Parliament is debating under urgency the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Bill, but the Greens plan to vote against the first reading.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, is in Europe in an attempt to convince insurance companies not to pull out of New Zealand after the Christchurch earthquakes.
Businesses, farmers and workers in Canterbury are anxiously waiting to see what more the government will do to help after the 7.1 earthquake that devastated the region on Saturday morning.
A new agreement's been reached on how earthquake claims for seriously damaged mortgaged houses in Canterbury will be handled.
The Government responded to Canterbury's plight by putting through Parliament emergency legislation to give special powers to the Earthquake Recovery Minister to deal with the effects of the quake.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister says he's sick of insurance companies giving baseless excuses for delaying earthquake claims in Christchurch .
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, is offside with the business community in Christchurch over the decision to permanently relocate nearly 500 public servants outside of the central business district.
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee speaking at the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT).
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee speaking at the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT).
Christchurch councillor Raf Manji announces plans to stand against Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee in Ilam at the general election. He tells John Campbell why he is standing as an independent.
The former Earthquake Commission minister, Gerry Brownlee, is defending EQC over claims its assessors in Christchurch were not properly qualified. A growing number of homeowners in the city are discovering EQC assessors have completely missed quake damage including broken foundations costing hundreds of thousands to repair. That's been disastrous for people who've bought homes with hidden damage who are sometimes finding private insurers unwilling to cover the cost of putting right mistakes made by EQC. The company hired by EQC to carry out repairs was Fletcher Construction. Its chief executive at the time, Mark Binns, told Checkpoint that EQC probably hired unqualified people to assess quake damaged homes. Gerry Brownlee refused to be drawn on the comments from Mr Binns. But when asked by RNZ Christchurch reporter, Conan Young, if it was acceptable to have retired policemen, school principals and vacuum cleaner salesmen carrying out assessments for EQC, he admitted finding enough people to do the job was a challenge.
Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee speaking at the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT). The ceremony was held in Burwood Park.
Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee speaking at the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT). The ceremony was held in Burwood Park.
Prime Minister John Key and Gerry Brownlee, the Minister of Economic Development, giving a briefing after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A video of Gerry Brownlee, the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, speaking about the Draft Recovery Strategy at a CERA conference. Brownlee talks about the progress that has already been made in the rebuild, as well as the goals of the Draft Recovery Strategy.
Camera crew filming Prime Minister John Key and Gerry Brownlee, the Minister of Economic Development, giving a briefing after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee holding a jackhammer on Kingsford Street in Burwood, as part of the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT).
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee handling a jackhammer on Kingsford Street in Burwood, as part of the opening of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT).
A photograph of a protest sign reading, "When it comes to the East, I see nothing, I hear nothing, and I care even less!!" and showing the face of Gerry Brownlee superimposed on the body of Sergeant Schultz from Hogan's Heroes. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Woodham Road, Linwood".
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, has described a 'state of the city' speech by the Christchurch mayor, Lianne Dalziel, as deeply disappointing.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, has defended the government's handling of the Christchurch City Council's consenting crisis in Parliament this afternoon.
Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee trundles heavily through debris left after the Canterbury earthquake of 4th September 2010. An engineer tells him to 'Tread lightly' as they 'don't want any more aftershocks..' Gerry Brownlee is not a slight man. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Earthquake Minister, Gerry Brownlee, speaking to Reverend Peter Beck at the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) opening. The ceremony was held in Burwood Park. Workers in florescent vests are standing in the background.
A video of a press conference with Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee. Brownlee announced that cabinet has agreed to redevelop the hospital sites throughout Canterbury. This will include the building of additional operating theatres, the replacement of around 5000 beds, the expansion of the intensive care unit and emergency department, and the building of a new hospital for older persons in Burwood.
A photograph of a poster and picket signs in the window of the Earthquake Services building on the corner of Fitzgerald Avenue and Ferry Road. The poster depicts Gerry Brownlee in the style of Barack Obama's "Hope" campaign poster, and reads "Democracy nope". The picket signs read "Brownlee: rise, lies and pies" and "Overwrought, overdrawn, over EQC".
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee refused to be interviewed on Checkpoint.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Chris Finlayson and Gerry Brownlee are interviewed by media".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Chris Finlayson and Gerry Brownlee are interviewed by media".
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.
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has announced two early involvement contracts for Christchurch's new Metro Sports Facility.