Stories by Peter de Graaf

The council's strongly worded resolution also called on the CEO to explore the legal implications of not holding a binding poll as required.

The council will be one of the last local authorities in the country to choose between scrapping its Māori ward and holding a binding poll at the 2025 election. Audio

A Northland council appears to be on a collision course with the government over moves to reduce speed limits on local roads.

A pilot has been injured in a microlight crash near Kaikohe, in the Far North, while a worker in Whangārei has been critically injured.

It boasts some of the nation's best beaches and the cradle of NZ history - but some argue the region should be just as well known as a setting for crime fiction.

The vote will be held on Friday to avoid a clash with the final day of Kiingi Tuheitia's tangi.

The 79-year-old was arrested during an investigation into accusations of sex offending when he was part of the secretive sect.

A disabled Northland man was punched twice in the head outside Countdown in Kerikeri.

Three new research projects aim to boost the chances of survival of New Zealand's rarest bird.

Whangārei District councillors have voted down a motion to abolish their Māori ward in a two-hour, often emotional debate.

The council currently has two Māori ward councillors, Phoenix Ruka and Deb Harding, elected at large across the district.

The city with the highest average income has the cheapest electricity, data reveals.

Levi Johns spent an hour in the sea before surrendering on a Coastguard vessel.

Te Kohekohe will provide 60 homes in an area where accommodation is in desperately short supply.

Police say the man missed his calling: "He should have been a marathon swimmer."

The strike has been planned to highlight the fear nurses have about working in a hospital with no doctors after-hours.

The whale was discovered on a beach at Te Kaha and has finally been identified through DNA analysis.

Two others are being sought after robbers entered the store armed with an axe and a long-barrelled rifle.

August Lemon was arrested this week and appeared in Whangārei District Court, charged with knowingly endangering life by setting fire to property.

Stressed-out nurses in Dargaville are going on strike over fears for staff and patients while there is no doctor at the beleaguered hospital.

Kawakawa's ambulance service has already been under extra pressure due to recent staff shortages at the hospital.

Tangipo Ryder returned home to family land a year ago, but can't enrol with a doctor anywhere nearby. Audio

"The employed staff already work 40-60 hours per week, plus additional shifts," doctors say.

When Sam Erickson started hooking one sickly snapper after another, he knew something was seriously wrong.

Devastating floods that have swamped three towns may soon be a thing of the past - or at least less frequent.