Stories by Niva Chittock
News
Springfield to get new drinking water pipeline
A new drinking water pipeline has been confirmed for the Canterbury town of Springfield.
Sloppy builders may be contributing to building inspection delays
Building inspection wait times have shot up for many councils, with some scrambling to reduce them from seven weeks back to the usual three to five days.
Teacher named students and ridiculed their work on podcast
A Christchurch high school teacher who discussed sexual acts, drug use and his students on a podcast has been found guilty of misconduct.
Water pipes shedding asbestos not restricted to Christchurch - Water NZ
A study has revealed deteriorating asbestos pipes are shedding fibres into Christchurch's drinking water. Water NZ says they aren't as resilient as initially thought.
Cost of fluoridating Christchurch's water blows out to $63m
Christchurch city councillors have been told it would cost $63 million and take at least three years to fluoridate the city's water supply.
More people gardening and foraging in Canterbury as living costs rise
Sky-high food prices and a rising cost of living have Cantabrians heading to the garden.
National launches troll hunt: Online abuse 'unacceptable'
Accusations a Young Nat has been trolling female politicians online has prompted an investigation by the National Party, with the abuse denounced as cowardice on all sides.
Woman faults ANZ security after thieves strip her bank account
A Christchurch woman has been left reeling after thieves broke into her car and then used ATMs to steal thousands of dollars from her savings.
Springfield residents told to 'sit and wait' for fresh water supply one year on
Residents of a Canterbury town have not had a reliable source of safe drinking water for nearly a year - and three weeks ago began showering in a community hall.
Tairāwhiti flood damage 'will take about a year' to clean up
Tokomaru students had been back in flood-repaired classrooms for just weeks, while two residents lost a campervan they were living in while their house was fixed after last year's floods.
'Excited', 'too late', 'free to go out': Christchurch reacts to Covid-19 changes
With vaccine mandates for many workers lifted in under two weeks and QR code scanning soon to be a thing of the past, RNZ took to the streets of Ōtautahi to find out what people thought of the…
Organisers of car meet where tanker was damaged say they couldn't control crowd
A group who helped to run a Waikato car meet, in which some of the attendees attacked a milk tanker, say they do not condone that behaviour.
'Behaviour is unacceptable': Police seek offenders after milk tanker damaged
An investigation has been launched into the smashing of a milk tanker's windscreen and milk being tipped onto a road at the weekend.
Bottles for cash buy-back scheme back on the cards
A shake-up to the country's waste system is hoped to cut down the near 13 million tonnes of waste New Zealand sends to landfill every year.
The price of ecocide: Govt urged to support criminalisation
A conservation group is calling on the government to push for mass environmental destruction, or ecocide, to be declared a crime by the International Criminal Court.
Cranmer Square protesters told to leave by Thursday
Protesters illegally camped at Christchurch's Cranmer Square for nearly four weeks have been asked to leave by Thursday.
Canterbury protest disruption: 'Give us our once-peaceful homes back'
Residents who live near the occupied Cranmer Square anti-mandate protest in Christchurch say the ongoing disruption and noise is callous and selfish.
Environment Ministry considers national database to register old landfill sites
The Ministry for the Environment is considering creating a national database and fund to protect vulnerable old landfill sites.
'Institutional bias' a concern as coronial court hearing on mosque terror attacks ends
A coronial court heard from the Human Rights Commission and the terrorist's lawyer, in the final day of a scope hearing on the Christchurch terror attacks yesterday.
Islamic groups highlight 'significant' online extremism in NZ
The main focus at the hearing yesterday was on the impact of digital platforms, and this morning the terrorist's lawyer and the Human Rights Commission are expected to make submissions.
Christchurch terror attacks: Coronial hearing continues with more submissions
Islamic groups and first responders are expected to make submissions to the coroner's scope hearing on the Christchurch terror attacks today.
Financial support relieves hospitality, but future uncertainty remains
Decimated after two years of Covid-19 restrictions, the hospitality sector describes the latest financial support being offered by the government as encouraging but too late for some to survive.
Record noise complaints in Canterbury ahead of Orientation Week
Residents are being asked to keep it down as Christchurch City Council had a record number of noise complaints lodged at the end of last year.
'The law has failed': Cranmer Square residents say protesters camping illegally
Cranmer Square residents say Christchurch City Council is quick to send notices for branches hanging outside their property, but is sitting quiet while protesters are on their doorstep.
Thousands of litres of oil from factory fire removed from Canterbury rivers
"...tay away from visibly oiled areas. Residual oil is likely to remain in the Cam/Ruataniwha [River] and Kaiapoi River upstream from the Williams Street bridge in Kaiapoi for the next few weeks."