Taranaki

A survey has found a big jump in the number of flesh-footed shearwater birds (toanui) on an island off New Plymouth.

The New Plymouth District Council is blaming a sewer pipe blockage on a 60-tonne piece of fat.

Taranaki's tourism earnings are set for an annual boost of about $4 million a year after confirmation of a $13.3 million Provincial Growth Fund investment in Egmont National Park.

The number of freshwater samples at Taranaki swimming holes reaching an "alert" or "action" status for contamination last summer continues poor run of results for the region.

One person has died following a crash in South Taranaki.

A Stratford woman, who as a teenager was the youngest person in the country diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, is getting behind the message that the provinces are missing out on neurology services.

Port Taranaki and Dunedin Airport have confirmed how much of the banned firefighting foam they are trying to dispose of.

A former New Plymouth mayor who campaigned for a Māori ward on the council is sceptical that a new voting system being used this year will return a more diverse group of councillors.

The Environmental Protection Authority is monitoring disposal at Dunedin Airport and Taranaki Port has been told to address its stocks.

The first leaseholder has taken ownership of property under the Waitara Lands Act, but not everyone is happy with the scheme.

A rough sleeper in Hawera described as harmless has unwittingly found himself front and centre of the South Taranaki mayoralty race.

Taranaki Cathedral is selling off most of its wooden pews to make way for new flexible seating, but the original donors get first chance to buy.

A tornado has damaged a number of houses in Awakino, north of New Plymouth.

It's been a 10-year struggle for recognition of Māori burial grounds in the Taranaki region, a local kaumatua says.

The Taranaki District Health Board has backed down on a proposal to limit access to the emergency department at Hāwera Hospital after hundreds of locals came out against the idea.

Visitor numbers at the Len Lye Centre in New Plymouth has more than halved a year after a controversial door charge was introduced for out-of-towners.

The only underground lift in the southern hemisphere, the hand-dug Durie Hill Elevator, is celebrating its centenary in Whanganui this week.

Repairs on New Plymouth's District Council building have attracted criticism after ballooning from $1 million to more than $3 million.

A North Taranaki hapu says the proposed coastal plan for the region takes an "open slather, do want you want" approach to protecting reefs traditionally used for gathering kaimoana.

The latest report into the health of Taranaki streams and rivers indicates freshwater quality is improving across the province, but not everyone is convinced by the data.