Numerous rockfalls released during the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence affected vital road sections for local commuters. We quantified rockfall fatality risk on two main routes by adapting a risk approach for roads originally developed for snow avalanche risk. We present results of the collective and individual fatality risks for traffic flow and waiting traffic. Waiting traffic scenarios particularly address the critical spatial-temporal dynamics of risk, which should be acknowledged in operational risk management. Comparing our results with other risks commonly experienced in New Zealand indicates that local rockfall risk is close to tolerability thresholds and likely exceeds acceptable risk.
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.
Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her statements?
Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL to the Minister of Finance: What does the Treasury’s 2018 Investment Statement show about the state of the Government’s balance sheet?
Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: How much capital expenditure is this Government forecast to spend in the period 2018-2022 compared to the previous Government over these same years, and how much of the difference is funded by an increase in debt?
Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister for Economic Development: Does this Government have a broad economic development strategy; if so, what is it?
Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission: What announcements has the Government made about changes to how the Earthquake Commission operates?
Hon DAVID BENNETT to the Minister of Corrections: Does he stand by his statement on the Marae programme that “the problem right now is that corrections doesn’t have any flexibility…we’re in a real bind”?
Hon SCOTT SIMPSON to the Associate Minister for the Environment: Does she agree with the statements in the Annual Report of the Environmental Protection Authority, “we have our share of science deniers, who oppose fluoride, 1080, vaccinations, glyphosate, genetic modification, and much more” and “our Chief Scientist is prominent in emphasising the evidence, data, and science that underpins EPA decision making”; if so, why?
JENNY MARCROFT to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: What recent announcements has he made pertaining to the Provincial Growth Fund?
SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Justice: Should maximum legislated sentences reflect the seriousness of the crime committed?
Hon NICKY WAGNER to the Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration: Does she stand by all her answers to written questions?
ANGIE WARREN-CLARK to the Minister for the Environment: What does he think New Zealanders have to celebrate on World Water Day?
MELISSA LEE to the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media: Does she stand by all her Government’s policies and actions in the Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media portfolio?
Land cover change information in urban areas supports decision makers in dealing with public policy planning and resource management. Remote sensing has been demonstrated as an efficient and accurate way to monitor land cover change over large extents. The Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES) caused massive damage in Christchurch, New Zealand and resulted in significant land cover change over a short time period. This study combined two types of remote sensing data, aerial imagery (RGB) and LiDAR, as the basis for quantifying land cover change in Christchurch between 2011 – 2015, a period corresponding to the five years immediately following the 22 February 2011 earthquake, which was part of the CES. An object based image analysis (OBIA) approach was adopted to classify the aerial imagery and LiDAR data into seven land cover types (bare land, building, grass, shadow, tree and water). The OBIA approach consisted of two steps, image segmentation and object classification. For the first step, this study used multi-level segmentation to better segment objects. For the second step, the random forest (RF) classifier was used to assign a land cover type to each object defined by the segmentation. Overall classification accuracies for 2011 and 2015 were 94.0% and 94.32%, respectively. Based on the classification result, land cover changes between 2011 and 2015 were then analysed. Significant increases were found in road and tree cover, while the land cover types that decreased were bare land, grass, roof, water. To better understand the reasons for those changes, land cover transitions were calculated. Canopy growth, seasonal differences and forest plantation establishment were the main reasons for tree cover increase. Redevelopment after the earthquake was the main reason for road area growth. By comparing the spatial distribution of these transitions, this study also identified Halswell and Wigram as the fastest developing suburbs in Christchurch. These results provided quantitative information for the effects of CES, with respect to land cover change. They allow for a better understanding for the current land cover status of Christchurch. Among those land cover changes, the significant increase in tree cover aroused particularly interest as urban forests benefit citizens via ecosystem services, including health, social, economic, and environmental benefits. Therefore, this study firstly calculated the percentages of tree cover in Christchurch’s fifteen wards in order to provide a general idea of tree cover change in the city extent. Following this, an automatic individual tree detection and crown delineation (ITCD) was undertaken to determine the feasibility of automated tree counting. The accuracies of the proposed approach ranged between 56.47% and 92.11% in thirty different sample plots, with an overall accuracy of 75.60%. Such varied accuracies were later found to be caused by the fixed tree detection window size and misclassifications from the land cover classification that affected the boundary of the CHM. Due to the large variability in accuracy, tree counting was not undertaken city-wide for both time periods. However, directions for further study for ITCD in Christchurch could be exploring ITCD approaches with variable window size or optimizing the classification approach to focus more on producing highly accurate CHMs.
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.
Fleur Beale is one of New Zealand's most prolific authors and the winner of many awards for children and young adult books. Her latest work is a novel that tells the story of a young girl who experienced the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. It's part of an international series called Through my Eyes - Natural Disaster Zones, which is a series written by different authors focusing on war zones and disasters throughout the world. Fleur's book is based on real accounts of what happened in Christchurch told through the eyes of a young girl, Lyla. Fleur, who has won the Margaret Mahy Medal for her outstanding contribution to children's writing, and was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature, joins Kathryn to talk about her latest work, and why young adult fiction is the best and the process of getting a story right.
