Samantha Motion is a regional content leader for NZME. She has reported in the Bay of Plenty region for more than a decade.
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How a Fordlands stream project is inspiring its community
The Hutia te Rito project in Fordlands employs 10 local jobseekers.
Editorial: Christmas donations show community spirit still shining through
OPINION: In trying financial times, people still find the capacity to give.
'National movement': Youth drive 283,000-signature petition against Treaty bill
The Rotorua law student who authored it says the support was 'overwhelming but inspiring'.
'She will be fantastic': 10yo dancer excited for role in Royal NZ Ballet show
'She was really excited when she was asked to do the part, as she loves performing.'
'Rare human': Tributes flow for tireless 'community champion'
His death on Sunday after a heart attack in Rotorua on Saturday was a 'huge shock'.
Colleagues 'shattered' as 'incredible' local leader dies
'Huge shock - He will be sorely missed.'
Car crashes into restaurant: Six injured
One neighbour said the crash sounded like an earthquake or a truck driving past.
Four injured as car crashes into restaurant in Rotorua
Police were called about 5.55pm to a two-vehicle crash on Fenton St, near Grey St.
Opinion: Let's not forget the lives on the line in road cone debate
Opinion: Road workers are at the coalface of public roadworks rage.
Opinion: The big question the census didn't ask but will still answer
Kiwis may be losing their religion but need reasons to keep the faith in big public data.
Tracking Miss Daisy: Was life better when we didn't know where the sharks are?
Bay beachgoers can't stop talking about a great white shark tracking app.
Samantha Motion: The raw, burning regret of slacking off in the sun
OPINION: The blistering was so extensive and painful I couldn’t leave the house for days.
Another holly, jolly Bay of Plenty news parody
OPINION: Samantha Motion returns with another musical take on the year in news
Ho ho hold up: More ratepayer dosh without consultation?
OPINION: Commissioners' decision to skip consultation indicates they've stopped listening.
Samantha Motion: When the going gets tough, the tough get giving
OPINION: A tough year has not dampened Rotorua's giving spirit.
Opinion: Stuck in limbo on the elective surgery waiting list
OPINION: What it's like to be one of the thousands waiting to go under the knife.
Bill Pomare's Melbourne Cup dream still alive despite tough year
'I do hope it gets to the point where he will have another shot at the Melbourne Cup.'
Samantha Motion: Protests trump apathy as climate disaster looms
Opinion: Perhaps 'extreme' protests are needed to snap us out of our cognitive dissonance.
Samantha Motion: It's time to address the orange envelope in the room
OPINION: What do we want from the people we vote for, anyway?
Samantha Motion: There will never be another like Queen Elizabeth II
OPINION: The Queen used her celebrity with an amazing grace that befitted her position.
Opinion: Is climate change to blame for prevalence of potholes?
OPINION: Local roads, state highways, rural roads; none are spared the scouring forces.
Opinion: Should parents be held responsible for their kids' crimes?
Opinion: Parents should be held responsible when their kids act up and harm others.
Samantha Motion: Pokies plague creates ethical dilemma for communities
OPINION: There's no shortage of shocking statistics when it comes to pokies in NZ.
Samantha Motion: US opioid crisis is lapping at our shores - is NZ ready?
Many who die from the drug do not know they have taken it.
Opinion: New Year in summer is terrible - Matariki makes it right
Opinion: It's good to set goals - but summer's a sucky time to start.
Do local politicians really need to live locally?
Giving up on local candidates being local would be another nail in the coffin.
Opinion: 'Fat girl!' The story of (another) verbal hit-and-run
OPINION: Why is it always a loser in a crappy car?
Opinion: As New Zealand reopens, tourism shouldn't forget Kiwis
OPINION: Tourism's adaptations for NZ travellers should last beyond the pandemic.
Opinion | Gib board shortage: Taking advantage of home builders is despicable
OPINION: Stockpiling, price inflation is a ruthless way to make a quick buck.
Samantha Motion: We need an exit plan for vaccine mandates
OPINION: Public support for the mandates is demonstrably waning.
Samantha Motion: After the year of the vax, these people deserve our thanks
OPINION: Next week marks a year since New Zealand began rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine.
Samantha Motion: MIQ's short hello and long goodbye
OPINION: MIQ came to - or rather, was dropped on - Rotorua one weekend in June 2020.
Samantha Motion: The case for restricting dogs on beaches - to benefit dogs
OPINION: The Bay of Plenty is a great place to live or holiday with a pooch.
Samantha Motion: The biggest losers of the vaccine pass era aren't the unvaccinated
Councils can choose whether they require vaccine passes at public facilities.
Samantha Motion: Dear Auckland, you are all we want for Christmas
OPINION: Today, the Government is set to give more detail about the path out of lockdown.
Katikati Covid case: Locations of interest, testing, jabs - what you need to know
Locations of interest, testing sites, vaccination sites, what we know about the case.
Samantha Motion: Delta is at the gates, time to suit up
OPINION: Unvaccinated people have decisions to make as Covid spreads further.
Samantha Motion: Masks seem here to stay, but we can learn to live with them
OPINION: Masks are part of life in New Zealand now and probably will be for some time.
Samantha Motion: It's time for a real debate on arming police
Gun crime hit a new high in New Zealand last year - but is the answer more guns?
