50% of Christchurch business unlikely to return
Audio, Radio New Zealand
New research suggests about half the Christchurch businesses which left the central city after the Canterbury earthquakes are unlikely to return.
New research suggests about half the Christchurch businesses which left the central city after the Canterbury earthquakes are unlikely to return.
Nine to Noon continues to look at who's in the running to head up our biggest cities after local elections in October, with a focus today on the 11 candidates vying to be mayor of Christchurch. Three-term mayor Lianne Dalziel announced last July she'd be stepping down as mayor, having overseen nearly a decade's worth of the city's rebuild following the devastating earthquakes. The two major contenders for the role are Burwood city councillor Phil Mauger and former Canterbury District Health Board chief executive David Meates. Other contenders include the city's Wizard, a coffee boss, pro-gun pastor and a candidate who's stood in every election since 1971. For more, Kathryn is joined by David Williams, the South Island correspondent for Newsroom.co.nz.
In Christchurch power is back on for all but a small number of customers after Monday's earthquakes, but the city council is warning it could be six months before water supplies return to normal.
Morning Report comes from Christchurch as the city remembers the devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck a year ago tomorrow.
The Dean of the Christchurch Cathedral says he's stepping down so he can better serve the city during the earthquake recovery.
Christchurch City Councillor Ali Jones talks about what the cull of EQC staff will mean for life in the post-earthquake city.
The chief executive of the Christchurch City Council says there's no pressure from Treasury officials or the Earthquake Recovery authority to sell assets.
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.
Thirty to fourty jobs are to go at the Christchurch department store, Ballantynes, because of earthquake damage to it's central city shop.
People who want the Christchurch Town Hall restored are optimistic the City Council will today commit to saving the earthquake damaged building.
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.
Christchurch hotels lost a million guest nights in the year following the February earthquake, but tourism in the city is now picking up again.
A backpackers with pod-styled units has opened near Christchurch Airport as the city continues to struggle with budget accommodation following the 2011 earthquake.
Among those businesses most affected by the end of the welfare scheme are cafes, restaurants and bars. 100 such businesses have closed in the central city alone because of the earthquake.
A Christchurch city council manager has told the Royal Commission there was an element of chaos after the first earthquake in September 2010 as staff sought to get systems in place.
The task of rebuilding Christchurch is being compared to what was required to restore the Japanese city of Kobe after its massive earthquake in 1995.
Radio New Zealand reporter Jessica Maddock reports from the Christchurch Central City cordon.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says Christchurch will be a better city.
The quake stricken city has come through the latest round of earthquakes relatively unscathed. However there is disappointment that some homes were burgled after residents evacuated. The police say they will investigate.
The removal of rubble from the earthquake-stricken centre of Christchurch will start again today, once the worst of the ice in the central city melts.
Many Christchurch residents have used shipping containers and other temporary structures to store belongings in while repairs were carried out after the earthquakes. But the Christchurch City Council says it's had an increase in complaints from residents about containers and other temporary structures obscuring neighbours' views or obstructing council berms. Chairman of the council's regulation and consents committee David East says if earthquake repairs are completed, the container may have to go.
It was so nearly lost. As the Christ Church Anglican Cathedral is being rebuilt, historian Edmund Bohan is releasing a history of the distinctive Gothic building. It shows it was controversial even before work started on designing it, let alone building in. From the laying of the foundations to the official opening, it took 40 years, after squabbles over pretty much every aspect of its construction - not to mention the huge problems raising the money to build it in the City Centre. In Heart of the City: The Story of Christchurch's Controversial Cathedral, Edmund is critical of the former Anglican Bishop Victoria Matthews' determination to demolish the badly-damaged cathedral after the Canterbury earthquakes, to replace it with a modern church. And he tells Lynn Freeman he's very much looking forward to seeing the Cathedral restored to its former glory after a lengthy and pricey rebuild. But first he sets the scene. Back in the 1860s, there was controversy over where the cathedral should go, its design, whether it should be in stone or timber - even if there should be a cathedral built at all! Heart of the City: The Story of Christchurch's Controversial Cathedral, by Edmund Bohan is published by Quentin Wilson Publishing.
The private education sector in Christchurch is working on how to convince foreign students to keep coming to the city after last week's earthquake.
The Christchurch City Council has faced tough questioning at the Royal Commission into the Canterbury earthquakes over its role in ensuring buildings are earthquake strengthened.
When the earthquake demolished Christchurch's central business district, some business owners had no option but to pack up and start again in a different city.
Most Christchurch firms are back on their feet a month after the devastating earthquake, but it remains a difficult city to do business in.
Bridget Mills is in the Christchurch central city with one of the rescue teams.
Sarah McMullan reviews 'When A City Falls', a documentary about the Christchurch earthquakes.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister says Christchurch City Council must take responsibility for the city's flooding problems as it's not the government's problem to sort out.
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.