Hybrid broadband simulation methods typically compute high-frequency portion of ground-motions using a simplified-physics approach (commonly known as “stochastic method”) using the same 1D velocity profile, anelastic attenuation profile and site-attenuation (κ0) value for all sites. However, these parameters relating to Earth structure are known to vary spatially. In this study we modify this conventional approach for high-frequency ground-shaking by using site-specific input parameters (referred to as “site-specific”) and analyze improvements over using same parameters for all sites (referred to as “generic”). First, we theoretically understand how different 1D velocity profiles, anelastic attenuation profiles and site-attenuation (κ0) values affects the Fourier Acceleration Spectrum (FAS). Then, we apply site-specific method to simulate 10 events from the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence to assess performance against the generic approach in predicting recorded ground-motions. Our initial results suggest that the site-specific method yields a lower simulation standard deviation than generic case.
This study is a qualitative investigation into the decision-making behaviour of commercial property owners (investors and developers) who are rebuilding in a city centre after a major disaster. In 2010/2011, Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, was a site of numerous earthquakes. The stronger earthquakes destroyed many buildings and public infrastructure in the commercial inner city. As a result, affected property owners lost all or most of their buildings, a significant proportion of which were old and in the last phase of their life span. They had to negotiate pay-outs with insurance companies and decide, once paid out, whether they should rebuild in Christchurch or sell up and invest elsewhere. The clear majority of those who decided to reinvest in and rebuild the city are ‘locals’, almost all of whom had no prior experience of property development. Thus, in a post-disaster environment, most of these property owners have transitioned from being just being passive investors to active property developers. Their experience was interpreted using primary data gathered from in-depth and semi-structured interviews with twenty-one “informed property people” who included commercial property owners; property agents or consultants; representatives of public-sector agencies and financial institutions. The study findings showed that the decision-making behaviour of property investors and developers rebuilding after a major disaster did not necessarily follow a strict financial or profit motive as prescribed in the mainstream or neo-classical economics property literature. Rather, their decision-making behaviour has been largely shaped by emotional connections and external factors associated with their immediate environment. The theoretical proposition emerging from this study is that after a major disaster, local urban property owners are faced with two choices “to stay” or “to go”. Those who decide to stay and rebuild are typically very committed individuals who have a feeling of ownership, belonging and attachment to the city in which they live and work. These are people who will often take the lead in commercial property development, proactively making decisions and seeking positive investment outcomes for themselves which in turn result in revitalised commercial urban precincts.
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.
Following the 2010/2011 Canterbury (New Zealand) earthquakes the seismic design of buildings with precast concrete panels has received significant attention. Although this form of construction generally performed adequately in Christchurch, there were a considerable number of precast concrete panel connection failures. This observation prompted a review of more than 4700 panel details to establish representative details used in both existing and new multi-storey and low rise industrial precast concrete buildings. The detailing and quantity of each reviewed connection type in the sampled data is reported, and advantages and potential deficiencies of each connection type are discussed. Following the Canterbury earthquakes, it was observed that brittle failure had occurred in some grouted metal duct connections used for precast concrete wall panels, resulting in recommendations for more robust detailing of this connection type. A set of experimental tests was subsequently performed to investigate the in-plane seismic behaviour of precast concrete wall panel connections. This testing comprised of seven reversed cyclic in-plane tests of fullscale precast concrete wall panels having wall-to-foundation grouted metal duct connections. Walls with existing connection detailing were found to perform adequately when carrying low axial loads, but performance was found to be less satisfactory as the axial load and wall panel length increased. The use of new recommended detailing was observed to prevent brittle connection response and to improve the robustness of the reinforcement splice. A parametric investigation was conducted using the finite element method to predict the failure mode of metal duct connections. From the results of the parametric study on metal duct connections it was identified that there were three possible failure modes, being reinforcement fracture, concrete spalling without metal duct pull out, and concrete spalling with metal duct pull-out. An alternative simple analytical method was proposed in order to determine the type of connection failure without using a time-consuming finite element method. Grouted sleeves inserts are an alternative connector that is widely used to connect wall panels to the foundations. The two full-scale wall panels were subjected to reversed cyclic in-plane demands until failure of either the connection or the wall panel. Wall panel failure was due to a combination of connection reinforcement pulling-out from the coupler and reinforcement fracture. In addition, non-embedded grouted sleeve tests filled with different quality of grout were conducted by subjecting these coupler assemblages to cyclic and monotonic forces.
This paper begins with a discussion of the history of negligent manslaughter in New Zealand and its development from the standard of ordinary negligence to the current test of a “major departure” from the expected standard of care, as set out under s 150A of the Crimes Act 1961. The paper then examines failings in s 150A’s current application, arguing that the “major departure” test has created injustices due to its strictly objective nature. Two examples of this are discussed in-depth, Bawa-Garba v R (UK) where a doctor was convicted of grossly negligent manslaughter for the death of her patient; and the decision not to prosecute the negligent engineers of the CTV building which collapsed in the Christchurch earthquake of 2011. The paper discusses three potential resolutions moving forward. It concludes that a more subjective interpretation of the wording of s 150A, which takes account of circumstances excusing or condemning a defendant’s conduct, would prevent future injustices and be a reasonably open interpretation on the wording of s 150A.
