Bay Of Plenty

Dozens of council pensioner homes lie empty as residents grow uneasy.

"The front was entirely caved in," says a driver who narrowly avoided the crash between a car and a school bus that killed a person and hurt 31. Audio

All three Eastern Bay district councils have had their plans to keep three waters services in-house for the next few years approved by the Department of Internal Affairs.

A man is in hospital with serious injuries after he was attacked by several offenders in his Ōpōtiki home on Thursday morning.

At least two newly elected councillors will be accessing newly available support after facing harassment and threats during the local government elections.

Mawera Karetai did not erect a single billboard or spend a cent on her Māori ward election campaign in the Bay of Plenty, so it came as a shock when she actually won.

Tankers were brought in and State Highway 5 closed down for a time after the blaze broke out just after 10pm.

Sixty-two groups are set to perform at the 25th anniversary of Te Mana Kuratahi, the National Primary Schools Kapa Haka competition.

Bonny Anthony Temple may have been a good, law-abiding citizen, but he was still capable of taking a life.

The Bay of Plenty volcano is at alert level three and aviation colour-code orange after cameras picked up two small eruptions on Thursday.

About half the people dropping rubbish at the Waihi tip don't pay rates in the district, and the council has had enough. Audio

A Māori health coalition is asking those attending the National Primary Schools Kapa Haka competition to take precautions to prevent measles from spreading.

The alert is now at level three out of five.

Tristan Oakes was shot and later died in hospital.

Local Democracy Reporting asked the mayor and councillors to rate their performance out of 10 in seven key areas after 14 months on the job.

Mayor Tania Tapsell says reforms may finally bring Blue Baths back to life.

Police received a report of a person being admitted to hospital with critical gun shot injuries.

Mark Kimber says the night he struck and killed Karen and Geoffrey Boucher was a turning point - the couple's family believe his remorse is "all for show".