Statistics House

Officials want to ban a construction technique that proved catastrophic during November's Kaikōura earthquake.

An engineer is defending his assessment of a Wellington building damaged in November's earthquake, despite it having floor supports the industry was warned to avoid.

The head of Statistics New Zealand might have sped up work on strengthening Statistics House if she had seen an engineer's report from 2013, she says.

Buildings similar to Wellington's Statistics House, which suffered "life-threatening" earthquake damage, need checking, the government says. Video