So what's the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern got to look forward to when she's back at work? Construction firms falling over, business confidence at a nine-year low, unemployment rising and New Zealand is desperate need of infrastructure to cope with its 10 percent population shock in the last five years. Welcome back Ms Ardern! Ebert Construction is the latest construction company to go belly-up. The Panelists consider why, when the country needs new buildings the most, construction companies aren't making the grade? Peter Silcock of Civil Contractors talks bout the failing of processes and business models used by building firms. Christchurch central seems to have a business micro-climate. And right now it's chilly. The CBD is nothing like it used to be before the 2011 earthquake and those businesses that re-opened say they really had no choice because of the demands of insurance companies. The Kingsland Business Society in Auckland is offering free child minding for couples who go out for the evening in the suburb. United States federal air marshals now follow seemingly ordinary citizens not suspected of a crime, nor on any terrorist watch list. It's a new surveillance programme called "Quiet Skies" and it collects extensive information on travellers based on their behaviour on flights and especailly in airports.
This research investigates the validation of simulated ground motions on complex structural systems. In this study, the seismic responses of two buildings are compared when they are subjected to as-recorded ground motions and simulated ones. The buildings have been designed based on New Zealand codes and physically constructed in Christchurch, New Zealand. The recorded ground motions are selected from 40 stations database of the historical 22 Feb. 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The Graves and Pitarka (2015) methodology is used to generate the simulated ground motions. The geometric mean of maximum inter-story drift and peak floor acceleration are selected as the main seismic responses. Also, the variation of these parameters due to record to record variability are investigated. Moreover, statistical hypothesis testing is used to investigate the similarity of results between observed and simulated ground motions. The results indicate a general agreement between the peak floor acceleration calculated by simulated and recorded ground motions for two buildings. While according to the hypothesis tests result, the difference in drift can be significant for the building with a shorter period. The results will help engineers and researchers to use or revise the procedure by using simulated ground motions for obtaining seismic responses.
This thesis presents the findings from an experimental programme to determine the performance and behaviour of an integrated building incorporating low damage structural and non-structural systems. The systems investigated included post-tensioned rocking concrete frames, articulated floor solutions, low damage claddings and low damage partition systems. As part of a more general aim to increase the resilience of society against earthquake hazards, more emphasis has been given to damage-control design approaches in research. Multiple low-damage earthquake resistant structural and non-structural systems have emerged that are able to withstand high levels of drift or deflections will little or negligible residual. Dry jointed connections, articulated floor solutions, low damage cladding systems and low damage drywall partitions have all been developed separately and successfully tested. In spite of the extensive research effort and the adoption in practice of the low damage systems, work was required to integrate the systems within one building and verify the constructibility, behaviour and performance of the integrated systems. The objectives of this research were to perform dynamic experimental testing of a building which incorporated the low damage systems and acquire data which could be used to dynamically validate numerical models for each of the systems. A three phase experimental programme was devised and performed to dynamically test a half-scale two storey reinforced concrete building on the University of Canterbury shaking table. The three phases of the programme investigated: The structural system only. The rocking connections were tested as Post-Tensioned only connections and Hybrid connections (including dissipators). Two different articulated floor connections were also investigated. Non-structural systems. The Hybrid building was tested with each non-structural system separately; including low damage claddings, low damage partitions and traditional partitions. The Complete building was tested with Hybrid connections, low damage claddings and low damage partitions all integrated within the test specimen. The building was designed based on a full scale prototype building following the direct displacement based design to reach a peak inter-storey drift of 1.6% in a 1/500 year ground motion for a Wellington site. For each test set up, the test specimen was subjected to a ground motion sequence of 39 single direction ground motions. Through the sequence, both the local and global behaviours of the building and integrated systems were recorded in real time. The test specimen was subjected to over 400 ground motions throughout the testing programme. It sustained no significant damage that required reparations other than crumbling of the grout pads. The average peak inter-storey drifts of the buildings were lower than the design value of 1.6%. The low damage non-structural elements were undamaged in the ground motion sequence. The data acquired from each of the phases was used to successfully validate numerical models for each of the low damage systems included in the research.
The integrity of the entire public service is under scrutiny after revelations about the close relationship between a private security firm Thompson and Clark and the SIS and the Ministry for Primary Industries. In March, the State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes ordered an investigation after it was revealed the firm spied on Canterbury earthquake claimants for Southern Response. That was was further widened to include the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment which has been accused by Greenpeace of using the company to spy on them. On Tuesday as a result of RNZ inquiries, Mr Hughes widened the investigation even further to cover all government department and scores of other public sector agencies such as District Health Boards. State Services Minister Chris Hipkins is demanding answers. The SIS emails show a staff member and one of the Thompson and Clark directors were old friends who met regularly. Also an OIA request from RNZ News has triggered the uncovering of what the Ministry for Primary Industries describes as potentially serious misconduct by several former staff members. Joining us to explain the details are the reporters who have been doing this digging, Checkpoint's Zac Fleming and Conan Young. Thompson and Clark's Gavin Clark declined to come on Morning Report but in an email said Thompson and Clark is willing to cooperate fully with the SSC and will await the investigation to take its natural course.
