Stories by Lois Williams

More than 5000 Northland children and teenagers have been vaccinated against the new W strain of meningococcal disease.

An Auckland company hoping to mine peat soils from wetlands north of Kaitaia has surrendered its resource consents.

Residents of Opito Bay near Kerikeri are devastated after the discovery that someone has killed their beachfront pōhutukawa.

More than $8 million in funding will help scientists get a better handle on kauri dieback disease and stop its spread.

A Far North iwi says it is in the firing line for trying to develop its land, while all around it developers are digging up similar land for orchards and no-one's bothered.

Whangārei people sleeping under bridges or in their cars now have somewhere to go for a wash, a cuppa, companionship and help during the day.

A small Far North conservation group has won a court battle that could shut down the majority of swamp kauri exports.

Ngāpuhi people are about to vote on a new plan for Treaty negotiations but a significant number of hapū have already declared they want no part of it.

The typical Northland household is now paying about $55 a week for electricity, about $9 a week above the national average.

The new mandate model for the Ngāpuhi settlement is a blueprint for war, according to Ngāti Hine chair Waihoroi Shortland.

Northland has been let down by the decision not to build a four-lane highway south of Whangārei, the electorate's National MP Shane Reti says.

The long-held dream of a Māori cultural centre for Whangarei is hanging on hopes of a $5 million council grant.

The laws need to change to protect teachers acting in good faith, the President of the Tai Tokerau Principals association has said.

It's shaping up to be the Year of the Sheep at A&P shows in Northland this season, with concerns over Mycoplasma bovis risk.

Scientists begin work this week in Northland's Waipoua Forest to see how close kauri dieback has crept to Tāne Mahuta.

Homeless people are finding their way to Whangārei's new day shelter - which will offer a doctor's clinic and access to a social worker - even though it hasn't officially opened.

Department of Conservation staff in Whangārei have been forced to climb fences to visit its reserves to investigate complaints that Northpower is blocking public access to them.

A small Auckland airline is about to take on Air New Zealand by starting a competitively-priced service to Whangārei.

The deadline has been pushed back for Ngāpuhi people to offer feedback on the latest plan to get their Treaty settlement underway.

Department of Conservation staff visited a Northland power station on Tuesday to check out claims it is shutting people out of public reserves on the Wairua River.

Two Northland men challenging DOC's right to drop 1080 on Russell State Forest say it needs to show it has consent from Māori and the community.

Work's begun in earnest this week on Whangārei's Hundertwasser Art Centre.

Conservationists are elated at the prospect of a long-awaited 1080 drop on Northland's imperilled Russell State Forest, but others in the community are feeling nervous.

The search for a humpback whale entangled in ropes in the Bay of Islands has been called off for the day.