Zealand House on Durham Street. The hotel has been demolished, leaving large piles of rubble which an excavator is working to clear.
Postgraduate studentwho went on an exchange to Oxford talking to Don Markwell, Warden of Rhodes House after the February earthquakes at a function with Vice Chancellor Rod Car and Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford Andrew Hamilton to sign a Memorandum of Understand between the two Universities.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Eleven merged images of Christchurch looking south from the roof of the Ibis Hotel in Hereford Street".
A blog post from US Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, David Huebner, titled, "Jim Kolbe Remembers February 22nd".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "A big day of moving out of the caravan up the drive of their house to a rental home, for earthquake-stricken Kaiapoi mum and children. Tyler Entwistle (13) with boxes stacked in the caravan".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Family was frightened after the earthquake, but now Talia Atkins (12) on the left and Kendra Phillips (15), don't like even stepping foot back in their house after being burgled on Thursday".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Acland Ave and other nearby residents upset about houses that are green stickered being unliveable. They cannot access any relief funds. A meeting in the cul-de-sac where there are still piles of liquefaction".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Acland Ave and other nearby residents upset about houses that are green stickered being unliveable. They cannot access any relief funds. Jim Anderton at the back of the crowd listening to people's concerns".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Transpacific staff donate to a relief fund to help other staff after the earthquake. Tom Nickels, managing director of Transpacific Industries Group NZ (left), with Dave and Kathy Youngman, whose house in Kaiapoi was damaged".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Nickie McFedries has had a bad run. Her Brittan Terrace house in Lyttelton has suffered extensive earthquake damage and now vandals have smashed up her car in the early hours of this morning".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Transpacific staff donate to a relief fund to help other staff after the earthquake. Tom Nickels, managing director of Transpacific Industries Group NZ (left), with Dave and Kathy Youngman whose house in Kaiapoi was damaged".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "A big day of moving out of the caravan up the drive of their house to a rental home, for earthquake-stricken Kaiapoi mum and children. Tyler Entwistle (13) carries out the vacuum".
A damaged house in the Christchurch central city. Codes have been spray painted on the driveway as well as "No go" on the front window and door. A red sticker in the front window indicates that the building is unsafe to enter.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Family was frightened after the earthquake but now Talia Atkins (12) on the left and Kendra Phillips (15), don't like even stepping foot back in their house after being burgled on Thursday".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Major earthquake hits Christchurch. Taking refuge at Linwood College, the McLeod family are too scared to go back to their house. From left: Lorraine McLeod, Aaron McLeod (11) and Grant McLeod".
Senior Constable Bruce Lamb is the Christchurch police dog handler who narrowly survived being shot in the course of duty on 13 July 2010, his police dog, Gage, was killed. Then Bruce's house was red stickered following the Canterbury earthquake in September, condemned and to be demolished.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "A big day of moving out of the caravan up the drive of their house to a rental home, for earthquake-stricken Kaiapoi mum and children. Tyler Entwistle (13) carries out the vacuum".
Liquefaction silt covers the ground in front of the Shirley Medical Centre, and more silt is piled beside the entrance. The photographer comments, "These photos show our old house in River Rd and recovery work around Richmond and St Albans. The local medical centre is seriously silted up".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Looking south between Madras and Manchester Streets. Latimer Square is at the lower left".
Photograph captioned, "I'll have mixed feelings when I leave. I'll be sad to go - and sad to see my house go. But I hope it'll be a good feeling once it's over. I'll be pleased to get to that stage and feel like I'm finally moving on".
Three buildings on Norwich Quay in Lyttelton, enclosed by safety fences. From left to right, the buildings are: Shadbolt House, Lyttelton Hotel and The Stand Gourmet Takeout and Cafe. Masonry from the Lyttelton Hotel building and The Stand has collapsed onto the road.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The Hotel Grand Chancellor viewed from Hereford Street. It is now hard to recognise with many of its exterior panels removed during the deconstruction process".
A photograph of people sitting in jackets and a blanket beside Julia Morison's artwork Tree Houses for Swamp Dwellers for an outdoor movie screening of Heavenly Creatures. The screening was part of Picture Palace Parade for FESTA 2014.