Tracy Neal

Dirty politics have hit small-town New Zealand with candidates in Marlborough and Nelson the targets of an apparent smear campaign, a Nelson city mayoral candidate says.

A Nelson College side played the first game of rugby in New Zealand in 1870, and their modern counterparts will represent the country at a special tournament at the birthplace of the sport.

Almost half of NZ's helicopter operators admit pushing the limits of their aircrafts, a survey has found.

The discovery of an ancient footprint in Golden Bay rock is further proof that dinosaurs once walked, ate and swam in the area 70 million years ago.

Conservation officials are warning of a crackdown on illegal hunters, especially those hunting after dark on public land, as the spring season gets under way.

A family grieving over the loss of their daughter in a car accident at Mount Cook last year has forgiven the young driver responsible.

Tasman District Council is struggling to balance demand for residential growth with the need to protect valuable productive land.

A new high-tech fishing vessel launched in Nelson is a watershed moment in Māori fisheries, Ngāti Porou Seafoods chief executive Mark Ngata says. Video

An American zoologist Meg Rutledge has been given the Nelson change maker award in the annual Eelco Boswijk local heroes awards.

Levels of arsenic close to four times air quality guidelines have been detected in Richmond, Tasman District Council says.

Nelson's District Health Board is pushing for unflued indoor gas heaters to be banned from sale.

Sewage is likely to have caused the deaths of dozens of eels in a Picton stream, the local council says.

South Island councils are teaming up to form a single voice on transport planning over increasing concerns about missing out to the North Island.

A $55 million port redevelopment is underway in the Chatham Islands, with hopes an upgrade to the local airport could be next.

The Marlborough District is bolstering its hazards response plan ahead of its largest ever schedule of cruise ship visits to the Sounds.

A majority of West Coast submitters support merging some of the region's council services.

A survey on Nelson's transport options shows most respondents want a new motorway built, but opponents say the survey process was flawed. Video

Today's rescue of six people from snow in Kahurangi National Park is another reminder for people to check the weather before venturing into the wilderness, police say. Video

Local Government New Zealand has backed a proposal by a Nelson city councillor to have some state services shifted from Wellington to the regions.

The West Coast is on high alert for erosion again as heavy weather is forecast to hit much of the country this weekend.

Close to 700 submissions on proposed council reorganisation on the West Coast have been submitted to the Local Government Commission.

The government wants more women to stand for local councils to address a lack of diversity. Audio

Police in Nelson are cracking down on the use of motorised bicycles, with one rider nabbed travelling at more than 60km/h in a 50km/h zone.

Sixteen hundred home owners in Nelson will be allowed to install new very low emission woodburners, while people in other parts of the city have missed out.

The winter storm that swept over the country in the last 24 hours has brought relief to ski field operators. Video