Headlines from New Zealand

In New Zealand we have the government planning to sell off Christchurch's assets with Christchurch people disagreeing and a potential rates revolt; the continued loss of economic activity in Christchurch and breakdown of basic infrastructure.

All headlines are from Radio New Zealand

Wooden railway sleepers rotting

KiwiRail has admitted a fungus is rotting hard wood sleepers on the network, which appear to have contributed to two derailments.

Some 7000 of 100,000 sleepers imported from Peru in the past decade have been found in varying states of decay.

Many of them are on bridges or in tunnels.

Chief executive Jim Quinn says all sleepers showing signs of advanced decay have been replaced at a cost of between $250- $1000 each.

KiwiRail expects the replacement programme to be completed early next year.

New Zealand First says all the inadequate sleepers need to be replaced right away.

Canterbury University job losses confirmed

The Vice Chancellor of Canterbury University has confirmed 150 staff will lose their jobs over the next three to five years.

The job losses are a result of lower student numbers and higher costs in the wake of the earthquake.

Student enrolment at the University was down by 25% in 2010-2011.

Doctor Rod Carr says this year it has stopped the decline and enrolments are down by just 2%.

He says despite job cuts he is confident the university can continue to attract students, including those from overseas.

Doctor Carr says academic, as well as technical and administration, roles will be lost.

A spokesperson says staff were given the university's 10-year-financial model on Wednesday, which included a plan on how it would recover from the earthquakes.

The spokesperson says it outlines the university's position given its constrained resources.

The university is Christchurch's third largest employer, with more than 2000 staff and over 12,000 students.

Charter school rules

The Government says people with no teaching experience will be allowed to run charter schools.

Education Minister Hekia Parata and associate education minister John Banks on Thursday announced details of their plan for publicly-funded private schools.

They say the schools will be called partnership schools (kura hourua) and will be run by sponsors under contract to the Government.

The contracts will include targets for children's achievement. Primary schools will be required to follow the national standards and secondary schools to offer the NCEA or another recognised qualification.

The sponsor will be free to decide how many registered teachers to employ, what curriculum to use, the school's hours of operation and the pay and conditions of employees.

Rates Revolt threatened in Christchurch

A Canterbury lobby group is threatening a rates revolt, as the Christchurch City Council tips increases to fund the inner city rebuild.