The Government has announced details of legislation to be pushed through Parliament to help speed up the recovery process in quake-devastated Canterbury.

A Christchurch man and woman caught on CCTV walking away from the scene of a shooting have turned themselves in. Photo / NZPA

Several Christchurch hotels have slashed room rates in the wake of Christchurch's "horrendous" magnitude 7.1 quake, with one hotel chief saying everybody needed to "chip in".

E. Coli has been found in water from Kaiapoi, reinforcing the need for residents to boil their water after last week's earthquake.

Fears of widespread earthquake damage to Canterbury's vital irrigation infrastructure have eased.

The Govt says it will not know how big its bill for the Canterbury earthquake will be until its Recovery Commission has drafted a recovery plan.

The Governor-General has expressed his shock over the devastation after last Saturday's 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Canterbury.

Most Canterbury schools today reopened after the September 4 magnitude 7.1 earthquake, but aftershocks continue.

Would you be in a position to pay your employees if a natural disaster occurred in your region?

As if the poor people of Christchurch hadn't suffered enough, they were inundated with Auckland celebrity journos last week all eager to leave the studio swivel chair and report live from ground zero.

Gerry Brownlee is having to deal with his own badly damaged house as he works on the Govt's earthquake reconstruction plan.

Dozens of people buying and selling homes in Christchurch face delays as buyers fail to finalise sales, forcing sellers to default on contracts.

Owners of Christchurch historic buildings will be able to fight demolition rulings that their earthquake-damaged properties are dangerous and insanitary.

Weary Canterbury farmers picking themselves up from days of earthquakes and aftershocks face new threats.

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says Christchurch will take years to return to normal.

Broadcaster Paul Holmes returns to the city where he began his career to see how locals are coping in the wake of the earthquake.

Jim Anderton has announced he will stand down as MP for Wigram if he wins the Christchurch mayoralty, in light of the challenges presented by last week's earthquake.

About 400 people today gathered in Christchurch's Cathedral Square for the Cathedral's first mass since last week's earthquake.

A New Zealand Air Force Orion is winging its way to Antarctica to evacuate a critically ill American man.

A bewildered and pregnant Renee Rushton is living in a Christchurch holiday park after last week's earthquake.

As Christchurch tries to make sense of the earthquake destruction, a child questions how much 'braveness' she has left.