This research aims to explore how business models of SMEs revolve in the face of a crisis to be resilient. The business model canvas was used as a tool to analyse business models of SMEs in Greater Christchurch. The purpose was to evaluate the changes SMEs brought in their business models after hit by a series of earthquake in 2010 and 2011. The idea was to conduct interviews of business owners and analyse using grounded theory methods. Because this method is iterative, a tentative theoretical framework was proposed, half way through the data collection. It was realised that owner specific characteristics were more prominent in the data than the elements business model. Although, SMEs in this study experienced several operational changes in their business models such as change of location and modification of payment terms. However, the suggested framework highlights how owner specific attributes influence the survival of a small business. Small businesses and their owners are extremely interrelated that the business models personify the owner specific characteristics. In other words, the adaptation of the business model reflects the extent to which the owner possess these attributes. These attributes are (a) Mindsets – the attitude and optimism of business owner; (b) Adaptive coping – the ability of business owner to take corrective actions; and (c) Social capital – the network of a business owner, including family, friends, neighbours and business partners.
Detailed studies on the sediment budget may reveal valuable insights into the successive build-up of the Canterbury Plains and their modification by Holocene fluvialaction connected to major braided rivers. Additionally, they bear implications beyond these fluvial aspects. Palaeoseismological studies claim to have detected signals of major Alpine Fault earthquakes in coastal environments along the eastern seaboard of the South Island (McFadgen and Goff, 2005). This requires high connectivity between the lower reaches of major braided rivers and their mountain catchments to generate immediate significant sediment pulses. It would be contradictory to the above mentioned hypothesis though. Obtaining better control on sediment budgets of braided rivers like the Waimakariri River will finally add significant value to multiple scientific and applied topics like regional resource management. An essential first step of sediment budget studies Is to systematically map the geomorphology, conventionally in the field and/or using remote-sensing applications, to localise, genetically identify, and classify landforms or entire toposequences of the area being investigated. In formerly glaciated mountain environments it is also indispensable to obtain all available chronological information supporting subsequent investigations.
Home address-based school zoning regulations are widely used in many countries as one means of selecting pupils and estimating future enrolment. However, there is little research regarding an alternative system of zoning for parents’ place of employment. Previous research has failed to analyse potential impacts from workplace-based zoning, including negating the effects of chain migration theory and settlement patterns to facilitate cultural integration, promoting the physical and mental wellbeing of families by enabling their close proximity during the day, as well as positive results concerning a volatile real estate market. As the modern family more often consists of one or both parents working full-time, the requirement of children to attend school near their home may not be as reasonably convenient as near their parents’ workplace. A case study was performed on one primary school in Christchurch, consisting of surveys and interviews of school stakeholders, including parents and staff, along with GIS mapping of school locations. This found deeper motivations for choosing a primary school, including a preference for cultural integration and the desire to school children under 14 years near their parents’ place of employment in case of illness or earthquake. These data suggest that the advantages of workplace-based zoning may be worth considering, and this thesis creates a framework for the Ministry of Education to implement this initiative in a pilot programme for primary schools in Christchurch.
Background: Earthquakes are found to have lingering post-disaster effects on children that can be present for months or years after the disaster, including hyperarousal symptoms. Young children have the most difficulties in regulating their emotions, especially when they are highly aroused. Colouring-in mandala designs have been found to reduce hyperarousal symptoms of stress in young adults. The purpose of this study was to determine if the same effects of colouring-in mandalas would be seen with children showing signs of hyperarousal. Research Question: To identify what effect colouring-in mandala designs would have on the heart rate in a young child showing signs of hyperarousal. Method: Following approved procedures for informed consent, two 6-year-old girls from a Christchurch primary school were chosen for the study. Heart rate was measured using a Fitbit in a single subject design. The baseline, colouring-in and a second baseline phase were conducted during mathematics. The participants and their teacher reported on arousal, enjoyment, and positive and problem behaviours. The study took 26 school days to complete. Results: Compared with baseline, the average heart rate data showed no decrease in heart rate (i.e., calming effect) during the mandala colouring-in task phase. Conclusions: The participants enjoyed colouring-in the mandalas, but the average heart rate data did not show that colouring-in pre-drawn designs reduced heart rate, a measure of arousal. Major study limitations included; not having suitable participants or a suitable setting for the colouring-in task, and not being able to observe both participants.
Livelihood holds the key to a rapid recovery following a large-scale devastating disaster, building its resilience is of paramount importance. While much attention has been given to how to help people who are displaced from their jobs to regain employment, little research on livelihood resilience has been undertaken for those relocated communities following a disaster event. By studying five re-located villages post-2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar, Indonesia, this research has identified the indicators of livelihood resilience and the critical factors driving it for post-disaster relocated communities. A mixed approach, combining questionnaire surveys, semistructured interviews, and field observations, was used for the collection of data. Housing entitlement, the physical and mental health of residents, access to external livelihood support and the provision of infrastructure and basic services were identified as amongst the most critical indicators that represent the level of livelihood resilience. Early recovery income support, physical and mental health, availability and timeliness of livelihood support, together with cultural sensitivity and governance structure, are amongst the most important factors. Given the nature of resettlement, access to infrastructure, location of relocated sites, the safety of the neighbourhood and the ability to transfer to other jobs/skills also play an important role in establishing sustained employment for relocated communities in Indonesia. Those indicators and factors were synthesised into a framework which was further tested in the recovery of Christchurch, and Kaikoura, New Zealand during their recovery from devastating earthquakes. It is suggested that the framework can be used by government agencies and aid organisations to assess the livelihood resilience of post-disaster relocated communities. This will help better them plan support policies and/or prioritise resilience investment strategies to ensure that the recovery needs of those relocated are best met.
Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s policies and actions? KIRITAPU ALLAN to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he seen on the need for innovation in the New Zealand economy? Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with the Prime Minister’s comment, “I absolutely believe that our agenda will grow the economy, will make sure businesses are in a position to grow and prosper, because I need that economic growth to be able to lift the well-being of all New Zealanders”? Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister for Economic Development: Does he still think the ANZ survey of business confidence is junk? Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Justice: What recent announcements has he made about the Family Court? Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Immigration: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions? JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What advice, if any, did she receive in respect of the obligation to act in accordance with the Minerals Programme for Petroleum regarding the Government’s decision to offer no new offshore permits? ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister for Building and Construction: What procedures, if any, will she put into place to ensure Government agencies adhere to MBIE’s Government procurement guidelines for construction projects? Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of Justice: Does he stand by all of his statements on the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Bill and the potential chilling effect it will have on the expression of dissenting views? CHRIS BISHOP to the Minister of Internal Affairs: Does she stand by all her statements around the Government inquiry into the appointment of the Deputy Commissioner of Police? Dr LIZ CRAIG to the Minister of Health: What confidence can the public take from the review of the National Bowel Screening Programme that was released this morning? STUART SMITH to the Minister of Justice: What advice, if any, has he received on the need for the Canterbury Earthquakes Insurance Tribunal?
Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers? WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Finance: Will this Government’s policies help transition the economy; if so, how? Hon AMY ADAMS to the Associate Minister of Finance: What is the purpose of the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill? Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Justice: Does he stand by his statement in answer to Oral Question No 8 on Tuesday that “The member is alluding to the offender I referred to in a question last week, relating to the pinching of a prison officer’s bottom”? Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration: What announcements has she made about learning the lessons from the Canterbury earthquake sequence to help New Zealanders prepare for the future? Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Minister for Women: Is it her responsibility to stand up for and improve the outcomes for women in New Zealand? PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN to the Minister for Social Development: Will low- and middle-income families be better off because of the Families Package; if so, how? JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by all his statements, actions, and legislative drafting instructions on matters to do with fuel taxes? ANGIE WARREN-CLARK to the Minister for the Environment: Is the Government assisting the primary sector and regional councils in measuring nutrient use and greenhouse gas emissions; if so, how? Hon ALFRED NGARO to the Minister for Children: Does she stand by her Ministry’s policies and actions in finding caregivers for children in care? Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister for Ethnic Communities: Are the statements in the Onehunga Community News that “The Office of Ethnic Communities is moving into premises in Onehunga, which will be shared with list MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan” and the quote by her parliamentary under-secretary saying, “We’ve boosted support that we’re providing in terms of connecting with ethnic communities, so we have more staff members working in our ethnic communities’ outreach teams” correct? MARK PATTERSON to the Minister for Trade and Export Growth: What announcements has the Government made regarding trade with the European Union?
This thesis examines the opportunities for young citizens in Christchurch to be engaged in city planning post-disaster. This qualitative study was conducted eight years after the 2010-2011 earthquakes and employed interviews with 18 young people aged between 12-24 years old, 14 of whom were already actively engaged in volunteering or participating in a youth council. It finds that despite having sought out opportunities for youth leadership and advocacy roles post-disaster, young people report frustration that they are excluded from decision-making and public life. These feelings of exclusion were described by young people as political, physical and social. Young people felt politically excluded from decision-making in the city, with some youth reporting that they did not feel listened to by decision-makers or able to make a difference. Physical exclusion was also experienced by the young people I interviewed, who reported that they felt excluded from their city and neighbourhood. This ranged from feeling unwelcome in certain parts of the city due to perceived social stratification, to actual exclusion from newly privatised areas in a post-quake recovery city. Social exclusion was reported by young people in the study in regard to their sense of marginalisation from the wider community, due to structural and social barriers. Among these, they observed a sense of prejudice towards them and other youth due to their age, class and/or ethnicity. The barriers to their participation and inclusion, and their aspirations for Christchurch post-disaster are discussed, as well as the implications of exclusion for young people’s wellbeing and sense of belonging. Results of this study contribute to the literature that challenges the sole focus on children and young peoples’ vulnerability post-disaster, reinforcing their capacity and desire to contribute to the recovery of their city and community (Peek, 2008). This research also challenges the narrative that young people are politically apathetic (Norris, 2004; Nissen, 2017), and adds to our understandings of the way that disasters can concentrate power amongst certain groups, in this case excluding young people generally from decision-making and public life. I conclude with some recommendations for a more robust post-disaster recovery in Christchurch, in ways that are more inclusive of young people and supportive of their wellbeing.
MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Will he commit to ensuring that the 800 tenancies terminated or otherwise affected by Housing New Zealand’s previous approach to meth testing receive compensation that genuinely reflects the level of harm done, and takes account of both direct costs and emotional distress? Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Is it acceptable for Housing New Zealand tenants to smoke methamphetamine in Housing New Zealand houses? Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of the statements, actions, and policies of the Government in relation to the New Zealand economy? RINO TIRIKATENE to the Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti: What recent announcements has he made on the scope of his new portfolio? Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister of State Services: What are the dates and contents of all work-related electronic communications between former Minister Hon Clare Curran and the Prime Minister since the decision in Cabinet last year “that the CTO be appointed by, and accountable to, the Prime Minister and the Ministers of Government Digital Services and Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media”? Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL to the Minister of Finance: What is his reaction to the Independent Tax Working Group’s interim report released today? Hon NIKKI KAYE to the Minister of Education: How many communications has she received from teachers or principals in the last three days regarding teacher shortages, relief teacher issues, and increases in class sizes, and is she confident there will be no more primary teacher strikes this year? Hon NATHAN GUY to the Minister for Biosecurity: How many inbound passengers arrived at Auckland International Airport yesterday between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., and how many dog detector teams worked on the Green Lane at this time? TAMATI COFFEY to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: What steps is the Government taking to ensure Housing New Zealand is a compassionate landlord focused on tenant well-being? STUART SMITH to the Minister for Courts: Is he confident that the Canterbury Earthquakes Insurance Tribunal will comply with all requirements of the rule of law? SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Health: When did the Expert Advisory Committee on drugs give its advice that synthetic cannabinoids AMB-FUBINACA and 5F-ADB be scheduled as Class A controlled drugs, and what action has he taken on this advice? ANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What measures has the Government announced to protect the public from unscrupulous wheel-clamping practices?
MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Prime Minister: Ka tū a ia i runga i tana kōrero mō te iti rawa o te mahi haumi i roto ratonga tūmataiti, ā, nā runga i tērā, “we didn't know it would be this bad” ā, mēnā kua pēnei rawa, ka pēhea te nui o te iti rawa o te mahi haumi nei?
Translation: Does she stand by her statement on underinvestment in public services that “we didn't know it would be this bad”, and if so, how significant is this underinvestment?
Hon SIMON BRIDGES to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government’s policies and actions?
Hon AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: Is he committed to reducing core Crown net debt to 20 percent of GDP by 30 June 2022?
Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the state of the New Zealand economy?
Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?
JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Transport: What is the total increased level of funding for the Public Transport activity class for the next 10 years if the mid-point level of funding proposed in the draft Government Policy Statement in the 2018/19 year continues at that level for 10 years without increase; and can he confirm that when that increased funding is added together with mid-point level funding for the new Rapid Transit and Transitional Rail activity classes over 10 years, the total new and increased funding for these three activity classes is $5.398 billion?
Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission: What reports has she seen about the financial impact of remedial repairs in Canterbury by EQC?
Hon NATHAN GUY to the Minister of Agriculture: Does he stand by all his Government’s actions in the agricultural sector?
Hon PAULA BENNETT to the Minister of Employment: Does he stand by all his policies, statements, and actions?
JAN TINETTI to the Minister of Education: What funding challenges does the early child education sector face?
BRETT HUDSON to the Minister for Government Digital Services: Does she agree with the comment made by ICT veteran and expert in the industry, Ian Apperley, who said “when you read the Government’s Chief Technology Officer job description it occurs to me that making the role effective is provably impossible. It is largely waffly which means the Government may not know what it wants”; if not, why not?
Dr LIZ CRAIG to the Minister of Health: What advice has he received about DHB deficit levels?
This thesis explores the discussions and perspectives of Christchurch secondary school students in regards to their particular experiences and engagement with Anzac. In this thesis I seek to rigorously and robustly examine these viewpoints through semi-structured focus group interviews and thematic analysis. I seek to situate these youth perspectives within wider debates around Anzac mythology and Anzac resurgence in New Zealand which often do not represent the youth outlook. These debates are seen, on the one hand, to present a resurgence of youth engagement with Anzac and, on the other hand, to present the idea that Anzac has become an exclusionary myth which distorts Australians’ and New Zealanders’ understanding of wider Anzac experiences and educates them in a narrow, militarised way. Youth engagement with Anzac was not something which could be solely situated under either of these debates and, instead, it was seen to be multifaceted and made up of unique ideas and elements. The youth in my study acknowledged that their Anzac education did have mythic elements which made it hard for them to engage with Anzac despite the fact that they were actually interested in learning and understanding it. These mythic elements were the idea that Anzac is taught as a ‘simple narrative’ which does not allow room for critique, that it emphasises a link between Anzac and national identity, that it disregards many alternative Anzac experiences and that it presents a particular New Zealand identity to internalise. These students responded to their mythic Anzac education in a very active way, and instead of accepting it as truth, they were able to have constructive and critical conversations about their education and push against parts of it which they found to be too narrow or skewed in particular directions based on gender, ethnicity and national identity. The students were not passive vessels which internalised their Anzac education as fact; instead, they were able to acknowledge the mythic elements of their education and its negative influence in the classroom. This thesis went further in exploring what factors were seen to enhance this active process of critique and provide students with alternative knowledge and perspectives about Anzac. These factors were ancestral ties to Anzac, research into personal Anzac stories and experiences, unassessed educational units, centenary discussions, an understanding of hardship through the earthquakes and alternative perspectives of the Anzac experience through access to the internet. These factors presented a broader understanding of Anzac perspectives and experiences and students believed that if the mythic elements of their education could be revised and these elements encouraged then their engagement with Anzac would continue long into the future.
