Topics - appalling stories of Christchurch families living in garages and tents - even a couple renting a wash-house - are continuing to surface almost two years on from the February 2011 earthquake. Youth crime is described as "steadily falling" in New Zealand, with rates of police apprehensions and prosecutions of young people at record lows. Auckland Grammar has employed the services of a private investigator to check on parents trying to cheat on school zone boundaries.
Thousands of Christchurch refugees have poured into Timaru since the earthquake on February 22, boosting its population by nearly 20 per cent. Social services are giving out hundreds of food parcels, blankets, toiletries and clothes every day as well as finding accommodation for people who have turned up in town with nothing. Major Dean Herring of the Salvation Army in Timaru has been helping evacuees find places to live as well as dealing with the huge piles of donated goods.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Aftermath of the earthquake in Christchurch where the cleanup has begun. Teams of building inspectors gathered at the Linwood Service Centre before heading into the eastern suburbs en masse. Jeanette Banks, centre right, shares the relief of having had her property inspected with sister and Red Cross member Sandie Horne, down from Nelson. Napier building inspector, Gary Marshall, left, and City Council planner, Kent Wilson at right".
A video of a press conference with Mayor Bob Parker, Roger Sutton (CEO of Orion), Superintendent Dave Cliff (Christchurch Police), and Chief Fire Officer Dan Coward. The speakers talk about the work that is being done to bring power back to Christchurch residents, and to assess the safety of buildings in the Christchurch central city.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Aftermath of the earthquake in Christchurch where the cleanup has begun. Teams of building inspectors gathered at the Linwood Service Centre before heading into the eastern suburbs en masse. Napier building inspectors Gary Marshall, centre left, and Rod Jarvis were joined by City Council planner, Kent Wilson, right, and Kat Newman, left, who worked as the welfare officer on the team on Dallington Terrace".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Aftermath of the earthquake in Christchurch where the cleanup has begun. Teams of building inspectors gathered at the Linwood Service Centre before heading into the eastern suburbs en masse. Jeanette Banks, centre right, shares the relief of having had her property inspected with sister and Red Cross member Sandie Horne, down from Nelson. Napier building inspector, Gary Marshall, left, and City Council planner, Kent Wilson at right".
Meet a local town hero from Auckland's Northshore - 86-year-old Māori Warden Peggy Hughes. Peggy has been serving in her community as a volunteer for about 60 years and officially as a Māori Warden for almost 50 years. She's won dozens of awards for her services - from working at the 1981 Springbok tour protests, supporting Christchurch residents after the 2011 earthquakes, serving at many memorable Waitangi Day events to the recent Black Lives Matter protests.
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A video of students from Merrin School laying 185 flowers at the foot of the school flag pole on the second anniversary of the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Each flower represents one of the lives lost in the earthquake. The video also includes audio from the school's memorial service, including a poem by Alexis Blackie read by her sister Vanessa Blackie, and a speech by Principal Lisa Dillon-Robertson.
Hon STEVEN JOYCE to the Minister of Finance: Can he confirm he plans to increase net core Crown debt from $59.5 billion as at 30 June 2017 to $67.6 billion by 2022; and can he confirm debt will not increase by any more than that? MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister of Conservation: What has been the Department of Conservation’s biggest recent success in predator control to better protect our native plants and wildlife? Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN to the Minister of Health: What measurable outcomes, if any, will his policies deliver? SIMON O'CONNOR to the Minister of Corrections: Does he stand by his Government’s intention to reduce the prison population by 30 percent over the next 15 years; if so, how? KIERAN McANULTY to the Minister of Transport: Has he received any reports commissioned under the previous Government that show the value of investment in rail? Hon JACQUI DEAN to the Minister of Tourism: Does he stand by all his statements? Hon GERRY BROWNLEE to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her statements? Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration: What was the expected date, prior to the General Election, that the Residential Advisory Service would cease operations, and what steps has she taken since becoming Minister to ensure the service continues for people affected by the Canterbury and Kaikōura earthquakes? BRETT HUDSON to the Associate Minister of State Services (Open Government): Does she stand by her statement in Parliament yesterday that this will be “the most open, most transparent Government that New Zealand has ever had”; if so, how? Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Children: Is she committed to implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in full? TAMATI COFFEY to the Associate Minister of Finance: How is the Government preserving the right of New Zealanders to own land in New Zealand? JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Local Government: What steps will she take to support the local government sector to achieve greater efficiency and control spending?
