Stories by Lois Williams

Councils are supposed to have adopted their long-term plans by 30 June. The draft West Coast Regional Council plan has not even been finalised yet, let alone put out for consultation and adopted.

Iwi chairs on the West Coast say it is unfortunate Poutini Ngāi Tahu runanga were not involved in a recent health study that found instances of racism in the region.

A study of Māori living on the West Coast has found racial bigotry is alive and well in the region and poses a challenge for whānau trying to raise healthy, confident children.

West Coast Regional Council ratepayers will have to wait until at least next month to find out if they are facing a 30 percent rate rise.

A report on the risk of the West Coast Regional Council headquarters collapsing in an earthquake might make staff eat lunch at their desks.

West Coast mayors are calling for a halt to identifying significant natural areas (SNAs) on private land, after suggestions that the process could be paused in the Far North.

The former chairman of the West Coast Conservation Board is feeling vindicated after a High Court decision that the Department of Conservation cannot allow recreational helicopter flights into Paparoa…

Cycling and bike trails are important but trucks are the region's lifeline, the regional council chair says.

A tiny West Coast community is horrified its residents will be paying nearly $1800 a year for their water in five years' time.

The creation of a Māori ward has been voted down by Kaikōura District Council, bucking a national trend.

A planned coup against West Coast Regional Council chairman Allan Birchfield has been called off, after iwi leaders stepped in to defuse the row.

The acting chief executive of the West Coast Regional Council, Heather Mabin, has been given authority to sign off on loan documents in the continuing absence of council chief executive Vin Smith.

Forest and Bird says there is no truth to comments that have implicated it in a bid to roll West Coast Regional Council chairman Allan Birchfield.

The leadership crisis at the West Coast Regional Council could end up costing ratepayers dearly, West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor warns.

If West Coast Regional Council chair Allan Birchfield is unseated, his deputy wants the job.

Beleaguered West Coast Regional Council chairman Allan Birchfield has rejected claims that he bullied council staff and tried to interfere with resource consent decisions.

An attempted coup is underway at the West Coast Regional Council with a bid to roll the chairperson Allan Birchfield.

The little town of 900 is the first in New Zealand to have the shots on offer to the general public.

Field inspections will begin on the West Coast this winter to decide if significant natural areas (SNAs) spotted by researchers using maps, are in fact worth protecting.

The company hoping to reopen the old Sugarloaf quarry in South Westland says it needs access to stewardship conservation land to minimise visual impact, maximise the resource and do the job safely.

The West Coast Regional Council has taken no further action against two private dumps that were found to be bending the rules of their resource consents.

The government has approved a scaled-down version of the Franz Josef flood protection plan, but one which will still be a major shot in the arm for the stricken tourist town.

A surge of New Zealand visitors to the West Coast has been a boon to communities, but the increased presence of dogs poses a problem for the wildlife-rich region.

Sweeping reforms to the public health system have been met with cautious optimism on the West Coast.

A claim the West Coast Regional Council is being anti-competitive in its dealings over quarries and rock supply contracts is being angrily rejected.