Stories by Peter de Graaf

The Northern News and The Whangārei Leader will cease publication this week, along with a weekly property lift-out.

Northland's Chamber of Commerce says the Consumer Guarantees Act only applies to retail customers, not businesses.

New Zealand's only high school steel band is winning fans with a genre-defying repertoire, ranging from pure 1970s pop to hard rock. Audio

"Incredibly relieved" - that's the reaction of a Northland business leader to news that State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyn Hills will reopen in just under a week's time.

What was meant to be a gathering Wednesday to support struggling Northland business owners is set to become a celebration instead.

The council now has just two weeks to start adding fluoride to its Kaitāia and Kerikeri water supplies after the Ministry of Health's refusal.

The patch of caulerpa was found north of Auckland during routine surveillance.

Vomiting in public, snoozing on busy roads, hanging out in KFC car parks, and waking up on strangers' couches - just some of the antics seals could get up to.

The damage is disappointing because the camera was installed at the behest of the community, a spokesperson says.

More than $30 million was spent fixing a railway line before the partly-completed project was put on hold.

A new service is offering Far Northerners free legal clinics - alongside mental health support - in a tikanga Māori setting.

Caulerpa has been found at Leigh, north of Auckland, just a short distance from the famous Goat Island Marine Reserve.

The reduction was partly achieved by councillors and staff trawling through budgets line-by-line to find $8.5 million in savings, the mayor says.

The only other major freight route between Auckland and Northland remains closed at the Brynderwyn Hills.

The camera is on State Highway 1, in an 80km/h zone between Kawakawa and Moerewa.

There are big days in Kaitāia, and there are absolutely enormous days. Wednesday was one of the latter.

The nation's most troublesome stretch of State Highway 1 will be driveable in a matter of months - if no more major storms hit.

More than 1300 people have marched through Whangārei as part of a national day of action protesting government policies affecting Māori.

Five people aboard the Enchanter died in 2022 and the skipper, Lance Goodhew, has been on trial for breaches of safety law for the past three weeks.

It was be the organisation's third chairperson in six months.

There were emotional scenes in the Far North today as district councillors passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The Department of Conservation has ordered Matutaera Te Nana Clendon to dismantle his illegal dwelling but he says he's not going anywhere. Audio

Dredging of the highly invasive seaweed could be finished by August, but only with another $5-million-plus in government funding, a Northland council leader says.

A Northland leader is calling on the government to provide financial support to businesses hard hit by the closure of State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyn Hills.

It had been due to reopen on 13 May but another seven weeks have been added to an already nine-week closure.