title: Twelve years on: Christchurch’s recovery from the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes

authors: Lianyan, Li

subjects: 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence

abstract: What does the recovery of Christchurch, New Zealand’s garden city, look like twelve years on from the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence? And what lessons has its long-term recovery offered? To answer these questions, a field trip to Christchurch and in-depth interviews with policymakers, engineering professionals and other recovery practitioners were undertaken in October 2022. The recovery state of Christchurch Central Business District (CBD) was observed. Interviews revealed lessons from CBD’s recovery from a longitudinal, retrospective perspective. There was a consensus that between 70 per cent to 80 per cent of damaged buildings in CBD had been repaired or replaced for other functions. Significant delays can be attributed to 1) the scale of the event, with tens of thousands of aftershocks and widespread demolitions in CBD, 2) the delayed decision-making process, 3) overwhelmed legal changes, and 4) limited resource availability. Moreover, it is found that building resilience was emphasised and well incorporated in architectural designs to ensure redundancy provided in newly constructed and retrofitted buildings in CBD. Such consideration also incurred the broad adoption of low-damage designs (e.g., base isolation), despite a slightly higher repair cost. Further, this paper also investigated the effectiveness of recovery agencies and affirmed their essential role in recovery. While New Zealand is proactively preparing for major seismic events such as the Magnitude 8.0 Alpine Fault earthquake (AF8), lessons elicited from Christchurch recovery included the necessity of available training programmes for engineers, a stronger emphasis on building resilience in engineering design, a need for functionality-focused building code, and the development of advanced National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) specific to New Zealand. It is hoped that these lessons can collectively translate into enhanced earthquake preparedness and resilience in the future.

text: Twelve years on: Christchurch’s recovery from the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes What does the recovery of Christchurch, New Zealand’s garden city, look like twelve years on from the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence? And what lessons has its long-term recovery offered? To answer these questions, a field trip to Christchurch and in-depth interviews with policymakers, engineering professionals and other recovery practitioners were undertaken in October 2022. The recovery state of Christchurch Central Business District (CBD) was observed. Interviews revealed lessons from CBD’s recovery from a longitudinal, retrospective perspective. There was a consensus that between 70 per cent to 80 per cent of damaged buildings in CBD had been repaired or replaced for other functions. Significant delays can be attributed to 1) the scale of the event, with tens of thousands of aftershocks and widespread demolitions in CBD, 2) the delayed decision-making process, 3) overwhelmed legal changes, and 4) limited resource availability. Moreover, it is found that building resilience was emphasised and well incorporated in architectural designs to ensure redundancy provided in newly constructed and retrofitted buildings in CBD. Such consideration also incurred the broad adoption of low-damage designs (e.g., base isolation), despite a slightly higher repair cost. Further, this paper also investigated the effectiveness of recovery agencies and affirmed their essential role in recovery. While New Zealand is proactively preparing for major seismic events such as the Magnitude 8.0 Alpine Fault earthquake (AF8), lessons elicited from Christchurch recovery included the necessity of available training programmes for engineers, a stronger emphasis on building resilience in engineering design, a need for functionality-focused building code, and the development of advanced National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) specific to New Zealand. It is hoped that these lessons can collectively translate into enhanced earthquake preparedness and resilience in the future.

year: 2023

title: Australia’s discussion of kava imports reflects lack of cultural understanding

authors: Aporosa, S. 'Apo'

abstract: The Australian government is considering an increase in the amount of kava travellers can bring into the country. The consultation process includes a proposed pilot program to ease restrictions on kava importation for personal use from two to four kilograms per person. Many Australian residents, especially those with Pacific Island heritage, will welcome this, but the proposal is based on fundamentally flawed evidence.

text: Australia’s discussion of kava imports reflects lack of cultural understanding The Australian government is considering an increase in the amount of kava travellers can bring into the country. The consultation process includes a proposed pilot program to ease restrictions on kava importation for personal use from two to four kilograms per person. Many Australian residents, especially those with Pacific Island heritage, will welcome this, but the proposal is based on fundamentally flawed evidence.

year: 2019

title: Succeeding as Māori: Māori students’ views on our Stepping Up to the Ka Hikitia Challenge

authors: Berryman, Mere

subjects: Ka Hikitia

abstract: This paper examines the vision and intent of New Zealand’s Māori education policy, Ka Hikitia, and its implications on the daily lives of Māori students in New Zealand’s education system. Extensive information on the secondary school experiences of rangatahi Māori (youth) have been gathered—originally in 2001 and at the end of 2015, through Kia Eke Panuku: Building on Success (Kia Eke Panuku: Building on Success is a secondary school reform initiative that is fully funded by the Ministry of Education, however, this paper represents the view of the authors and is not necessarily the view of the Ministry). Based on the messages from these two points in time, the paper concludes that the promises of Ka Hikitia are yet to be fully realised. If we, as educators, are to leave a legacy of more Māori students fashioning and leading our future, the need for the system to step up still remains.

text: Succeeding as Māori: Māori students’ views on our Stepping Up to the Ka Hikitia Challenge This paper examines the vision and intent of New Zealand’s Māori education policy, Ka Hikitia, and its implications on the daily lives of Māori students in New Zealand’s education system. Extensive information on the secondary school experiences of rangatahi Māori (youth) have been gathered—originally in 2001 and at the end of 2015, through Kia Eke Panuku: Building on Success (Kia Eke Panuku: Building on Success is a secondary school reform initiative that is fully funded by the Ministry of Education, however, this paper represents the view of the authors and is not necessarily the view of the Ministry). Based on the messages from these two points in time, the paper concludes that the promises of Ka Hikitia are yet to be fully realised. If we, as educators, are to leave a legacy of more Māori students fashioning and leading our future, the need for the system to step up still remains.

year: 2017