Severe second earthquake wakes up Canterbury
Canterbury has been hit by two strong quakes within hours. The 5.2 earthquake caused strong shaking near Cheviot just after 8am. It hit 20km southwest of Cheviot at a depth of 12km and has been described
New Zealand Herald
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Reforms to Earthquake Commission Act outlined
Government has outlined the changes it wants to make to insurance cover after natural disasters, including a doubling of the cap on building cover to $200,000. The Earthquake Commission Act is being
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North Island storm damage: Heartbreak of worst-ever floods
Minister vows to help with rebuild costs tipped to run into the millions, hundreds still unable to return home. The clean-up operation from the record flooding in the central North Island over the weekend
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Green lobby wants tax on polluters
Environment researchers have made fresh calls for a tax on polluters on the back of an OECD report highlighting rising pressures on our green backyard. Through its new book, Vanishing Nature, the Environmental
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Pollution from dairy continues to grow
Green Party water spokesperson Catherine Delahunty says new reports from the Parliamentary Commission for the Environment indicate dairy intensification is causing increasing damage to New Zealand's waterways.
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Peru sends troops to valley shaken by anti-mining violence
Peru's government has dispatched troops to a violence-wracked southern coastal valley where protests against a copper mining project have claimed the lives of two civilians and a police officer. Defense
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Scheme to pay farmers for planting trees rebooted
The Government has rebooted a scheme which pays farmers and other landowners $1300 a hectare for planting trees on their land. Associate Primary Industries Minister Jo Goodhew said that next week's
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Big changes to earthquake strengthening rules
Major changes to how quickly earthquake-prone buildings will need to be assessed and strengthened have been announced. Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith said the changes would reduce the number
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Careless Aucklanders turn harbour into rubbish dump
It's likely that plastic trash is an emerging threat to Auckland's famous harbour, though at present this can't be backed up by much hard data. Tiny pieces of plastic in the water may well be reducing
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One in five farms polluting
Nearly half of Northland's 965 dairy farms did not meet consent conditions for effluent management in the past year and one in five farms chalked up significant breaches. That means more than 190 farms
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The wealth of the world's oceans is dwindling
The commercial value of the Earth's oceans currently measures up to the world's leading economies. However, a new report indicates that wealth is rapidly decreasing - and it's up to humanity to avoid the