Gerry Brownlee has been accused of ringing a young lawyer involved in a potential class action concerning steal used in the Christchurch rebuild and making her feel intimidated and harassed. Update: National has admitted “[s]o he just kind of unleashed, you know how Gerry is”.
Idiot/Savant points to the unfairness of the Government having forced Christchurch red zone families off their land and now trying to sell that land at a profit.
National has acted in breach of State Services Commission guidelines for the pre election period by having a flash opening of the Christchurch Justice Precinct even though it was not finished.
A Christchurch community group has come out with an outstanding solution for what to do with red zone land that is currently unusable.
Disaster response is about more than showing up for photos and cancelling a trip or two. National has made a mess of Christchurch and comprehensively failed to learn its lessons. They should in no way be rewarded with a 4th term.
There was a gathering in Cathedral Square in Christchurch on Sunday the 21st of February.
A one and a half hour recording of the event was put on youtube. Speaking begins at around 13min.
The people of Christchurch don’t need any more words about how brave and resilient they are. They need action.
Today is five years since the first of the Canterbury / Christchurch earthquakes. Christchurch voices are calling out for leadership.
It will soon be four years to the minute since the most destructive and deadly Canterbury / Christchurch earthquake. Condolences to the friends and families of the dead. Greetings to all who lived through it and remember.
The government suffered a major court ruling against it over their ungenerous Christchurch earthquake pay-outs – their 50% offer for uninsured red-zoned land was ruled ‘not in accordance with the law’. Brownlee promises to appeal and bury the Outcasts in debt; John Key threatens to withdraw even their 50% offer with the throwaway: ‘it’s been a lot of fun. If you don’t want to take the offer, that’s where it’s at’. Heartless.
Today is the second anniversary of the most destructive of the Christchurch earthquakes. Condolences to the friends and families of the dead. Greetings to all who lived through it and remember. Commiserations to those who have been forgotten by this government…
Gerry Brownlee calls Christchurch residents “carpers and moaners” who “buggerise on Facebook all day”.
It is two years since the first big Christchurch earthquake. For far too many families the aftermath lingers on…
Christchurch is changed forever and there’s no going back. Let the heart of the old city become its memorial.
As a followup to the “big media” coverage of Christchurch yesterday, there are plenty of people posting on their experiences of life in the quake-ridden city. One that I follow is the blog of award winning Kiwi author Helen Lowe.
The thoughts of the whole country are with Christchurch today.
Key upbeat about quake recovery work – Headline
Here’s a couple of numbers that might sober Mr Smile and Wave:
Christchurch has been back in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. What’s going on behind the public narrative of a tough and resilient populace soldiering on in the face of all these obstacles?
Heartfelt greetings and commiserations to all in the shaky city. Use this post for general discussion of the ongoing quakes in Christchurch.
Why did Key keep talking through a minute’s silence for Christchurch quake victims?
Labour’s EQC policy has taken the holes in the current system revealed by the earthquakes – too low cap, inequitable flat levy, non-universal coverage, lack of provision for accommodation coverage – and fixed them. On top of that, they’ve promised to give people access to their geotech info. Great policy. No wonder National’s angry.
DPF is stirring the sewer again with ridiculous smears about a Labour candidate. Does he resort to mud-flinging due to a lack of National policy that stacks up?
250 jobs lost at Chch meatworks.
55 jobs lost at Canterbury leather.
Insurers warn they’ll pull out.
Kaiapoi redzoners to be $24K worse off. That’s before they get screwed by the landbankers.
10,000 Cantabrians left for overseas in the past year.
The recovery ‘delayed‘ again. It’s clear we still haven’t hit bottom.
The Nat’s plan: “muddling through”
Following the release of data by the Chief Coroner, suicide is once again getting some time in the headlines. Coincidentally, news from Christchurch supports the suggestion that stronger communities reduce suicide rates.
Grieving families of Christchurch earthquake victims say that John Key has broken his promise to them. Key is refusing to even comment on the nature of the meeting. This must all sound very familiar to the families of the Pike River miners.
The “free market” exists to make profit. It does have some advantages when everything is running smoothly. But the free market is hopeless in tough times. It never wants to pay out or clean up the mess.
Police have launched a criminal investigation in to TVNZ’s Sunday piece on Christchurch “looter” Arie Smith. Why?
Sometimes you have to simply start from 1.0 for Godwin’s Law. This pretty much applies to anything re-subtitled from the movie “Der Untergang”. The latest one that I have seen is this side splitting rendition of exactly what has been going on inside the EQC operation in Christchurch.
After another terrible night in Christchurch, guest poster Andy-Roo writes about life on the ground in East Christchurch.
From Canterbury TV (good to see they are still serving Canterbury) the first news report is better than most of the other stuff […]
In the damaged suburbs of Christchurch, people’s lives, their emotions, in many cases their finances, are all stuck in limbo. Residents need to know which areas are going to be written off. What they don’t need is Gerry Brownlee telling them they are “simplistic”…
Lack of certainty is killing the spirit and economy of Christchurch. Before the latest quakes there were already threats of protests because Brownlee has failed to announce which areas can’t be rebuilt on. That information is even more needed now. Brownlee says it’s ‘blindingly obvious’ which areas must go. He needs to drop the arrogance and inform people.
The nastiest quakes since February. A 5.5 closely followed by a 6.0. Damage, injuries, utility outages reported. How much more can Christchurch take?
A unemployment disaster is slowly unfolding in Christchurch. For now, the tide of job losses is being partially held back by wage subsidies supporting nearly 70,000 workers, but those will be phased out by June. Then, all hell will break loose. The Government has no plan for this and, according to Key, hasn’t even bothered to understand the scope of the crisis.
Displaced Christchurch residents are being told they need to pay at least $190 a week to stay in emergency campervan housing.
Meanwhile picking up the tab for wealthy SFC investors just got another third of a billion more expensive.
More Christchurch black humour (or maybe “brown” humour?)…
