Stories by Andrew McRae

Grossly over-governed and desperately in need of reform is how the Waikato Chamber of Commerce views the region.

Hamilton City Council has done a u-turn over Māori wards voting to consider them in 2022 after a three-week period of public consultation.

Survivors of abuse and the network groups that support them want an independent statutory body to oversee the redress process for victims.

Survivor groups have left the inquiry into abuse in care in no doubt how little trust they have in churches of ever getting the redress process right.

The Catholic order, the Society of Mary, has told the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care that it prefers not to be part of the church's complaint process and would rather go it alone.

A theologian has pointed the blame directly at the hierarchy and structure of the Catholic Church for abuse by priests.

The Catholic Church in New Zealand has vowed to address abuse and put a stop to it, but survivors say they have no confidence in the church process.

The Primates of the Anglican Church say some of the historical abuse of people in its care was ignored or covered up by the church.

A leader in the Anglican Church says he would prefer it to run its own new redress process for victims of abuse rather than have a national independent system imposed on it.

The Anglican Bishop of Christchurch is not ruling out that at least 80 former students of Christ's College were victimised or abused while in its care.

A disconnected telephone helpline, missing files that detailed sexual abuse, and a serious lack of training were some of the Anglican Church's more embarrassing admissions at Thursday's redress…

The Anglican Church has introduced tougher psychological screening to help test the character of people wanting to join the clergy.

The Salvation Army has given a lukewarm response the idea of establishing an independent body to deal with all claims of abuse of people in the care of the state and churches.

"I would like to reiterate on behalf of the whole Salvation Army our deep regret and shame," Salvation Army chief secretary in New Zealand Gerry Walker says.

Abuse victims are hoping churches will take ownership of the past when they are given their chance to respond to claims during a two-week public hearing.

A survey of one of the world's rarest dolphins is underway off the west coast of the North Island.

Monitoring equipment on Raoul Island knocked out by Friday's 8.1 magnitude quake is likely to be back up and running by the end of this week.

Meridian Energy is targeting 100,000 tonnes of carbon reduction from boilers run on fossil fuels, primarily coal fired but also diesel and gas.

The number of children and young people treated at the controversial Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital in the 1970s may have been much higher than initially thought.

Where cows were grazing last week, scientists are now poring over two trenches dug on farmland at Tatuanui near Morrinsville in the Waikato.

Latest figures showing rising household incomes are hiding what some say is a growing disparity between the have and the have nots, particularly around homeownership.

A man who came through state care, corrective training and prison believes his life has been set back 30 years by the physical and psychological abuse he received.

Obtaining vital clues to the health and history of lakes in Aotearoa-New Zealand is the focus of research being carried out on three Rotorua lakes.

A group representing some survivors of abuse in faith-based care wants churches to come out and support the call for the setting up of an independent body to deal with all complaints of abuse.

A survivor group for people abused while in the care of the Catholic Church says only a fraction of them are coming forward.