Bay Of Plenty

Two people have died after crashes in the first 12 hours of the holiday road toll period, and both sides of State Highway 2 has been closed in Lower Hutt, after a crash.

The arrests follow a four-month operation focused on the drug trade in the Bay of Plenty city, police say.

Its owners say the project will boost services in a region where the population is increasing.

Metservice warns thunderstorms and heavy rain could hit on Saturday.

Customs officers became aware of a suspicious concealment on 11 December after a routine X-ray of a container.

The transport agency says traffic moves more "steadily" with fewer lanes.

Whakatāne Hospital's Maternity Unit will be downgraded to a primary birthing centre from mid-January with women needing specialist care being transported to Tauranga.

All four specialists have resigned at Whakatāne Hospital, leaving midwives "sick" with worry: "What happens if something goes wrong?"

Māori ward councillor Mikaere Sydney has been in hospital since July.

"The horse has already bolted. Those of us who choose not to drink fluoridated water have already figured out what we have to do."

Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell is taking the city's council to the Ombudsman after he said they failed to give satisfactory answers to an information request over the contentious sale of the city's marine…

Kiwifruit company Seeka is supporting 100 ni-Vanuatu fruit pickers helping with summer pruning to contact their families back home.

The compass was vandalised last week.

A man shot dead on the Coromandel Peninsula on Friday has been described as a "loveable ratbag" and father of five boys.

Enquiries into the circumstances of the crash remain ongoing.

A diesel spill south of Coromandel Peninsula has prompted a warning from police.

Tauranga mayor Mahé Drysdale says it is a "despicable and disrespectful act". Audio

Has Springfield Golf Course been saved?

"The objectionable nature of these odours ranges from very unpleasant to nauseating and unbearable, " one submitter to a hearing says.

John Stride made a false insurance claim on a $1.3 million policy after heavy rain caused damage to a site he was working on and for which he had failed to organise cover.