Stories by Niva Chittock

A former member of the Gloriavale Christian community has told a court how his daughter suffered third-degree burns after having a seizure at work in the kitchen.

A former Gloriavale member says she returned to work a week after her baby was born and believes the early separation from her eldest child has had an ongoing effect.

An ex-Gloriavale member said she could always be scared into doing something by the thought of being smacked. She broke down while giving evidence in the Employment Court today.

Christchurch City Council has voted against a government directive to introduce new housing intensification standards.

The news of a new one-off public holiday has gone down well, with some New Zealanders looking forward to a bonus day off.

Passionate speeches against potential new housing intensification rules were delivered at a Christchurch City Council meeting, but the decision has been delayed.

Tensions are running high in Ōtautahi as the city council prepares to vote on controversial new national housing density rules.

A group of Cantabrians are taking their local council to court after it allowed a development to go ahead on prime farmland.

Some residents remain almost completely isolated a week after the region declared a state of emergency.

Christchurch City Council is doing all it can to avoid an estimated $63 million bill to fluoridate the city's water.

Westport residents have had their first opportunity to question experts about a potentially ground-breaking business case to ease severe flooding in the town over the next hundred years.

Support services say National's new welfare policy is outdated, and will worsen the situation for beneficiaries.

Coastguard says the family of four whose boat became stuck on the Kaikōura coast over the weekend rescued themselves.

Floodwaters stubbornly remain in some parts of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula, turning backyards into lakes and sending rubbish bins drifting past front fences.

Schools have been shut, businesses inundated and dozens of roads closed around Christchurch today, as heavy rain continues to lash the region

A long-running Canterbury water stoush has been settled - at least for now - with the Court of Appeal yesterday throwing out controversial water bottling consents.

People are encouraged to educate themselves on the signs of cyanobacteria poisoning amid concerns climate change may see cases rise.

Paying with cash, reading books and playing board games to pass the time. It's not a bach holiday, it's Taumarunui - and there's no knowing when the fibre will be fixed.

Many families are struggling to afford burials, as Work and Income's funeral grant fails to keep pace with rising costs.

Nursing graduates are having to wait weeks between finishing their study and starting work despite the health sector's staffing crisis.

A Queenstown eatery says they have been struggling to serve an influx of tourists flocking to the town for the school holidays.

Cantabrians' reliance on cars may be to blame for the highest per-capita levels of pollution in the country, chief science advisor to the Ministry of Transport Simon Kingham says.

A petition has been handed to Canterbury politicians urging that a plan for four composting feed farms near Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere be stopped.

Cantabrians are set to receive cheaper public transport, more flood recovery support and an extra $300,000 in contestable community funding.

Another Christchurch school rebuild was officially opened today, with more than half of the Ministry of Education's $1.3 billion programme now complete.