Local Council

In a speech to supporters on Saturday night, Little said Whanau had shown courage during her time as mayor.

Lydia Gliddon says she is "deeply honoured" to be the new mayor of Selwyn, after beating incumbent and Local Government NZ president Sam Broughton in a landslide victory.

Civic leaders in Auckland and Christchurch have returned, but new leaders will take office in Wellington and Dunedin, while some areas have scrapped Māori wards.

Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger is grateful to be re-elected for a second term.

Trevor Maxwell's election success may soon see him set a national record.

The former Labour Party leader said he felt excited and "somewhat daunted" by the role.

Incumbent Jules Radich confirmed his bid for a second term was unsuccessful, with Sophie Barker and Andrew Simms in the lead.

Both Lower Hutt and Porirua voters seem to back the idea of exploring the idea of amalgamation between Wellington region's councils.

Tim Macindoe is the early frontrunner, but more than 5500 votes were cast in the final hours.

At Manukau Library, students, parents and grandparents lined up together to vote on Saturday morning before the cutoff.

An inquest is underway into the deaths of 13 people in relation to the 2023 cyclone.

Polls across the country close at midday.

Te Toi Mahana will build its first two new developments in the northern Wellington suburbs of Tawa and Crofton Downs.

The district is still topping the region's voter turnout leaderboard with an overall local voter election return of 38.9 percent.

Twelve sites around Wellington have been left largely unmown since August last year. Audio

The regional council says it's investigating whether the city council breached resource management rules. Audio

With two days remaining until polls close, only 21.9 percent of eligible voters had returned their papers.