New Zealand
Whakatāne residents split over $7.58m riverfront plan
Less than 28% of 250 submissions backed the baseline $7.58m spend or less.
Latest from Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Stories and analysis from The Northern Express Herald.
Why rush a $3b decision before the real debate begins
One question about a significant BOP asset keeps surfacing: Why are we doing this now?
Students left waiting over an hour as school bus fails to show in Pāpāmoa
Up to 40 students were left without a bus and others were 'crammed' into another bus.
Rotorua authorities brace for fuel crunch
Some Covid-19 lockdown lessons may come back into play.
Waihī Estuary has original name Te Heriheri restored as part of wetland project
The iwi-led project has turned 30ha of former dairy farm into wetland.
How many minutes major roadworks may add to Tauranga commutes
Proposed 15th Ave to Welcome Bay Rd works are expected to start next year.
Bay of Plenty mayors back Rotorua's homelessness taskforce call
Move-on orders are being criticised as mayors debate homelessness solutions.
'Health hazard': Anger at delay in removal of dumped asbestos near city water source
A resident is furious about a delay in removing asbestos from near a Tauranga stream.
Mahé Drysdale sticks his oar in over pontoon plan that's riling rowers
The regional council plans to build a waterfront Maritime Emergency Response Facility.
'Protecting assets': Regional council proposes $3b portfolio shake-up and 4% rates rise
The 4% rise is half the 8.2% increase originally forecast for 2026/27.
Regional Council election spending revealed
Stuart Crosby got in, but others who spent thousands failed to win.
'Entirely flawed': Regional councillors hit back at government reforms
Bay of Plenty councillors criticise government’s local reform, seek stronger Māori voice.
Zero rats detected: Iwi-led conservation project delivers win for kōkako
Conservation project wipes out rodent predators across 700ha of Kaimai Mamaku forest.
State of emergency lifted as Bay moves to recovery
A local transition period now runs until March 4 to support ongoing recovery.
Buildings red-stickered, many places still closed in Bay after deluge
Highways, walking tracks, campgrounds: What's still closed in the battered Bay of Plenty.
'Thriving city': How Tauranga is racing up the city population rankings
Forecast populations would make Tauranga the country’s fourth-largest city by 2048.
Surge in paddleboarders caught without lifejackets
New paddleboard owners are more unlikely to know the rules, he harbourmaster says.
Minister reviews funding after $133k Rotorua lake weed clean-up
Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell calls the city's weed control funding 'grossly unfair'.
He cancelled his health insurance due to 'exorbitant' premiums. Then he got cancer
Ray Le Prou said he was quoted $15,000 to have a mole removed from his face.
Over 2000 wallabies controlled across Bay of Plenty this year
The cute critters cause massive economic and biodiversity problems for New Zealand.
Shelling out: $52m Govt-backed mussel venture posts deeper losses and faces going concern flag
Troubled Opotiki mussel farm which received $52m in public funding sees losses grow.
Forestry shake-up: PF Olsen and Forest360 join forces in major merger
The merged company will manage about 480,000ha of forest for 1000-plus clients.
Clock ticking for Bay growers as 350 water consents near expiry
Around 350 consents, including 240 relating to horticulture, will expire on Oct 1, 2026.
Toxic algae bloom: Health warning for Lake Rotorua, Ōhau Channel
People are advised to avoid contact with the water 'in any shape or form'.
Mayors embrace ‘common-sense' regional shake-up
They have embraced a proposal to replace regional councils with mayor-led boards.
Something really stinks in Rotorua - and it’s not the sulphur
The race is on to remove the rotting material as complaints - and dead fish - pile up.
‘More reliable and quicker’: Broken wastewater plant pipe to be replaced
Repairs will take at least a week, with work under way at the Rotorua plant.
Pontoon plan riles rowers, harbourside residents
Regional council says its new facility would slash emergency response times.
Cause of leak that sent treated wastewater into lake a mystery
The leak at the Rotorua treatment plant is contained, but health warnings remain.
Drenched: Four BoP rivers reached warning levels
Most rivers were expected to peak overnight.