Smart cities utilise new and innovative technology to improve the function of the city for governments, citizens and businesses. This thesis offers an in-depth discussion on the concept of the smart city and sets the context of smart cities internationally. It also examines how to improve a smart city through public engagement, as well as, how to implement participatory research in a smart city project to improve the level of engagement of citizens in the planning and implementation of smart projects. This thesis shows how to incentivise behaviour change with smart city technology and projects, through increasing participation in the planning and implementation of smart technology in a city. Meaningful data is created through this process of participation for citizens in the city, by engaging the citizens in the creation of the data, therefore the information created through a smart city project is created by and for the citizens themselves. To improve engagement, a city must understand its specific context and its residents. Using Christchurch, New Zealand, and the Christchurch City Council (CCC) Smart City Project as a case study, this research engages CCC stakeholders in the Smart City Project through a series of interviews, and citizens in Christchurch through a survey and focus groups. A thorough literature review has been conducted, to illuminate the different definitions of the smart city in academia, business and governments respectively, and how these definitions vary from one another. It provides details of a carefully selected set of relevant smart cities internationally and will discuss how the Christchurch Earthquake Sequence of 2010 and 2011 has affected the CCC Smart City Project. The research process, alongside the literature review, shows diverse groups of citizens in the city should be acknowledged in this process. The concept of the smart city is redefined to incorporate the context of Christchurch, its citizens and communities. Community perceptions of smart cities in Christchurch consider the post-disaster environment and this event and subsequent rebuild process should be a focus of the smart city project. The research identified that the CCC needs to focus on participatory approaches in the planning and implementation of smart projects, and community organisations in Christchurch offer an opportunity to understand community perspectives on new smart technology and that projects internationally should consider how the context of the city will affect the participation of its residents. This project offers ideas to influence the behaviour change of citizens through a smart city project. Further research should consider other stakeholders, for instance, innovation and technology-focused business in the city, and to fully engage citizens, future research must continue the process of participatory engagement, and target diverse groups in the city, including but not limited to minority groups, older and younger generations, and those with physical and mental disabilities.
Cats all over the world hunt wild animals and can contribute to the extinction of threatened species. In New Zealand, around half of all households have at least one cat. When cats live close to a natural area, such as a wetland, they may have impacts on native species. A previous study on the movements and hunting behaviour of domestic (house) cats around the Travis Wetland, Christchurch, New Zealand during 2000-2001 raised concerns about the effects of cats on the local skink population, as skinks were a frequent prey item. My study is a comparison to the prior study, to determine if impacts have changed alongside changes in human populations in the area post-earthquake. The domestic cat population in the area was estimated by a household survey in March-April 2018. For a 6 month period from March-September 2018, 26 households recorded prey brought home by their 41 cats. During April-July 2018, 14 cats wore Global Positioning System (GPS) devices for 7 days each to track their movements. Skink abundance was measured with pitfall trapping over 20 days in February 2018. There were more households in the area in 2018 than there were in 2000, but the numbers of cats had decreased. In the 196 ha study area around Travis Wetland, the domestic cat population was estimated at 429 cats, down from the previous 494. Most of the cats were free roaming, but the majority had been desexed and many were mostly seen at home. A total of 42 prey items were reported from 26 households and 41 cats over 6 months. Of these, 62% were rodents, 26% were exotic birds, and 12% were native birds. There were no native skinks, other mammals, or other vertebrates such as fish and amphibians (invertebrates were not included in this study). Eight male and six female cats were tracked by GPS. Home range sizes for the 100% minimum convex polygons (MCPs) ranged from 1.34 to 9.68 ha (mean 4.09 ha, median 3.54 ha). There were 9/14 (64%) cats that entered the edge of the wetland. Males had significantly larger home range areas at night and in general compared with females. However, age and distance of the cat’s household to the wetland did not have a significant effect on home range size and there was no significant correlation between home range size and prey retrieved. In 20 days of skink trapping, 11 Oligosoma polychroma were caught. The estimated catch rate was not significantly different from an earlier study on skink abundance in Travis Wetland. The apparently low abundance of skinks may have been the result of successful wetland restoration creating less suitable skink habitat, or of other predators other than cats. In the future, increased education should be provided to the public about ways to increase wildlife in their area. This includes creating lizard friendly habitat in their gardens and increasing management for cats. Generally, only a few cats bring home prey often, and these select cats should be identified in initial surveys and included in further studies. In New Zealand, until management programmes can target all predators in urban areas, domestic cats could stay out at night and inside during the day to help decrease the abundance of rodents at night and reduce the number of birds and lizards caught during the day.
