Kaikōura

Parents in Kaikōura desperate to be reunited with their children have been offered hope with new public convoys.

Fishers in Kaikōura have begun surveying crayfish stocks in the wake of this month's earthquake, under the supervision of primary industry officials.

Controlled public convoys are to be allowed on the inland road in and out of Kaikōura from tomorrow morning.

It will be several weeks before Wellington residents evacuated from around a dangerous central-city car park will know if they will get the chance to go home, warns the city's mayor.

Five years ago Chris Diack set up a community radio station for quake-affected residents of New Brighton - now the self-proclaimed radio nutter is doing the same for the shaken locals of Kaikōura.

New emergency earthquake legislation will allow farmers to get on with patching up their farms without worrying about red tape.

Emergency legislation clearing the way for earthquake repair work in Hurunui and Kaikōura is being introduced to Parliament.

The first primary school in Kaikōura to re-open after the earthquake is missing a fifth of its roll after pupils left town in the quake's aftermath.

The government is being told to keep a close eye on smaller quake-affected Wellington businesses to ensure they get the help they need to stay afloat.

The closed section of State Highway 1 between Kaikōura and Cheviot could be cleared for essential traffic within a fortnight. Video

More than 50 city businesses that cannot operate because of cordons are expected to be eligible, the government says.

Four households south of the Marlborough town have been advised not to stay there at night.

An eruption in Lake Rotorua early this morning was like a cap blowing off a well-shaken bottle of fizzy drink, says a geothermal inspector.

A quake-prone annex at Parliament is to be demolished and two new buildings are planned, the Speaker has announced.

Demolition of a quake-damaged Wellington office block is under way this morning, with a crane taking down the Molesworth street building's top floors. Video

The Earthquake Commission is going ahead with plans to halve its staff by early next year, despite an influx of new claims from the Kaikōura quake.

A decision is still to be made on government support for quake-affected businesses in Wellington. Audio

Kaikōura's only public pool appears to have been damaged beyond repair in last week's earthquake, but it has rekindled the dream of a new indoor complex.

A fortnight on from the Kaikōura earthquake, businesses in the seaside town are starting to re-open - but with no way in or out of the town, they're not sure how long they will last.

Owners of property close to damaged buildings in Kaikōura and Wellington could be in for a frustrating time, a Christchurch business owner says.