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Local Democracy Reporting
Local Democracy Reporting headlines with summaries.
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Cash-strapped councils can't afford SNA compensation
10 Dec 2025A regional councillor who lobbied for years for compensation for landowner affected by SNAs says the government's changes are sound, but case compensation on the West Coast was a "pipe dream".
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Neighbours fume over plans to axe trees for solar farm
10 Dec 2025A council has thrown its support behind residents of a country lane distressed about Genesis Energy's plans.
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Southland's waters warming faster than most
6 Dec 2025While the warmer waters may mean more enjoyable swimming temperatures, continued increases will be detrimental to a wide range of coastal ecosystems, including valued fisheries.
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Govt's feral cat changes 'validate' Nelson, Tasman rules
9 Dec 2025Last month, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka announced feral cats would be added to the Predator Free 2050 strategy.
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One Wairarapa council to rule them all? The mayors' view
7 Dec 2025Wairarapa mayors give their view on a range of changes affecting the future of local government.
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'A gesture of courage': Whanganui hapū celebrate settlement milestone
5 Dec 2025Lead negotiator Ken Mair said the ceremony marked a major milestone in a "long and tiring" Treaty settlement journey.
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Canterbury Tuahiwi School opens new whare for 250 tamariki
5 Dec 2025The new Tūranga Tuarua hall at Te Kura o Tuahiwi allows assemblies, sports, and cultural events for 250 students.
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Controversial flag exhibit stolen from Hastings art gallery
5 Dec 2025A piece of artwork that prompted 101 complaints in a week has now been stolen from a Hastings art gallery.
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Watch: Video offers first glimpse of Wairoa's planned flood spillway
5 Dec 2025After Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, the Hawke's Bay town was given $70 million of Crown funding to provide the town with protection from future flooding.
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Concerns over Rotorua Night Market trial as sales plummet
The council began the trial in October to save in costs, enable earlier summer trading and address health and safety concerns.
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Health and safety paralysis holding back walkway - volunteers
4 Dec 2025About 100 people crowded into the Whakatāne District Council chambers on Wednesday in a show of support for the restoration of Ōhope Beach's iconic West End walkway.
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Wairarapa council's green initiatives in full bloom
4 Dec 2025From no-mow trials in public parks to soft plastic recycling, Carterton council is adopting sustainable practices across its business units.
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Code browns strike again in Invercargill pool
4 Dec 2025Last week, the learners pool closed for 1 hour 45 minutes due to a faecal contamination incident,
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Suspicious fire engulfs multiple trucks overnight
4 Dec 2025Police are investigating a suspicious fire which damaged four vehicles at Invercargill's Queens Park in the early hours.
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Rates cap puts future infrastructure projects at risk ‒ Marlborough mayor
4 Dec 2025Local government inflation was 3.3 percent this year, meaning almost all of a 4 percent rates cap would have been used to cover inflation, Nadine Taylor said.
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New report maps landslide risks on West Coast
4 Dec 2025In a few weeks' time, West Coasters will be able to find out if their home - or one they're planning to buy - may be at risk of damage or even demolition in a landslide.
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Rotokākahi pipeline planning grievances aired in High Court
4 Dec 2025The Rotokākahi Board of Control has aired its grievances at the High Court in Rotorua about the process to install a sewerage pipeline near a sacred lake. Rotorua Lakes Council's...
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North Canterbury housing development drags on
4 Dec 2025The fate of a proposed North Canterbury housing development is no closer to being known, more than two years after it was first rejected.
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Rates cap will hit tourism districts - Ruapehu mayor
4 Dec 2025The government's new rates cap will hit the most vulnerable, infrastructure-stressed councils hardest, Weston Kirton says.
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'We've got one chance': Council leader blasts boat ramp call amid clam threat
3 Dec 2025The decision not to close the ramp at Lake Taharoa was made as the threat of invasive freshwater gold clams grows.
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'Grinch' mayor may save Winter Festival
3 Dec 2025Max Brough who campaigned on a rates cap dressed as the Grinch in New Plymouth's Christmas Parade last weekend.
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Rates cap divide: Ratepayers cheer as mayors urge caution
3 Dec 2025South Wairarapa Mayor Fran Wilde said more detail was needed from the government to answer important questions on the banded rates cap.
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Crate Day revellers warned to watch for nesting birds
2 Dec 2025Environment Canterbury rangers, other agencies and volunteers will be out in force on Saturday to protect nesting birds on Crate Day.
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'Please walk on me': NZ flag exhibition shocks councillor
2 Dec 2025The controversial installation includes a New Zealand flag laid on the floor, inviting people to "please walk on me".
Top News stories
- Watch: 'New Zealand stands with you' - vigil held for Mount Maunganui landslide victims
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- Families rely on donations to pay for school uniforms, stationery
- Hastings Councillor skips planning session at marae over te reo and faith concerns
- Second Mount Maunganui landslide victim formally identified as Swedish tourist
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