Latest from Public Interest - LDR

Regional Council election spending revealed

Stuart Crosby got in, but others who spent thousands failed to win.

'Full circle': No housing for Parau Farms as city reverts to sports field plan

'We can do housing better elsewhere,' Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale says.

Cyclist breaks shoulder and pelvis on Gisborne cycleway rail gap, fixes underway

Eastland Port will fill the track gap and add anti-slip coating this month.

Titirangi residents fear being cut off as 10-week road closure begins

Residents say six weeks' notice is not enough to plan hospital visits.

Rotorua Museum building work ahead of schedule, but $8m funding hole remains

The museum, housed in the iconic Bath House, has been closed for almost a decade.

Inside Waikato University's 'ambitious plans' to grow Tauranga campus

Plans include property buys, 300 new student beds, more staff and more programmes.

'Good luck': Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown slams Kaipara-Rodney breakaway pitch

The plan would merge North Rodney’s 50,000 people with Kaipara’s 30,000.

'Entirely flawed': Regional councillors hit back at government reforms

Bay of Plenty councillors criticise government’s local reform, seek stronger Māori voice.

From reels to phone calls: How Gisborne councillors engage with constituents

LGNZ now runs training on safe, effective social media use, popular with younger members.

‘The council needs to build its own one’: Volunteer closes Gisborne motorhome dump station

The Awapuni Rd dump station, voluntarily run by Brian Hall, closed on January 31.

'Nothing prepares you for it': Mayor's 'confronting' days after deadly landslide

The former rower describes the days after the disaster as the hardest of his life.

'This isn’t about putting prices up': Rafting business merger goes to ComCom

The deal would see all of Rotorua's rafting companies form a joint venture.

Slip tragedy review may find nothing council could have done - mayor

'It may be that this is a natural disaster and there wasn’t any action.'

Civil Defence defends decision to include Rotorua in state of emergency

The mayor was concerned it would cause confusion, given the low risk for Rotorua.

Mauao landslide: Council opts to bring in external reviewer

Several councillors emphasised the need for rapid answers after the slip took six lives.

'A real shame’: Community reacts to Rotorua post shop closures

Rotorua’s post shop closures will hit older residents hardest, say locals.