Papanui Dump – Community meeting

community meeting for this Thursday  22nd.  This will be at the Paparoa St school starting at 7:30    and wrapping up no later than 9pm.

Day 207 - office setup

The weekend was also spent getting the office for Addington Action shipshape for the long-haul.

There was a good throwout and shifting furniture around to make the place efficient. Other volunteers will be coming into help with many tasks so we can get heaps done.

A car has been borrowed till next Monday. The work crew will be going out most days this week, repairing uninsured homes. Lets hope the weather remembers to be nice!

Waimakariri Red/Green Zoners Rally

The following is from the event organisers:

Day 206 - pesky shower

The repair job today was sorting out the shower water temperature in an uninsured home in Kipling St Addington. The hot water cylinder fell over during the February quake, was put back but the water temperatures have never been the same.

The suspect was that the shower mixer needed a tweak. All good so far - but removing the shower mixer face plate showed no sign of a mixing unit. Unless its been very well hidden.

Whoever built this flat never designed it for easy maintenance. Will ...

Avonside Girls High School - demolition underway

Saturday afternoon around 5.30 ...

How the cost-effectiveness of land remediation is measured.

Cabinet, at its meeting on the 15th of August, agreed to a new method of calculating whether it would be cost-effective to remediate particular areas of land. This decision was made in association with decisions on the Kaiapoi Orange Zone, and was used for those decisions.

The method determines that land is not cost effective to remediate if the cost of remediation would be greater than the value of the land as set out in para 8.1 of the Cabinet Minu ...

Day 205 - red-zone residents fight back

Copied from

Metro News reporter Marcus Gibbs looks at whether there is a tide of discontent rising among red-zone residents.

The first red zone payouts have been received, in a week in which has seen two protests with more in the planning.
from on .

Day 197 - U3A

I was invited to give a talk today by U3A to an audience of 100 at the Windsor Anglican church hall in Invercargill.

It was great to be able to talk to such an interested audience about Addington Action and the experiences of community organising in response to the February quakes in Christchurch. I then got to cover the previous life experiences that equipped me for such a role. Public speaking sure helps get the old noggin in order!

Day 204 - Laurie has an idea

Former Addington Action committee member Laurie Geddis visited today to discuss some fundraising ideas.

A lot of working people in Christchurch are in big trouble and the big pots of money raised is not getting to these people.

There will be a meeting next week of a number of groups who work closely together on the ground to see what can be organised.

Day 199 - successful Riverside Rally

Disgruntled homeowners in Christchurch’s residential red zone have held a mass protest rally today (Sunday, September 11th, 2011) in an attempt to persuade the government to rethink its offer for their quake-damaged properties.

The rally was organised by the Riverside Community Group, and was held on the riverbank just south of the Medway St bridge in the suburb of Richmond, where residents have voted to reject the government’s offer to purchase their properties for their 200 ...

Day 201 - more help with food bank

Dianne has taken over the job of picking up the weekly food parcels from me. Each week a van goes to 0800 Hungry in Bromley and picks up food parcels ordered for Addington people. Flo handles organising the distribution of the parcels by the street reps. My job is to write up the orders for each week.

Delegating is a great thing!

Day 196 - gift from New Brighton

Some nice people in New Brighton sent $200 to Addington Action to help with the repairs to uninsured homes.

Many thanks!

Day 203 - introduction to the Benefit Fact File

Lynette gave an excellent 1 hour introduction to the at an Addington Action training seminar today.

Many working people in Addington are not getting the assistance they are entitled to from WINZ.

People with reduced hours of work due to the effects of the quakes, are entitled to income top up so that they can feed their families and pay for rent and power. They are being turned away by WINZ staff.

Addington Action is going to make sure that situation does not continue by m ...

Day 200 - nice suprise

I had just got back from giving a talk to U3A in Invercargill. A nice surprise was waiting in the letterbox - $1500 donation cheque from Southland for repairing more homes.

Many thanks!

Day 202 - section clearing

Today's job was clearing a backyard of rubble and broken stuff and taking the lot to the tip.

