Laura McQuillanLaura McQuillan

Laura McQuillan is a freelance journalist in Canada and an expat Kiwi.

New Zanada: Reddit’s proposed merger of Canada and New Zealand

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It started as a fictional country on Reddit, and remains a fictional country on Reddit. But New Zanada has some really committed fans. The nicest country in the world is planning a renaissance. It’s not New Zealand. It’s also not Canada (sorry). Welcome to the Dominion of New Zanada: a fictional country borne of Reddit, sprouting from … Read more

Could the solution to New Zealand’s quake-prone buildings already be on a shelf at Bunnings?

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Auckland University researchers say beams of timber stuck onto the backs of unreinforced masonry façades could be a cheap and simple way to stop them collapsing in an earthquake. Laura McQuillan investigates. Owners of nearly 140 buildings from Lower Hutt to Canterbury have been given until the end of March to secure unreinforced masonry façades … Read more