The state of national emergency in Christchurch has been extended until 12 April and will be lifted when the newly-formed Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority has taken over the recovery effort.
Civil Defence Minister John Carter says the situation in Christchurch city has improved significantly in the six weeks since the devastating earthquake on 22 February, but it is not stable enough to return to normal operations.
The emergency designation can only be extended by a week at a time.
Meanwhile, the Red Cross Earthquake Commission says more than $35 million has been paid out in emergency and hardship grants and more than 40,000 grant applications have been processed.
The grant closes on Monday and the commission is now considering options for long-term hardship grants that will operate from next week.
