Third year could be the worst for quake-stressed Cantabrians

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Mental health experts in Christchurch are warning the worst could be still to come for people suffering from anxiety, depression and stress related to the earthquakes.

City council could lose power to authorise building consents

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Christchurch City Council has received a strong warning from the Earthquake Recovery Minister to speed up its processing of building consents or lose its power to authorise consents.

Earthquake Recovery Minister gives Chch council strong warning

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Earthquake Recovery Minister says this is a final warning for the Christchurch City Council.

Christchurch mayor defends council's performance

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says officials have tried for months to help the Christchurch City Council but it's consistently failed to make the necessary improvements and is still taking far too long to process applications.

Christchurch council refuses to consider asset sales

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Despite Government pressure on the Christchurch City Council to sell off some of its assets to help fund its 40% share of the city's earthquake repairs, the council has instead decided to raise rates, and rents.

EQC respond to claims of inadequate assessments

Audio, Radio New Zealand

EQC's manager for the Canterbury home repair programme, Reid Stiven, respondes to claims of misleading estimates of damage to household foundations from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.

EQC level assessments questioned

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Some Canterbury homeowners say their houses have dropped in value because the damage to their properties was inadequately assessed by the Earthquake Commission after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. Independent land surveyor, Adrian Cowie, and a Burwood homeowner affected by the quakes, Selwyn Stafford, talk about the issues facing them.

Misleading EQC level estimates a worry for house values

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Some Canterbury homeowners say their houses are dropping in value because of misleading estimates of damage to foundations from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.

Top Stories for Thursday 25 July 2013

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Earthquake Commission (EQC) criticised for misleading and inadequate measurements on housing foundations when assessing damage to Canterbury homes; Wellington historic building champions vow to save heritage structure in the capital; the spread of didymo in Fiordland; Defence Force sentencing today after drowning last year; the censorship of Maniac, arty audiences only please, and; the PM changes tack on working with NZ First.

More fraud cases expected in connection with Chch rebuild

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A further round of fraud cases sent to the police by the Earthquake Commission may just be the beginning as the rebuild of Christchurch moves into high gear.

Ideas for 1 September 2013

Audio, Radio New Zealand

UAVs or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or drones as they’re commonly known, are suddenly everywhere. Conservationists and academics are using them to map our rivers; engineers surveyed the interior of the earthquake damaged Christchurch Cathedral with one; and then, of course, there's the military drones used to such lethal affect in Pakistan and Yemen. Ideas visits Palmerston North's Skycam UAV – New Zealand's leading manufacture of UAVs; talks to the interim president of the Association of Unmanned Operations – a union of US drone pilots; and Professor James Cavallaro tells us about the findings of a report he co-authored: 'Living Under Drones: Death, Injury, and Trauma to Civilians from US Drone Practices in Pakistan'.

T-Rex earthquake machine begins soil tests in Christchurch

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A truck that simulates earthquakes to test soil quality is being tried out in Christchurch today.

Rebuild fraud will be pursued to full extent of law

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Earthquake Recovery Minister says he's instructed government agencies to prosecute any fraudulent activity during the Christchurch rebuild, to the full extent of the law.

KPMG forensic services talk about Christchurch rebuild fraud

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Earthquake Recovery Minister says he's instructed government agencies to prosecute any fraudulent activity during the Christchurch rebuild, to the full extent of the law.

Fletchers assures taxpayers over Christchurch rebuild

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The company that has the main contract for repairing houses in Christchurch, Fletcher Earthquake Recovery, is assuring taxpayers it's doing everything it can to avoid any fraudulent behaviour.

Recipient of EQC email says don't play politics

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The man who received Earthquake Commission files detailing claims by 83,000 Christchurch people says he's appalled the slip-up has become a political football.

Professional groups say no legal action for CTV engineers

Audio, Radio New Zealand

It now seems unlikely that engineers involved in the most serious building collapse of the Christchurch earthquake will face any external action, with the profession's administrators telling the Government there's nothing more they can do.

Engineer points finger at 'widespread malaise' in industry

Audio, Radio New Zealand

It is unlikely engineers involved in the most serious building collapse of the Christchurch earthquake will face any external action, with the profession's administrators telling the Government there's nothing more they can do.

Liability fears hinder the assessment of quake-prone buildings

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The president of the Structural Engineers' Society, John Hare, says since the Christchurch earthquakes, engineers have been too conservative in evaulations for fear of liability.

Brownlee gives council one last chance on land plan

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Earthquake Recovery Minister is giving the Christchurch City Council until this morning to approve a major land development plan otherwise he'll force it through himself.

Brownlee threatening to step in and override CCC

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Earthquake Recovery Minister has given the Christchurch City Council until this morning to approve a development plan, or else he says he'll do it for them.

Brownlee, Christchurch council compromise on housing

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Christchurch City Council says it has reached a compromise with the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, and voted unanimously to support a plan to intensify housing in the city.

CERA pays more for PR advice

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority spent more than three million dollars on communications staff and consultants in the last financial year, up by a third on the previous year.

Chch population shifts have implications for council

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A property expert says a dramatic shift in the population north and west of Christchurch after the earthquakes has serious implications for council's rate take.

EQC accused of manipulating its customer satisfaction survey

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A former Earthquake Commission assessor is accusing the agency of manipulating its customer satisfaction survey in Christchurch.

Sharp jolt awakens Christchurch residents

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A sharp earthquake was felt in Christchurch and Canterbury last night, jolting residents awake just before midnight.

Lyttelton Port Expansion Worries some Banks Peninsula Residents

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Lyttelton Port near Christchurch is now almost three and a half hectares larger than it was before the earthquakes - as earthquake rubble is dumped in the harbour to reclaim land.

Earthquake simulator being developed at Canterbury University

Audio, Radio New Zealand

An earthquake simulator designed to help people get over their fear of quakes is being developed at Canterbury University.

Community groups homeless after quake-prone facility closed

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Two years after the Christchurch earthquakes, the city council has only finished detailed assessments of about half its community facilities, and nasty surprises are still cropping up.

Residents fear they have lost say in CBD rebuild

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Nearly two years' after Christchurch's February earthquake and almost 6 months after the blueprint for the city centre was revealed, many questions remain about how much it will cost and who will pay for it.