‘This could indicate that we have community spread’

Thursday's Budget announcement has the ability to significantly influence the way we do things as a community. It remains to be seen whether our leaders are capable of recognising opportunities for restructuring that are being offered in this...

Will Dobbie is to be thanked for his response about buying solar power from houses for the grid. Incredibly, this is the first time, after the idea has been floated on and off for a decade, that any reasonable objection has been made, by technicians...

NEARLY half of Gisborne children do not wear sunglasses often enough. New research shows that 51 percent of Te Tairāwhiti children under the age of 16 are not protecting their eyes in summer. Gisborne optometrist Nick Whittingham is urging parents...

Jack Tame regularly Skypes his 93-year-old grandmother. On his last chat she berated him that he was not “Zooming” her. She felt she was missing out. Such is the impact in this current environment. Daily Zoom usage has gone from 10 million to...

THE total fire ban across the district ended on Wednesday and has been replaced by a restricted fire season. This means permits will now be available for fires in the open in the city and rural areas. The total ban was introduced in mid-December as...

AN action plan intended to boost Gisborne’s economy will be released next week alongside a new government report aimed at boosting the economic fortunes of Tairawhiti Maori. The office of Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges yesterday...

A 73-year-old man said it would have been inappropriate to continue with his job after committing a domestic violence offence. Victor Sollum Mackey pleaded guilty to assault with intent to injure. He was sentenced to three months home detention, the...

BY day he is a software engineer in the medical device industry but the rest of the time Auckland-born Justin Chuk is a violinist who has amassed orchestral and chamber music experience in New Zealand and overseas. This week though he is focused on...

Fire broke out on the first floor of the former police station building in Peel Street last night and it appears to have been started by a cooking fire. Multiple 111 calls about the blaze came in to Fire and Emergency NZ just before 7pm.“The fire...

Labour MP Kiri Allan has organised a virtual series called East Coast Town Hall. The first meeting airs live tomorrow at 8pm on the MP's Facebook page.“East Coast Town Hall is a digital series bringing our community together and giving space to...

Trust Tairāwhiti and Eastland Group will hold a Gisborne community engagement hui next week about the proposed sale of Eastland Network. Presented by trust chair John Clarke and Eastland Group chair Matanuku Mahuika, the hui will begin with...

A TRAMPLED stock truck driver and a farm worker who rolled a quad bike were admitted to the intensive care unit at Gisborne Hospital yesterday after separate on-farm accidents. Both men were reported to be in a stable condition this morning. The first...

FIREFIGHTERS were called to the Juken New Zealand mill last night after a small smouldering fire started in a sawdust silo. Fire and Emergency NZ sent three appliances and a tanker to the plant at around 10.25pm. The crews were on site for about three...

PASSERSBY with a fire extinguisher dealt quickly with a small fire that started in the engine of a car on back Ormond Road yesterday. Fire and Emergency NZ sent an appliance to the scene at around 10.45am. The fire was out on arrival. Firefighters said...

Gisborne has stepped into the first day of summer with warm damp conditions, thanks to a strong airflow from the sub-tropics. Meteorologists treat December 1 as the first day of summer on their calendar, while astronomers mark the solstice on...

THE Gisborne District Council building in Fitzherbert Street was closed for several hours yesterday, with police and security called in after a threat was made against a staff member. Customer services was closed while police were notified.“Threats...

THREE dog triallists from this region were on the leaderboard at the end of day one of the Tux North Island titles at Mangamingi near Eltham in Taranaki. Gisborne triallist Annie Flood and her dog Scott were in the top seven in the short head and...

What are your thoughts on what has happened to the National Party this week?

FORMER Christchurch resident Andrew Lund walked into Dunblane Rest Home and Village last month while job searching and is now in charge of the office and accounts at the rest home and village.“He was walking in and I was walking out,” said...

GISBORNE dog triallist Rod Mead and Gem finished runners up at the dog trial championships at the Central Hawke's Bay show at Waikpukurau on Saturday. Mead had three dogs qualify for the 15 dog final run off. Sheena Martin from Wairoa had two dogs in...

Three private properties in Gisborne suffered erosion during the region's heavy rain earlier this month. Gisborne District Council (GDC) attended two properties in inner Kaiti which experienced riverside slumps, and one in Whataupoko related to...

The heavy rain predicted for the weekend prompted Gisborne Speedway Club to postpone its opening “mega” meeting tonight. The 2022-23 season is now scheduled to start next Saturday night. The club was expecting full fields in all classes for...

Colourful skies like these usually do not herald the best weather forecast for the day, but they sure do make for a stunning sight

‘Amazing’ community response to breast cancer fundraiser

The Media Council has ruled that a published letter to the editor was gratuitously racist. The council has also said that online postings should not have been published in the Letters to the Editor column without making it clear that these were...

A Gisborne man caught up in a Hawke's Bay police drug operation Casino will appear in court there on charges arising. John James Stuart Atkins, 40, has pleaded not guilty to supplying and conspiring to deal methamphetamine, arising out of alleged...

A Dunedin couple visiting Gisborne had to drive 40 minutes out of town to find a place to sleep on Wednesday night because all accommodation was booked up. Heather and Denys Jeffery said they were going to return to Whakatane to sleep at one stage...

God of nations at thy feet, in the bonds of “love” we meet, Hear our voices we entreat. God Defend New Zealand. God Save the Queen! All rise! The court is now in session. Aotearoa was reformed into a colony of the British Empire through coercion...

A PICK and a shovel were not needed last night at Unity Theatre to discover the dark seams of this country’s struggling underclass. In his preview performance of Coaltown Blues, solo performer Chris Green of Black Beech Theatre brought to life the...