Thousands of people are making insurance claims after heavy rain and flooding in the north of New Zealand, especially in Auckland. Insurance lawyer Peter Woods has worked on property claims for earthquake damage in Canterbury and Marlborough.. He has also been an Independent Specialist Adviser to the government. Peter talks to Lisa Owen.
What does leadership look like in a disaster? David compares Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown's leadership this week with how Bob Parker and Lianne Dalziel coped with the Christchurch earthquakes and terror attacks. He looks at how current Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger's council is faring and whether reality meets the rhetoric and what's happened to the city's Metro Sports facility, one of the anchor projects in the rebuild.
There's good news of sorts on the building-inspection front in Auckland. After nearly seven days of fanning out across the city inspecting damaged buildings - the biggest such deployment of building inspectors since the Christchurch earthquake emergency - the operation will be scaled back this weekend. There are currently around 95 inspectors in the field who have checked 3,500 buildings. As of 6pm last night 190 buildings were red stickered, and a further 790 yellow stickered. The most red stickered areas are Mount Albert/Mt Eden with 54 and the North Shore with 32. Auckland Council general manager building consents Ian McCormick spoke to Corin Dann.
More than 11,000 people reported feeling the earthquake that hit just after 2am on Friday. The magnitude 4.8 quake was centred 5-kilometres south of Te Aroha, at a depth of 6-kilometres. People from Kaitaia, through to the sodden regions of Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, and even down in Christchurch, reported feeling it. A series of weaker aftershocks began to strike 40 minutes later, although there are no immediate reports of damage as of yet. It's not the first quake to hit Te Aroha this year - a 5.1 quake rattled the town on January 4. Te Kuiti resident Zane Burdett and Kees Meinderts from Motumaoho, just south of Morrinsville, spoke to Corin Dann.
As Auckland and Northland brace for more atrocious weather, city leaders are calling for funding to repair the city's broken infrastructure to be along the lines of the help given to Christchurch after the quakes. Auckland deputy mayor Desley Simpson says that the damage so far is equivalent to the biggest non earthquake event the country has ever had and should be treated accordingly. The Opportunities Party says the "alliance" model established after the earthquakes, was effective and would work for Auckland's rebuild, because it provides a structure that the Central Government can fund directly. ToP leader Raf Manji was a Christchurch councillor after the quakes and closely involved in the rebuild. He tells Kathryn Ryan it is vital to ensure water and transport infrastructure is repaired quickly and efficiently, especially with a view to future extreme weather events - and there is much to learn from the post-quake rebuild.
Film and TV reviewer Perlina Lau joins Kathryn to talk about murder mystery The Perfect Couple (Netflix), starring Nicole Kidman and Eve Hewson. She'll also talk about documentary Maurice and I (cinemas) that celebrates Sir Miles Warren and Maurice Mahoney's hugely influential architectural partnership, and impact the Christchurch earthquakes had on their legacy. And A Very Royal Scandal (Prime Video) is the second recent production that goes behind the scenes of the damaging interview Prince Andrew gave over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Perlina Lau is co-host of RNZ's Culture 101 programme.
Is Christchurch about to dethrone Wellington as the country's new capital of cool? Locals say Otautahi is becoming a hipper, more culturally vibrant place after it was devastated by earthquakes more than a decade ago. University students are coming in their droves, with the city offering affordability and an abundance of things to do, Adam Burns reports.
Christchurch's Cardboard Cathedral was designed as a temporary structure to fill the void left by the damage caused to Christ Church Cathedral in the 2011 earthquake.
Maurice and I tells the surprisingly moving story of two of the most successful architects in New Zealand - Sir Miles Warren and Maurice Mahoney - their life, their times, and their struggle to save their most famous building after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
A Christchurch community board member says government changes to a scheme helping owners of earthquake-damaged homes shows they don't understand what claimants are dealing with. Community board member Ali Jones spoke to Guyon Espiner.
Josh Currie sells hand-drawn illustrations of houses, including requests from people whose much-loved homes were lost to tragedies like housefires or the Christchurch earthquakes.
Gulls are well known for swooping in and flogging food off your plate or picnic and now they are making a complete menace of themselves in Christchurch's New Regent street. Local businesses are being over-run by the red and black-billed gulls that are nesting on the rooves of buildings along the street, swooping and pooping all over the place. It's not the first time they've invaded, they started breeding in 2019 in an earthquake damaged building on the corner of Armagh and New Regent streets. The problem is both the red and black-billed gulls are protected. Casey Alderson from Belle Cafe spoke to Lisa Owen.
Artist Pete Majendie’s work 185 Empty White Chairs stood in Christchurch for over a decade honouring those who died in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Now, he's released a memoir.
On today's First Up pod: The fallout from the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury continues - Henry Riley joined First Up from London, an overnight earthquake and the world's worst pollution - Anas Mallick reports from Pakistan, Waikato is our neighbourhood this week - Natalie Akoorie is RNZ's eyes and ears in Hamilton, and Treaty of Waitangi expert Dr Aroha Harris tells Nathan Rarere that Treaty Principles have been around since our founding document was signed. First Up - Voice of the Nathan!
