Stories by Moana Ellis

Ruapehu District councillors are seeking advice on the consequences if they refuse to run a binding poll on its Māori ward on at next October's election.

More than half of the 45 district, city and regional councils have voted in the past month, with all but two choosing to retain their Māori seats for the 2025 elections.

The mill, which employs 230 people across two sites in the central North Island, announced it was closing due to high electricity prices.

Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton says he is deeply concerned as around 230 jobs are on the line.

Councillors left no doubt about their own feelings at a community meeting in Ohakune on their Ruapehu Māori ward.

A rural council that hit its debt ceiling while expecting relief from Three Waters cash is warning that the cost of water services is about to balloon.

A collection of freshwater gold clams were discovered after guests left a lodge in Ōwhango, in the central North Island.

The New Zealand Defence Force is moving ahead with a $490 million expansion and upgrade of housing at its military training base in Waiouru.

Recyclables will be collected weekly at the roadside, hand-sorted and disposed of by contractors.

A community effort to create more space for whitebait to spawn in the Whanganui River came up against an unexpected snag.

Pay for elected council members hinders local government's ability to attract and retain qualified councillors, a mayor says.

The new rates are determined "with a lot of difficulty" but the increase aligns with the public sector.

A Whanganui marae leader is hailing a "brave decision" by Whanganui District Council to set aside $3.5 million in its 10-year plan for marae upgrades but says social media backlash has been "vile".

Emma Rawson-Te Patu said the immediate priority for her two-year tenure at international organisation was decolonising public health globally.

A major provider of school lunches fears the government's new $3 limit for most students will see them eating more pre-packaged and processed food.

A Whanganui school lunch contractor says kaupapa Māori suppliers could be out of the picture under the government's new free school lunch model.

National Park is the current name for the village on the western edge of Tongariro National Park but iwi researchers claim Waimarino as the original name.

Whanganui council is seeking ratepayer support to sell $16 million of assets in the next year to keep its rates increase to 10.6 percent, but is not yet sure which ones.

Rangitīkei mayor Andy Watson is keeping a close eye on the issue of scale in new entities that could be set up to run water services.

The repeal of water service reforms has left some councils with significant debt problems, a district mayor says.

The relationship between Māori and the Whanganui council today is "vastly different" compared to 29 years ago, mayor Andrew Tripe says.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi's members' bill to scrap GST on food has been drawn from the ballot, but a National MP says the government has other plans.

Iwi and residents of National Park have a long wait ahead for a decision on a bid to have the central North Island village renamed Waimarino.

The latest request from local iwi to change the name of National Park Village and the nearby station to Waimarino is a chapter in a long tale.

A close-knit community in the central North Island is divided over an iwi bid to change its name.