The nonlinear dynamic soil-foundation-structure interaction (SFSI) can signifi cantly affect the seismic response of buildings, causing additional deformation modes, damage and repair costs. Because of nonlinear foundation behaviour and interactions, the seismic demand on the superstructure may considerably change, and also permanent deformations at the foundation level may occur. Although SFSI effects may be benefi cial to the superstructure performance, any advantage would be of little structural value unless the phenomenon can be reliably controlled and exploited. Detrimental SFSI effects may also occur, including acceleration and displacement response ampli cation and differential settlements, which would be unconservative to neglect. The lack of proper understanding of the phenomenon and the limited available simpli ed tools accounting for SFSI have been major obstacles to the implementation of integrated design and assessment procedures into the everyday practice. In this study concepts, ideas and practical tools (inelastic spectra) for the seismic design and assessment of integrated foundation-superstructure systems are presented, with the aim to explicitly consider the impact of nonlinearities occurring at the soil-foundation interface on the building response within an integrated approach, where the foundation soil and superstructure are considered as part of an integrated system when evaluating the seismic response, working synergically for the achievement of a target global performance. A conceptual performance-based framework for the seismic design and assessment of integrated foundation-superstructure systems is developed. The framework is based on the use of peak and residual response parameters for both the superstructure and the foundation, which are then combined to produce the system performance matrix. Each performance matrix allows for worsening of the performance when different contributions are combined. An attempt is made to test the framework by using case histories from the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, which are previously shown to have been severely affected by nonlinear SFSI. The application highlights the framework sensitivity to the adopted performance limit states, which must be realistic for a reliable evaluation of the system performance. Constant ductility and constant strength inelastic spectra are generated for nonlinear SFSI systems (SDOF nonlinear superstructure and 3DOF foundation allowing for uplift and soil yielding), representing multistorey RC buildings with shallow rigid foundations supported by cohesive soils. Different ductilities/strengths, hysteretic rules (Bi-linear, Takeda and Flag-Shape), soil stiffness and strength and bearing capacity factors are considered. Footings and raft foundations are investigated, characterized respectively by constant (3 and 8) and typically large bearing capacity factors. It is confi rmed that when SFSI is considered, the superstructure yielding force needed to satisfy a target ductility for a new building changes, and that similarly, for an existing building, the ductility demand on a building of a given strength varies. The extent of change of seismic response with respect to xed-base (FB) conditions depends on the class of soils considered, and on the bearing capacity factor (SF). For SF equal to 3, the stiffer soils enhance the nonlinear rotational foundation behaviour and are associated with reduced settlement, while the softer ones are associated with increased settlement response but not signi ficant rotational behaviour. On average terms, for the simplifi ed models considered, SFSI is found to be bene cial to the superstructure performance in terms of acceleration and superstructure displacement demand, although exceptions are recorded due to ground motion variability. Conversely, in terms of total displacement, a signi cant response increase is observed. The larger the bearing capacity factor, the more the SFSI response approaches the FB system. For raft foundation buildings, characterized by large bearing capacity factors, the impact of foundation response is mostly elastic, and the system on average approaches FB conditions. Well de fined displacement participation factors to the peak total lateral displacement are observed for the different contributions (i.e. peak foundation rotation and translation and superstructure displacement). While the superstructure and foundation rotation show compensating trends, the foundation translation contribution varies as a function of the moment-to-shear ratio, becoming negligible in the medium-to-long periods. The longer the superstructure FB period, the less the foundation response is signifi cant. The larger the excitation level and the less ductile the superstructure, the larger the foundation contribution to the total lateral displacement, and the less the superstructure contribution. In terms of hysteretic behaviour, its impact is larger when the superstructure response is more signifi cant, i.e. for the softer/weaker soils and larger ductilities. Particularly, for the Flag Shape rule, larger superstructure displacement participation factors and smaller foundation contributions are recorded. In terms of residual displacements, the total residual-to-maximum ratios are similar in amplitudes and trends to the corresponding FB system responses, with the foundation and superstructure contributions showing complementary trends. The impact of nonlinear SFSI is especially important for the Flag Shape hysteresis rule, which would not otherwise suffer of any permanent deformations. By using the generated peak and residual inelastic spectra (i.e. inelastic acceleration/ displacement modifi cation factor spectra, and/or participation factor and residual spectra), conceptual simplifi ed procedures for the seismic design and assessment of integrated foundation-superstructure systems are presented. The residual displacements at both the superstructure and foundation levels are explicitly considered. Both the force- and displacement-based approaches are explored. The procedures are de fined to be complementary to the previously proposed integrated performance-based framework. The use of participation factor spectra allows the designer to easily visualize the response of the system components, and could assist the decision making process of both the design and assessment of SFSI systems. The presented numerical results have been obtained using simpli ed models, assuming rigid foundation behaviour and neglecting P-Delta effects. The consideration of more complex systems including asymmetry in stiffness, mass, axial load and ground conditions with a exible foundation layout would highlight detrimental SFSI effects as related to induced differential settlements, while accounting for PDelta effects would further amplify the displacement response. Also, the adopted acceleration records were selected and scaled to match conventional design spectra, thus not representing any response ampli cation in the medium-to-long period range which could as well cause detrimental SFSI effects. While these limitations should be the subject of further research, this study makes a step forward to the understanding of SFSI phenomenon and its incorporation into performance-based design/assessment considerations.
