Mainlander

Carbon countdown

JOHN MCCONE - © Fairfax NZ News

Per capita, New Zealand is one of the worst in the world for loading carbon into the atmosphere and critics claim we aren't doing our fair share to fight global warming.

Mighty Mitre miracle?

CHARLES COLE - © Fairfax NZ News

Lyttelton's grand old pub stands empty, awaiting a decision on whether it will live again.

An island of greenery

Kit Grigg, a foundation member of the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust.

Banks Peninsula's hills remain free of the subdivisions and mini-towns that have sprung up in and around Christchurch. David Williams reports.

Year leaves its mark on everyone

Senior writer Martin van Beynen reflects on a tumultuous year and looks forward to what Christchurch can expect in 2012.

Sensational murder revisited

Hints of lesbianism, matricide, madness, a vice-chancellor's daughter turns killer - Christchurch's notorious Parker-Hulme case still fascinates and re-tellings of the story keep coming.

Horsing around with a winner

After winning the Kaikoura Cup on Monday, Smiling Shard is a favourite to win on Cup Day. BECK ELEVEN speaks to the team behind the smallest horse in the biggest race.

Lyttelton: exploring its secrets

The entrance to the old WWII tunnels at the Port of Lyttelton is hidden in thick bush on the cliff face.

Huge secret tunnels lie hidden and forgotten in the hills above Lyttelton. BOB RADLEY remembers them from his youth and set out to discover their story.

With their bright lights, attractive displays, huge free car parks and smiling staff, supermarkets are welcoming places. But, don't be deceived: underneath, they are brutal warriors locked in a desperate capitalist war.

Splash of yellow returns to reserve

Bush canary: The mohua was one of New Zealand's most abundant forest songbirds in the 1800s.

After a gap of more than a century, 60 rare mohua (yellowheads) native birds are again being relocated to Fiordland's Resolution Island for protection.

Is Canterbury a gas-laden bonanza?

The Government wants to see more gas and oil exploration and Canterbury is right at the forefront of those hopes.

The estuary a toilet bowl again

The Avon-Heathcote Estuary has taken Christchurch's domestic and industrial waste for more than a century, so how is it faring after the earthquakes?

Joys of strolling home

Mike Crean shares the trials, tribulations and mental digressions of walking home.

Lending a hand

Graham Flanagan is the National Prosthetics Manager, New Zealand Artificial Limb Centre, Burwood where he makes prosthetic limbs.

Discovering the frozen continent

The polar blast that hit the country this week gave it a taste of Antarctica. But that was a warm hug compared to what it was like trying to keep alive in -50 degrees Celsius temperatures for the continent's first explorers.

Fracking: yes or no?

A controversial mining practice that may trigger earthquakes could get the go-ahead in Canterbury.

The Tai Chi kid

West meets East in Papanui

Dave Thew, suburbia's world champion tai chi master, talks to Beck Eleven about eating, drinking, TV and life.

Who's in charge?

Is the rebuilding of quake-damaged Canterbury falling back into being a bureaucratic- driven patch-up? Or is the complex behind-the-scenes process the right path for a complicated problem? JOHN McCRONE reports.

Event management

BECK ELEVEN looks at the weekend's events and beyond.

It's broken so let's fix it

One-fifth of properties in Kaiapoi were seriously damaged in the September 4 earthquake. JOHN McCRONE reports on plans for the town's recovery.

Determined to beat the odds

Imagine waking up one morning paralysed from the waist down. In late September, that became the reality for Christchurch man Michael O'Sullivan. REBECCA TODD was there for four weeks of his journey to recovery.

Smoothing the waters

This is supposed to be the year Canterbury finally gets on top of its water allocation issues. But can a solution be found that will satisfy farmers and greenies alike? JOHN McCRONE reports.

A silver tsunami

Welcome to the year of the baby boomer. The first wave of a silver tsunami falls in 2011, as 40,000 new 65-year-olds start to claim New Zealand Superannuation. JOHN HARTEVELT reports on the struggle to keep the baby boomers happy in their dotage without bankrupting the country.

Racial prejudice's seeds

A new look at the history of land settlement in Canterbury depicts the transfer of land from Maori to settler as racism in action. PHILIP MATTHEWS reports.

