The Christchurch City Council and the Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, have hammered out a compromise deal over setting the council's long term spending priorities.
Christchurch City Council staff have been given the hurry up from councillors over the length of time it is taking to repair or replace earthquake-damaged council housing.
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.
A video of an interview with Mayor Bob Parker about the building consent crisis at the Christchurch City Council. The council received a letter from International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) on 30 May 2013. The letter says that the Council has until 28 June 2013 to improve its processes or it will be stripped of its accreditation as a building consent authority.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister says this is a final warning for the Christchurch City Council.
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.
The Christchurch City councillor in charge of council housing says he accepts trenchant criticism from the Earthquake Recovery Minister that the council has been woeful in fixing its quake-damaged housing stock.
A video of Lianne Dalziel announcing her decision to run for the mayoralty of Christchurch. Dalziel talks about the rebuild of Christchurch, and the daily lives of those living in post-earthquake Christchurch. She also talks about her decision to run independently, her experience as a minister, and the need for transparency and financial integrity in the Christchurch City Council. Lastly, she talks about the building consent crisis at the Council, and the need for the Council to connect with communities.
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.
A video of an interview with Lianne Dalziel about her decision to run for the mayoralty of Christchurch. Dalziel talks about resigning as a member of parliament, creating a sounding board for community, businesses, and the political spectrum at the Christchurch City Council, and the importance of uniting the Council.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee refused to be interviewed on Checkpoint.
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.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister says the Christchurch City Council has wasted an opportunity in deciding to save the Town Hall, instead of building a new performing arts precinct.
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.
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.
A video of the Christchurch City Council meeting to discuss its consenting process. The meeting was called after the council received a letter from International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) on 30 May 2013. The letter states that the Council has until 28 June 2013 to improve its processes or it will be stripped of its accreditation as a building consent authority. The video includes discussion from Councillor Barry Corbett, Acting Building Operations Manager Steve McCarthy, Democracy Services General Manager Peter Mitchell, Councillor Aaron Keown, and Councillor Claudia Reid.
The newly elected Christchurch City Council had its first meeting with the Earthquake Recovery Minister last night, and councillors say it was the beginning of a much better working relationship.
Christchurch may become the most documented earthquake in history; The Teachers Council; Newspaper readership and circulation.
Group case study report prepared for lecturers Ton Buhrs and Roy Montgomery by students of ERST 635 at Lincoln University, 2013.The New Zealand Government’s decision to establish a unitary authority in the Auckland Region has provided much of the context and impetus for this review of current governance arrangements in the Canterbury region, to determine whether or not they are optimal for taking the communities of greater Christchurch into the future. A number of local governance academics, as well as several respected political pundits, have prophesised that the Auckland ‘Super City’ reforms of 2009 will have serious implications and ramifications for local governance arrangements in other major cities, particularly Wellington and Christchurch. Wellington councils have already responded to the possibility of change by undertaking a series of reports on local governance arrangements, as well as a major review led by Sir Geoffrey Palmer, to investigate options for governance reform. Alongside these developments, the Christchurch earthquakes beginning in September 2010 have raised a myriad of new and complex governance issues, which may or may not be able to be addressed under the status quo, while the replacement of Regional Councillors’ with centrally-appointed Commissioners is suggestive of government dissatisfaction with current arrangements. With these things in mind, the research group has considered local government in Canterbury and the greater Christchurch area in the wider governance context. It does not limit discussion to only the structure of local government in Canterbury but rather, as the brief (Appendix 1) indicates, considers more broadly the relationship between central, regional, and local tiers of government, as well as the relationship between local government and local communities.
The Insurance Council has shot down criticism the industry may be delaying earthquake claims for financial gain.
A PDF copy of pages 38-39 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Rebuild Central'. Photo: Tim Church. With permission: Christchurch City Council.
A PDF copy of pages 44-45 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Colombo Street Temporary Streetscape'. Photo: Tim Church. With permission: Christchurch City Council.
This report focuses on the Waimakariri District Council's approach to earthquake recovery which was developed as an Integrated, Community-based Recovery Framework. This approach has been held up as exemplary in a number of fora and has received a great deal of interest and support both nationally and internationally. It has evolved as a result of the September earthquake and the thousands of aftershocks that have followed, along with the regulatory changes that have impacted on building safety and land availability since, but it builds on a set of pre-existing competencies and a well-established organisational culture that focusses on: * Working with communities and each other; * Keeping people informed; * Doing better everyday; * Taking responsibility; * Acting with integrity, honesty and trust. The report identifies, and speaks to, three themes or tensions drawn from either the disaster/emergency management literature or actual cases of recovery practice observed here in Canterbury over the last 2 years. These themes are the: 1. unique position of local government to undertake integrated or ‘holistic’ recovery work with community at the centre, versus the lack of clarity around both community and local government’s role in disaster recovery; 2. general consensus that good local government-community relationships are crucial to recovery processes, versus the lack of practical advice on how best to engage, and engage with, communities post-disaster; and 3. balancing Business as Usual (BaU) with recovery issues.Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management.
Christchurch city councillors wants to know what the Earthquake Recovery Authority's plan is to hand back power to the council.
A PDF copy of pages 46-47 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Central Station: Temporary Bus Exchange'. Photo: Tim Church. With permission: Christchurch City Council.
A PDF copy of pages 48-49 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Reconstruction: Conversations on a City'. Photo: Tim Church. With permission: Christchurch City Council.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, has defended the government's handling of the Christchurch City Council's consenting crisis in Parliament this afternoon.
A PDF copy of pages 40-41 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Temporary City Libraries'. Photo: Tim Church. With permission: Christchurch City Council.
Overlapping claims and general confusion are delaying money payable to New Zealand for damage from the Canterbury earthquakes. The money involved is payable through reinsurance schemes taken out by insurance companies in this country, with firms overseas.
On the day the the government and council jointly announced who will fund what, for the Christchurch rebuild, a rainbow appears over the rebuild of the Latimer Hotel. For the central city the figures are: NZ$4.9 billion with $2.9 billion coming from central government and $1.9 billion coming from the local city council (us ratepayers in Christc...