The home was in Redruth St.

Sam Russell turned up with his trailer, and Michael, Matt 2 and Mike came in Matt 2's car with the Addington Action trailer.

The lady made a donation. Thank you!

Why an Avonside Orange Zone?

Not quite Avonside the suburb as it has been used by real estate agents and residents, but a clearly specified area.

Kaiapoi Orange Zones - Release of Cabinet papers on land damage decisions

From the CERA web site: In late June and in mid-August 2011, Cabinet considered papers from the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery detailing the extensive geotechnical work that has been undertaken to assess the state of affected land.The following is a list of the papers and minutes available on the CERA web site here. Cabinet Paper: Land Decisions - June 2011 Cabinet Minute of

Spring is here, The Beach welcomes us back

Kia ora, Hello New Brighton Folk,

I know I start many emails with the promise of good things to come, mostly because there is so much to look forward to in Brighton. Spring is there, on our doorstep and what's more is the good news: The Beach is Back! That's right folks, if you haven't already heard, the Council have given the beach the all clear! tells us
"Residents can return to the sea - the post-earthquake health warning at Christchurch beaches has been lifted." If that's not ...

St Albans School Market Day

The St Albans School Market day is being held on Saturday 5th November.  Stalls are $20.00 for a  carpark site, $5.00 for a kids market stall.  Stalls are available for purchase from the St Albans School office

History repeating – St Albans Dump!

CERA - a fail mark for Communications 101

Temporary Accommodation Assistance package fixed

Some time ago CanCERN identified anomalies in the Temporary Accommodation Assistance package. Due to the wording used Red Zone residents lost eligibility for assistance part way through the land settlement process. Over a period of weeks this issue has been worked through and the anomaly fixed. As a consequence the Ministry of Social Development has adjusted its policy in relation to

Canterbury insurance and repairs further delayed by insurers

The fourth point is an interesting area for speculation: 

Red Cross - Alternative Sewage System Grant update

CANLAW - legal information for those in the Red Zone

Christchurch Vegetarian Expo

Community Update 11 September 2011

Red Cross - Targeted Moving Assistance Grant

Earthquake Recovery and Rebuild Update # 18…Nicky Wagner

Shirley/Papanui/St Albans Community Board Agenda 14/9

http://www1.ccc.govt.nz/Council/agendas/2011/September/ShirleyPapanui14th/ShirleyPapanuiCommunityBoardAgenda14September2011.pdf

SHIRLEY/PAPANUI COMMUNITY BOARD – 31/8 minutes

SHIRLEY/PAPANUI COMMUNITY BOARD

How to Keep Safe Around Dogs

The “Be a Tree” course is a dog bite prevention program for school age children. It focuses on fun and interactive activities to teach children how to read dog body language and how to act safely around their own dog and strange dogs. Kids love playing the Doggone Crazy Boardgame. Foundation of the Blind, 96 Bristol Street, 13 th September or 20 th September from 6.20pm to 7.20pm. Koha entry

public meeting notice: Sustainable Canterbury ~ Light Rail

Greetings, public meeting notice:

Christchurch Labour MPs Earthquake update

http://christchurchlabourmps.createsend5.com/t/ViewEmail/r/C76C7490D1FE2104/8A4369BB2A5356062018F019E6F15D33

Health warning lifted at Christchurch beaches but estuary remains off limits

CDHB Press Release

CERA - Draft Recovery Strategy for greater Christchurch

Inspirational global recovery speakers

A variety of inspirational speakers from around the globe, including the UK, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand shared their experiences relating to redeveloping cities and communities, in particular those which have been subjected to devastation – natural and human.

Earthquake Royal Commission - The Performance of Unreinforced Masonry Buildings in the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake Swarm

Parenting Week in St Albans

Parenting Week Progr Oct 2011

Department of Labour - Employer and Employee earthquake information updated.

