Latest from RDP - Whakatane regional news
Boy thrown from blaze boat
Eight-year-old Felix Swane said he wasn't scared but he was "very, very cold".
Boat owners devastated by fire
Whakatane is gathering around the Taits whose passenger boat went up in flames on Monday afternoon.
Passengers took to rubber duckies to escape
A witness who saw the ferry on fire off the coast of Whakatane said everybody got to shore safely.
Kawerau model: I'm a total foodie
International model Danielle Hayes isn't bothered by comments made over her "too thin" frame.
Community in shock after hunter's death
A local resident said Carlos Tauhou Ngamoki got on well with everyone and they were all taking it pretty hard.
Man critical after alleged stabbing
A 28-year-old man is in critical condition after allegedly being stabbed in the chest by his partner in Kawerau.
NZ's highest breath alcohol reading?
Whakatane police pull over driver who was more than eight times the legal limit.
Another monitored offender removed bracelet
Another offender has spent nearly two days on the run after slipping his electronic monitoring bracelet while on home detention.
Hit-and-run victim 'left a gaping hole'
The family of Rangimaria White are preparing to farewell the 14-year-old who was fatally struck in an Opotiki hit-and-run overnight on Saturday.
'God took another angel'
Family and friends of Rangimaria White, killed in an alleged hit-and-run in Opotiki, have been left shell-shocked.
School to close for day to honour shot pupil
The school attended by a teenage boy who shot himself in a tragic hunting accident will close on Thursday as a mark of respect.
Hunting death boy was on his way to buy Mother's Day gift
Jamie Johnston never got the chance to give his mother Ginny her Mother's Day present after a duck hunting trip went horribly wrong.
Teen dead in hunting incident
A 16-year-old boy is dead after a hunting incident at Matata this morning.
Provinces urged to use new air services
People living in provincial New Zealand have been urged to use new air services to Auckland or risk losing them completely.
'Holy s***, I've been shot!'
A wounded hunter has described the moment he was accidentally shot by a friend - a feeling he likened to having a “hot, sharp metal rod” smashed across his back.
Metal hook rips man's scrotum
A Kawerau man has admitted ripping another man's scrotum with a metal hook.
Update: Three in hospital after car, truck collide
Three people were taken to hospital after a car and truck collided on State Highway 2 in the Waioeka Gorge, south of Opotiki, last night.
Three-way fight over $11.2m
A businesswoman, who is a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, has appealed an order requiring her to return $11.2 million to a Maori land trust.
Sunshine capital full of surprises
Justine McLeary and her young family enjoy an adventurous weekend in Whakatane.
Police officer who shot dog charged
A Whakatane police officer who shot a dog with an arrow has now been charged - after police reversed an earlier decision not to charge the man.
Mum's calamitous bed dive accident
A misguided dive onto a bed has left a former top volleyball representative not knowing if she will walk again.
NZ's cheapest homes revealed
A humble road in central Kawerau has been revealed as a bargain hunter's dream, laying claim to the cheapest stretch of residential real estate anywhere in New Zealand.
Teen with rare cancer farewelled
He did a Superman dive onto his bed the day he died - family mourns teen Charles Tareha, who refused to let cancer define him.