Latest from Local Government

Sea pollution: Going down the drain

Thirteen days before the world's top male triathletes dived into the chilly, salty Waitemata Harbour for the grand final of their championship series, the water was sampled for signs of bacterial contamination.

No closure for CTV families

Lessons will be learned, future lives saved, but for families of Canterbury Television building earthquake victims there will never be closure.

Hamilton council ordered to pay for sewage leak

CTV: 20 years of errors

A series of errors over 20 years led to the catastrophic collapse of the CTV building in the second major Christchurch quake, a Royal Commission has found.

CTV findings welcomed

Families of Canterbury Television building collapse victims have welcomed the findings of a royal commission into the building's collapse.

Deborah Hill-Cone: Utopia, whether we want it or not

More booze outlets mean more violence

Call to redo beaches lost to bridge

Auckland transport politicians are backing a proposal to recreate beaches lost to North Shore's Shoal Bay when the harbour bridge was built in the 1950s.

Most NZ buildings to be quake assessed

All non-residential buildings and high-rise, multi-unit apartments in NZ will be assessed for earthquake risk and the results made public under new proposals.

Govt passes law to rein in council spending

Legislation the Government says will rein in local authority rates increases was passed yesterday amid Opposition criticism it was unjustified and would result in reduced services to communities.

CTV inquiry report handed over to Government

Maori fight over asset sales

The Maori Council's challenge to the Government's partial asset sales plan is likely to bypass the Court of Appeal and go directly to the Supreme Court early next year in order to meet the looming deadline for the sale of Mighty River Power.

Brown takes knife to capital spend

Aucklanders will have to wait longer to catch a tram from Britomart to Wynyard Quarter to help trim rates next year.

Editorial: City's blanket ban on razing old homes a step too far

Editorial: In one swoop, all houses built before World War II will be deemed to have special merit. Never mind that in any period a mixture of good, average and awful homes are built.

Asset sale decision expected soon

The Maori Council's High Court bid to halt the sale of Mighty River Power ended in Wellington today with a decision likely before Christmas.

Legal bid based on 'misconception'

The Maori Council's legal bid to block the Government's asset sales programme is based on a "misconception" about the Cabinet's role in advancing the plan, Crown lawyers argued in court yesterday.

PM misled public on water ownership - Maori Council

Maori Council's legal bid to stop asset sales hits strong opposition