National MP Gerry Brownlee says it's a great tragedy that the former chairman of government insurer Southern Response has been treated the way that he has. Ross Butler resigned on Tuesday night after a State Services Commission inquiry found Southern Response had broken its code of conduct and possibly the law, when it used private investigators to secretly record meetings of earthquake victims. The Minister for Christchurch Regeneration Megan Woods says Mr Butler was aware of what was going on, as was Mr Brownlee when he was a Minister.
A video about the Christchurch City Council housing complex on Conference Street in the Christchurch central city. The housing complex was unoccupied after the 22 February 2011 earthquake despite the housing shortage. Christchurch City Council said that the vacant units could not be lived in because of structural damage or damage to services. However, the building has been checked by structural engineers and many of the rooms have been deemed safe to occupy.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Invercargill Fire Station fire fighters who recently went to help in Christchurch for the Canterbury Earthquake cleanup. The National Boss presented the fire fighters with a Certificate of Commendation on Tuesday night. Invercargill firefighters Cameron McLachlan, Pete Scarlet, Dennis Hika, Chris Hamilton, Aaron Ramsay, National Commander Mike Hall, John Gilder, Ron Fetolofai (absent Murray Milne-Maresca) presented a certificate of commendation for their service during the Christchurch earthquake by national commander Mike Hall yesterday".
A video of an interview with Tom Thomson, Managing Director of Elastomer Products, about the experiences of businesses in the aftermath of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. Thomson talks about the importance of focussing on people, diversifying infrastructure, and informing customers after the earthquakes. He also talks about the need for businesses to understand their insurance policies and to have building and service fall-back plans. This video is part of a series about businesses in Christchurch after the earthquakes.
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Cashel Mall/Cashel Street
The Cathedral
More well known as the Government Life building - too be demolished.
From Colombo Street intersection.
We're broadcasting today from Christchurch on the second anniversary of the six point three magnitude earthquake which devastated this city. One hundred and eighty five died in the quake and today at midday a memorial service will be held in Latimer Square. After two years, the pace of the rebuild is growing, but for some, so is frustration. More than seven thousand property owners in the residential red zone received a buyout offer from the government. Most of those have taken it - but there are a few who haven't.
There are many tales of generosity beginning in emerge in Christchurch. Evan Coster from Rangiora was working in Harvey Norman when the earthquake struck on Tuesday. He doesn't know if he has a job to go back to and with time on his hands wanted to do something useful. He started visiting local businesses in Rangiora such as Warehouse, Countdown, New World and service stations for donations of cups, coffee, sugar and milk. Then he rallied friends and family together and started delivering refreshments to emergency workers in all of the cordons in the CBD.
A review of the week's news including: national earthquake memorial service announced, former defence chief to be new Governor General, Reserve Bank slashes official cash rate, Christchurch businesses say OCR cut alone won't save them, mounting concern over Christchurch World Cup prospects, government says 10,000 Christchurch homes will be demolished, alarm over possibility of mass demolition in CBD, international crews head home, petrol prices at three year high, Pike River mine receivers take control from police and boulder sold for thousands in aid of Christchurch
Thousands of people in Christchurch and around the country paused at 12.51 on Monday afternoon to mark a decade since the February 22 magnitude 6.3 earthquake which claimed 185 lives. It was 10 years ago today when an ordinary Christchurch day turned to hell for so many. But in contrast to the harrowing scenes and sounds of that day, today a large peaceful crowd gathered at the Civic Memorial Service on the banks of the Avon River under large oak trees. Reporter Sally Murphy and cameraman Nate McKinnon were there.
Topics - it's been described as the 'Downton Effect' - a revival of more formal dinner parties as the British try to bring back fine dining. Today we learned that insurance companies have completed just 15 per cent of rebuilds and 10 per cent of over-cap repairs more than three years after the Canterbury earthquakes. A series of rallies are being held in five Australian cities today by New Zealanders protesting against legislation which denies them rights to welfare. Commuters are cautiously optimistic about a radical revamp proposed for Wellington's rush-hour rail service.
What was one of the busier intersection pre earthquakes!