3+ hour, 50+ min ago   (507+ words) A Taranaki iwi has signed a resource management agreement with its local council despite a looming Government ban on such deals. Ngāti Ruanui and South Taranaki District Council signed their Mana Whakahono ā Rohe on Wednesday, just ahead of Resource…...

3+ day, 21+ hour ago   (1666+ words) Today, the Government lifted the lid on its 2026 Budget, publishing hundreds of pages of advice ministers received before Budget Day. The Herald’s political reporters scoured those pages for the inside story on the decisions behind Nicola Willis’ election-year Budget. This…...

5+ day, 9+ hour ago   (522+ words) David Seymour is defending the Government’s low-cost school lunch programme after revelations “unknown” foreign matter was found in a brownie that came with the meals. The Associate Education Minister said there were similar issues with the previous Government’s programme and…...

5+ day, 8+ hour ago   (1229+ words) National Party MP Stuart Smith (left) has created a Local Government Amendment Bill to ensure elected members have access to council information, and Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell (centre) backs the bill. Tauranga City councillor Glen Crowther shares his previous struggles…...

5+ day, 21+ hour ago   (1087+ words) Anger at residential fast-track developers spilled over at a fiery Auckland Council meeting today. Councillors voted unanimously to investigate ways to tell those planning such projects they aren’t wanted. As the Herald revealed last week, the council is considering telling…...

1+ week, 21+ hour ago   (380+ words) Labour leader Chris Hipkins said his party will reduce agricultural emissions but would not commit to agricultural emissions pricing, something that Labour has taken to every election since 2008. At a press stand-up on Sunday, Hipkins was asked five times what…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago   (888+ words) Tauranga City Council chief executive Marty Grenfell said the Mauao landslide external review findings were clear and the organisation accepted them "without qualification". Councillors hammered senior Tauranga City Council staff with questions in a meeting to discuss a highly critical…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago   (697+ words) Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell has told tourism industry operators that the “conversation isn’t over” with the Government about its ditching of a “bed tax”. She was speaking at Tourism Industry Aotearoa’s revised strategy launch at Rotorua’s Te Puia today. The…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago   (754+ words) In a week dominated by issues plaguing local government and increasing tension between mayors and ministers, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says he’s waiting until after the election for politics to settle down. The fourth annual State of the City report…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago   (418+ words) The front page article on the geotech report warning [News, August 22] was read with interest and brings up more questions: Surely well before the meeting, so cancellation of the meeting would not have mattered, as the agenda would theoretically have…...