Supporters of Christchurch town hall hopeful it will be saved
Audio, Radio New Zealand
People who want the Christchurch Town Hall restored are optimistic the City Council will today commit to saving the earthquake damaged building.
People who want the Christchurch Town Hall restored are optimistic the City Council will today commit to saving the earthquake damaged building.
In quake-ravaged Christchurch businesses are tentatively restarting, and infrastructure is being restored, but there's ongoing uncertainty about job losses and how people will survive financially. Within six days of the February earthquake; the Government had introduced a subsidy scheme for businesses and their employees, as well as people who'd found themselves out of a job. Now there's growing disquiet about what will happen to thousands of Cantabrians when that support scheme finishes at the end of May.
Christchurch artist Mike Beer creates miniature models of Christchurch buildings that were lost in the Canterbury earthquakes. Through these tiny models Mike hopes to remind people of the buildings that once shaped the city - and bring back the feelings and memories associated with them. Mike, who goes by the name Ghostcat, says It's all about the connections people have with a time, and place. His models are to be displayed at Fiksate Gallery in Christchuch from April 9.
A large crowd gathered outside Parliament to pay their respects to the people of Christchurch after last week's 6-point-3 magnitude earthquake.
Many people in Christchurch have taken up smoking again or are going through more cigarettes a day since earthquakes began rattling the region.
The Chinese Government is calling on New Zealand to give special compensation to the families of Chinese people killed in the Christchurch earthquake.
Christchurch people will be allowed to walk through the heart of the city this weekend for the first time since February's devastating earthquake.
Christchurch's community law centre is expecting many cases to be lodged as people struggle to cope with the effects of the Canterbury earthquake.
The Royal Commission into the Canterbury Earthquakes continues today with the focus on the Pyne Gould Corporation building, where 18 people were killed.
It's been revealed that the Earthquake Commission knew a wall which crushed two people in Christchurch's February earthquake was at risk of collapsing.
Civil Defence says as many as sixty thousand people are expected to return to Christchurch after fleeing the city because of last month's earthquake.
The psychological stress caused by the vine-killing disease PSA is being described as similar to the anxiety people experienced in the Christchurch earthquakes.
Surviors of the collapsed Pyne Gould building in Christchurch where 18 people died in February's earthquake have today relived their experiences on that day.
To Christchurch now, where the people most affected by the region's earthquakes are getting a chance to tell their stories to a wider audience.
Wheelchair users say Christchurch is frustrating and difficult to navigate around since the earthquakes, especially roads and footpaths, which is leaving people feeling isolated.
Fifteen hundred people in Christchurch are without power tonight and more than a hundred homes evacuated after a 'once in a hundred year flood'.
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.
One hundred or so people who live in Christchurch's port hills have faced off with earthquake recovery leaders in a heated debate over zoning decisions.
The first details surrounding the deaths of 18 people in the PGC building collapse in February's earthquake have been revealed at an inquest in Christchurch.
Almost six months after the devastating earthquake which killed 181 people in the Canterbury, there are still human remains yet to be identified and buried.
A review of the week's news including a 7.1 magnitude earthquake shakes Canterbury and 9 people killed in a plane crash at Fox Glacier
Thousands of people are being evacuated from the Christchurch city centre with Civil Defence officials saying its simply too dangerous for residents to stay there.
Dozens of smaller earthquakes have kept many people in Canterbury on edge since the 7.1 magnitude quake in the early hours of yesterday morning.
An additional 300 people could have died in the February 22nd earthquake in Christchurch, if it wasn't for the earlier quake in September.
The Prime Minister, has promised people in Canterbury they will know next Wednesday whether they can rebuild on ground badly damaged by this month's earthquake.
While thousands gathered in Christchurch, the first anniversary of the earthquake has also been marked by hundreds of people around the rest of the country.
More than 170 people employed by the Christchurch City Council have been told their jobs are gone as a result of the earthquake in February.
As Christchurch prepares to mark 10 years since its deadly earthquake, the impact of that day continues to be felt differently. The less affluent eastern suburbs, which bore the brunt of the damage, continue to lag behind the rest of the city in their recovery. The former dean of Christchurch and fellow east sider, Peter Beck, told Conan Young that while government agencies such as EQC often failed people in their hour of need, what did not fail was the willingness of people to help out their neighbours.
Almost half the ACC applications made for mental injuries caused by the Christchurch mosque attacks have been turned down. By the end of April, 85 people had made claims for mental injuries and thirty-five of them had been declined. Decisions are pending on another 25 claims. A woman who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and didn't qualify for ACC, says that's tragic. Kirsty Cullen says leaving people who have psychological problems without support from ACC is history repeating. Veronica Schmidt reports.
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.