It's been exactly one month since Canterbury was rocked by the devastating 7.1 earthquake so I decided to return to the region to check out the damage.

A range of measures has been announced today by the Government to help Cantabrians rebuild their homes after the September 4 earthquake.

Two radio-thons held in Tonga over the past week have raised almost $600,000 for the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Fund.

Are you swelling with national pride? New Zealand has once more been granted Aaa status by international credit-ratings agency Moody's.

Incumbent Bob Parker is way ahead of rival Jim Anderton in the Christchurch city mayoralty race, according to a poll issued today.

Sewage will flow into the Kaiapoi River for at least another month and it could take a year to rebuild all the area's quake-damaged sewerage systems.

Liquefaction was a huge problem, and many hard-hit Bexley residents believe that was because their homes were built on what was once a swamp.

At least three aftershocks have hit Christchurch in quick succession this evening, the latest a magnitude 4 quake centred within 5km of Christchurch at a depth of 9km.

Things are looking up for thousands of householders in areas worst hit by the Canterbury earthquake.

Aucklanders will be reminded that, like Christchurch, their city is built on a seismic hot spot when Eruption screens on TV3.

To protect the occupants from the elements, tarpaulins are strung up between the poles to create makeshift walls.

The Government hopes it will be able to give thousands of Canterbury property owners in the worst earthquake-hit areas some idea of what the future holds by the middle of next week.