Tina, the debut feature film of Miki Magasiva is a love letter to both Samoan culture and how choral music, across cultures, can assist people in change. The way art can enable acceptance of the richness of our difference. But Tina is also centrally about how Pasifika women are leaders in taking culture forward. The title translates in English as mother, or female elder. And in the lead role Anapela Polata'ivao plays Mareta, a mother struggling after the death of her daughter in the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake. Taking on a job as a teacher at a wealthy Pakeha-dominated private school, Mareta connects with kids who it turns out also really need support. She takes them all the way to the Big Sing National Choir Competition. Anapela Polata'ivao gives a remarkable performance. She is the constant, complex beating heart of this movie. As a director and actor Anapela has long played a significant leadership role in bringing Pacific voices to stage and screen, and last year became an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition of her service. We welcomed her to Culture 101 to play 'Fast Favourites' where her choices were Lindah Lepou, Jordyn with a Why and writer directors Arianne Mnouchkine, Vela Manusaute and Nina Nawalowalo.
The Ngai Tahu High Court case against the Crown over freshwater and Christchurch marking the 14th anniversary of the 2011 earthquake.
For over a decade, an irreplaceable ring laser has been trapped in a cavern 30m below Christchurch port hills. The Carl Zeiss laser was installed in an old World War Two bunker in 1997 until a rockfall after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake sealed the cavern. But now it's been rescued and is fully operational. Professor Jon-Paul Wells is the principal investigator on the ring laser project.
Tonight on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Ali Jones & Shane Te Pou to discuss No Pay Day - the day that women in Aotearoa effectively begin working for free. Plus the reopening of Christchurch Cathedral. Ali Jones is a communication adviser / writer/Broadcaster/ Christchurch earthquake claims preparer. Shane Te Pou is a former labour party activist and CEO of Mega
Tonight on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Ali Jones & Shane Te Pou to discuss: President Biden pardoning his son Hunter, and Avian Flu outbreak in Otago and news from the Labour party conference. Ali Jones is a communication adviser / writer/Broadcaster/ Christchurch earthquake claims preparer. Shane Te Pou is a former labour party activist and CEO of Mega
Musical instruments rang out in the Christ Church Cathedral last night for the first time since the Canterbury earthquakes. Anna Sargent was there.
David discusses the latest news in North Canterbury including updates on the earthquake damaged Glen Alton bridge funding, calls for a local driving licence test route in Kaikoura, reactions from local mayors on the government's bid to get young people off a jobseekers benefit, and there have been reports of dog attacks on little penguins along Kaikoura's coastline. David Hill is a Local Democracy Reporter with North Canterbury News, based in Rangiora.
Artist and landscape architect Bridget Allen wouldn't have known how appropriate the name of her gardening business was to be when she set it up, out of Ilam art school and working at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. The name Regenerative Gardening Maintenance was prophetic given her city and its landscape was about to start regenerating. The 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes saw not only buildings turned to rubble, large tracts of land, including an area around Ōtākaro Avon River the size of two New York Central Parks, started to turn from suburbia back to nature. The red zone has been turning green ever since. In the wake of tragedy artists and gardeners came together to innovate and create new public spaces, with an eye on sustainability and community connection. Allen cofounded New Brighton sewing charity Stitch-o-Mat and retrained as a landscape architect. Since 2023 she has been the director of The Green Lab, which began after the quakes as Greening the Rubble, creating urban green spaces and events for connection, while also working with residents to make their own backyards more sustainable. Ever busy with working and planting bees, workshops to build habitats for plants and nature, and consultations to help people make their backyards more sustainable, on August 16 Bridget is running with The Green Lab Birds of Brighton printmaking workshops. It's at the Make Station in New Brighton Mall at 11am and 1pm. No experience is needed. She joined Culture 101's Mark Amery.
In the bringing together of art and mental health, Kim Morton is a champion. Following the Christchurch earthquakes, Kim founded Otautahi Creative Spaces, a busy creative community in inner city suburb Philipstown.
Street art has played a major role in bringing life back to Christchurch post-Earthquakes. A major player has been Watch This Space. They are a charitable trust established almost 10 years ago that organises and maintains public art projects in Christchurch, updates their interactive map helping people explore the city, and runs tours. Dr Reuben Woods is the creative director of Watch this Space.
There's a big weekend in store for Christchurch where the curtain is being raised on the new Court Theatre. The new $56 million playhouse is the theatre's first permanent home since the 2011 earthquake destroyed its Arts Centre venue.
Ever wondered what happened to some of the damaged timber from the Lyttelton wharves after the Canterbury earthquakes? The tough ironbark they were made from was too good not to be rescued and Oxford's Steve Evans was just the man for the job, as Mark Leishman discovered.
Money is being put ahead of lives according the husband of a woman who died when the CTV building pancaked in the Christchurch earthquake. The government is moving to a new risk based approach to earthquake strengthening, saying it will save building owners more than $8.2 billion across New Zealand. Under the rules a building like the CTV building would not automatically be deemed earhquake prone. Professor Mann Alkaisi who's wife died in that building, spoke to Lisa Owen.
You might be prepared for an earthquake or a flood, but how prepared are we for a volcanic eruption? University of Canterbury Professor, Tom Wilson spoke to Corin Dann.
Three years after the earthquakes robbed Christchurch of its chance to host England during the Rugby World Cup, the tourists finally made it onto a Canterbury field.
Urban Search and Rescue's lead dog trainer, Brenda Woolley talks about her 17 years of training dogs to step up in dangerous and chaotic situations - including in the aftermath of the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. Her lifelong ability to build rapport with dogs, and spot which ones have potential to do the tough jobs, led to Brenda working in animal control for the Christchurch City Council - she and her husband Rex have run the Council's dog shelter for 29 years - before she got into Land Search and Rescue and later, Urban SAR. She has a QSM for services to Urban Search and Rescue. If you think your dog fits the requirements Brenda outlines in this interview, and you're keen to register your interest with Urban Search and Rescue, you can visit the team's website, http://www.usardogs.org.nz/