The Department of Labour has updated it's earthquake information for Christchurch businesses in light of what was learnt from the February 22nd earthquake. A wide range of information is covered in a question and answer format (here). The general categories and questions are listed below

Day 195 - organising repairs

Today, Paul and Helen Gailbraith from visited to discuss how Habitat's and Addington Action's efforts could best compliment each other.

Paul, a builder with many years experience, is now Project Manager for the "" project.

Discussed were
It is great that another organisation is now helping with the repairs, so that the work to do can be rationally divided up.

What will You Swap?

St Albans Tennis Club

Junior Registration Day is on 10th September from 1-2pm

Central City Plan submissions – due friday 16th September

Day 194 - more repairs for next week

There are no repairs this week. Instead the time is being spent sorting out the next lot of jobs which are in.

CERA - geotech video on rockfalls

ASB (English) Park Update

The seasons end.Its quite amazing to think that just a matter of days ago we had 12-15cm of snow engulfing ASB Football Park.  Today the new turf is almost 75% down and looking excitingly unique.  There is still much to do with sand and infill to be added.  We have a late September completion date in mind.  We look forward to hosting an official Christchurch City Council, FIFA Mainland Football launch in early October.  Look

Day 193 - free vegetables this coming summer

After discussions with our CDHB contracts manager we are happy to notify the community that our Community Garden Plots are NOW AVAILABLE to all community members.

With the price of vegetable being at an all time high this is an opportunity for communities and whanau of all ethnicity and backgrounds to grow fresh vegetables for the table.

has, for the past 3 years opened up its property to whanau and community groups to grow fresh vegetables as part of our Maori Community Action Pl ...

St Albans Residents Association Meeting – Tuesday13th September @ 7.30

Abberley Park Hall , Abberley Cresent, St Albans.  The first hour of the meeting will be public discussion on St Albans and the current issues facing the area.  We would love to hear about any issues facing your particular areas of St Albans.

CanCERN Q&A with IAG & Hawkins

The document is.

Day 192 - in for the long haul in shaky town

It's 12 months since the first major quake in September 2010 and 6 months since the February quake. There is lots for Addington Action to do.

As the weather warms, it's a good time to fix up as many damaged uninsured homes as possible for both elderly and those with significant disabilities.

To do this, we need volunteers, building materials, tools and transport to be able to get as much done as possible.

Thanks to recent donations, we now have a stockpile of building materi ...

Avonside Girls High School update

Demolition work is expected to start on the Stevensons Block at AGHS on Monday. .

Day 191 - Riverside Rally

CanCERN Update Newsletter #9

Riverside Community Group is calling for support at their mass rally

2.  RVs are reviewed where there is significant and demonstrable undervaluation

Legal Q & A on Red Zone questions

CanCERN and Community Law Canterbury have worked together to identify and answer many of the major questions facing Red Zone residents. The result is a fact sheet produced by Community Law Canterbury covering a range of issues including:

Day 190 - roof job 1

Matt and Michael worked on a house in Sydenham today to make it weather tight. Joeli joined into help on the roof in the afternoon. Tracy and Mike found tools and materials.

A dehumidifier has been put in the house to dry out rooms that have suffered water damage.

In a few weeks, the first room will be gutted, lined with batts and relined with new gib board. Once that's fixed, the other rooms will be done one by one. Then donated carpet will be laid.

The exterior of the hous ...

Earthquake Royal Commission - Stairs and Access Ramps between Floors in Multi-storey Buildings

From the Royal Commission's website:

Earthquake Royal Commission - Preliminary Observations from the Christchurch Earthquakes

From the Royal Commission's website: John Hare, in consultation with other structural engineers, has put together a list of observations made on the performance of buildings in the Christchurch earthquakes.  The list includes suggestions for factors which should be considered for amendment in design codes/standards, together with a number of aspects which require research and structural

CERA - geotech videos on sink holes and foundations

CERA have released two more videos with geotech engineer Jan Kupec. In these videos he gives explanations of: sinkholes and poses questions about them ( e.g. will they affect the land or the house later on?) options for rebuilding - providing a safe and secure foundation for houses in Canterbury by first looking at how houses fail and then what is needed to prevent this happening. The videos