One night out drinking

Paul Matheson drove into the back of a parked truck - but it was his passenger and partner, Jillian Campbell, who paid the highest price. BECK ELEVEN reports.

Paradise lost?

High-flying New Zealand? Hardly. The country only scores an overall C on a report card that takes in 15 social, economic and environmental performance indicators. JOHN McCRONE investigates.

Hooked on trout fishing

Christchurch angler Michael Bate may well be New Zealand's most prolific catcher of huge trout. His latest weighs a spectacular 39lb and is the new king of his trophy room. JUNE PEKA pays a visit.

Shunning the pariah tag

Smokers are sick of being demonised and lectured to.

Year at city hall

Christmas in a town called Democracy

Democracy and local government went on a wild ride in Canterbury in 2010, and there's much more to come. PAUL GORMAN reports.

Quake impact more evident now

The September 4 earthquake will leave a dishearteningly long legacy, writes MARTIN VAN BEYNEN.

Planner's vision for inner city

Planning expert James Lunday says Christchurch should shrink its CBD and start planning to have a proper inner-city. He talked to CHRISTOPHER MOORE.

A soldier's Cretan odyssey

Last month, the family of Australia's most celebrated Aboriginal soldier travelled to Greece to walk in his footsteps.

End of consumerism

Cheap energy has driven the past century of unchecked economic expansion. But now it's drying up. JOHN McCRONE reports.

Shun a mall day

Beck Eleven looks at the weekend's events and beyond.

Aussie architects view damage

Barney Collins and Ed Clode are conservation architects working out of the Australian city of Newcastle. They have stories to tell and Christchurch should listen.

The perils of complacency

Staying on the straight and narrow can be difficult for a recovering alcoholic. BECK ELEVEN talks to two Alcoholics Anonymous members about their "slip-ups".

Festivities under way

Beck Eleven looks at the weekend's event and beyond.

Miners' mayor

Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn fought for his community and miners' families. The son of a miner, he backed the Pike River development. Now he must rebuild his community. TOM FITZSIMONS reports.

Motherly traits a plus

A family woman with just one term as a councillor under her belt is Christchurch's new deputy mayor. So who exactly is Ngaire Button? She talks to GLENN CONWAY about her new role.

What lies broken beneath

Up to 70km of sewer lines could need rebuilding under Christchurch as a result of earthquake damage. JOHN MCCRONE investigates the unseen damage that has had such an effect on lives.

You wouldn't read about it

Blow after blow has pushed Madras Cafe Books into calling it quits. PHILIP MATTHEWS looks at why it couldn't survive in a $250 million industry.

Unexplored playground

The opening up of the vast St James conservation area to the public could be seen as a great leap of faith. Will it be used or abused? JOHN McCRONE took a trip to the high country near Hanmer Springs.

Hub of the nation

If Parliament is the brain of the country, does it operate as smoothly and coherently as it should? JOHN McCRONE spends a week in Wellington's corridors of power.

POWER struggle

Damn the dam? MARTIN VAN BEYNEN heads down the threatened Mokihinui River with a bunch of white water junkies to see what all the fuss is about.

Seismic lessons

Christchurch's modern buildings escaped the September 4 earthquake relatively unscathed. But the seismic shock will reshape how we design our buildings, writes CHRISTOPHER MOORE

Power, privilege in public service

Two youngsters from two of Christchurch's richest families have become city councillors. JOHN McCRONE talks to them about what they bring and what they plan to do.

Lyttelton's bad Friday

When the Friday the 13th storm smashed into the floating marina at Lyttelton 10 years ago, it sank 32 vessels and left scars that remain today. GAYLE COOK recalls the disaster.

Hill country man

John O'Carroll is 90 and has spent his working life in the saddle. And that's where he can still be found, when the need is there for a good man to work the stock. TIM CRONSHAW caught up with a living legend.

Division bells ring in basin

Tensions in the Mackenzie Basin have come in many forms, including tenure review, foreign ownership, irrigation and dairying. Now there's the emotional debate over cubicle farming. DAVID WILLIAMS asks if this fragile landscape is being pushed too far.

Split hurts the brain

Thousands have marched in the streets of Dunedin over the potential loss of that city's neurosurgery service. Health reporter REBECCA TODD looks at the case for Canterbury.