Samantha Motion: How Dry July gives more than it gets
OPINION: There is evidence drinkers can really stand to gain if they stick it out.
Samantha Motion: The ocean was on fire but there's a bigger problem in the water
New Zealand's phasing out of single-use plastics is a great start, but it's a slow burn.
Samantha Motion: Bring back the biff in rugby league? Yeah, nah
OPINION: If a bloke wants to punch his mate, he can take up boxing or MMA.
Opinion: Time will tell if Kawerau can survive mill closure as a single entity
OPINION: Time will tell if whether the town can remain a district in its own right.
Samantha Motion: Marriage is so last century, but we can still learn from it
OPINION: The qualities that make a good marriage apply to any sort of long-term union.
Samantha Motion: Our housing response is broken if it harms one to help another
OPINION: There is good intention in the housing market, but the system is broken.
Samantha Motion: Back from the brink - Maketu Pies' extraordinary survival
Opinion: There are fringe and rural towns around New Zealand teetering on the edge.
Samantha Motion: We're open to Aussies on planes, why not cruise ships?
If the Government doesn't find some urgency, another summer season may sail by.
Samantha Motion: We need a living wage to ease impact of rising rents
Opinion: Shocking accommodation supplement stats show full-time workers are struggling.
Samantha Motion: How to spot lifestyle creep before it's too late
My goal is a balance between future-focused frugality and enjoying my money.
Samantha Motion: Land use changes par for course in housing crisis
Opinion: Golf courses are not exactly multifunctional spaces open to the community.
Samantha Motion: Bay Patrol is the sun-soaked summer of dreams and nightmares
Opinion: Summer rewind on Bay Patrol - but it's not all fun and games for the lifeguards
Samantha Motion: Good neighbours must do travel bubbles right
Opinion: High fences don't necessarily mean we have walls up.
Samantha Motion: Not in my backyard: Scourge of suburban moaners
Opinion: There's a difference between dobbing in a party and a popular community event.
Samantha Motion: How lockdown changed my life
Opinion: The lockdown experience flicked a switch and there was no going back.
Samantha Motion: You don't have to buy a house before you're 30
OPINION: The goalposts keep moving for first-home buyers.
Samantha Motion: In politics, talking about people is not small-minded
'Great minds discuss ideas, small minds discuss people' - discuss.
Samantha Motion: Up to us to listen in and speak out on local affairs
Opinion: Participation in a democracy is a two-way street.
Samantha Motion: The superhuman strength of sick kids and their families
OPINION: No amount of sympathy can put us in their shoes.
Tie debate: Why some men still wear them, and others don't miss them
For one businessman, a tie means 'game on', but others don't miss them.
Samantha Motion: Changes to school names are remaking history
Opinion: Name changes can be met with grumbles of history erased.
Samantha Motion: What the Govt can do now to help first-home buyers
Opinion: House prices are skyrocketing but the First Home Grant cap has stayed the same.
Samantha Motion: Trump makes us treasure the good losers
OPINION: Remember when Winston Peters lost the election and basically disappeared?
Samantha Motion: How do we get dirty dumpers to do the right thing?
OPINION: Careless people are treating charity secondhand shops like dumps.
Samantha Motion: Attitude check needed for landlords resisting rental reform
Opinion: Laws aren't the only thing that needs to change for some.
'Soft touch': Taxpayers foot bill for foreigners' hospital debts
'Payment to be agreed to, before medical care is provided.'
Revealed: How much the mayor spent on her council 'card'
"I am very, very careful".
Samantha Motion: There's one 2020 lesson we shouldn't forget
As many people head back to work, let's remember what we learned the hard way last year.
Samantha Motion: A holly, jolly, news parody of the best Christmas song ever
OPINION: Is it even Christmas without the drunk tank or the boys of the NYPD choir?
Questions as regional council mulls big rates rise
One-off 'humps' tend to repeat, warns councillor.
Samantha Motion: When roads become bitumen battlegrounds
Opinion: We all play a little justification game to excuse our bad driving behaviour.
Samantha Motion: Concerns over homeless stem from pride of place
Opinion: It's time for some straight answers and real solutions on emergency housing.
One passenger in six months: Plug pulled on 'abysmal' bus trial
There have been only 51 rides on the trial service since it was introduced a year ago.
'Rare' Rotorua mural sells for $336k at auction
'It needs a home where someone will look after it.'
Samantha Motion: It's not fair to say renters just shouldn't get pets
Opinion: Tenants with pets are being put through the wringer in the rental market.
Samantha Motion: Christmas in November? Okay, but just this once
Opinion: The war on Christmas creep should be suspended this year.
Samantha Motion: Yes, our region is beautiful - but it can be deadly
Opinion: Recent water tragedies and mishaps in the Bay of Plenty should be a reminder.
Why I changed my mind about free school lunches
OPINION: Personal responsibility is valuable - until it isn't.
Coo-pling up? Senior kererū proves its never too late to find love
'It's cute, the two of them have been cooing back and forth to each other.'
Samantha Motion: 10 really good things from 2020
Opinion: Okay, a lot of bad stuff has happened. But let's take a little break from that.
'Don't fall into the same trap I did': Cancer survivor's advice for mayor
'There are more important things than being mayor of Tauranga.'