Tracy Neal
Nelson-Tasman struggling with driest weather in decades
Nelson-Tasman is struggling with its driest weather in decades, with Golden Bay now in a one-in-20-year drought. The district's already ailing farmers and growers are in some areas operating on about… Audio
Redwood Valley residents still waiting to go home.
Hundreds of residents near Nelson are still waiting to access their homes, as the Prime Minister visited today to offer more government help. Video, Audio
Nelson fire: Patience wearing thin for evacuees
Patience is wearing thin among some Tasman residents who still don't know when they might be allowed to return home. Many of more than 3-thousand people evacuated by a wildfire that has razed about… Audio
Tracy Neal at Hope
RNZ's Tracy Neal was at a community meeting in Hope. She asked residents what they felt. Audio
Community Meetings
Two community meetings have been held this morning - to update the evacuees and the wider community - Over 2000 people turned up at the Hope Community Church in Nelson. At the meeting acting district… Audio
Nelson fire: Orchards ploughed to make fire-breaks
Tasman's deputy mayor says the flow-on effects of the large forest fire are beginning to show. Residents in parts of Wakefield, south of Richmond, have been on alert through the night in case the need… Audio
Nelson fire: Wakefield waits out anxious night
Residents in parts of Wakefield near Nelson have been on alert through the night in case the need to evacuate. The warning to prepare to leave went out late last evening to people living between… Audio
Nelson bushfires update
RNZ Nelson reporter Tracy Neal with the latest on the massive fire in the Tasman district. Audio
Nelson fire: More house losses possible - firefighters
RNZ's Nelson-Tasman reporter Tracy Neal joins Susie Ferguson from the Richmond Emergency Coordination Centre in Nelson with the latest update on the fire Audio
Nelson fire: Evacuees wait to return to homes
Fire crews have been working through the night to contain the huge bush fire near Nelson. One house has been destroyed and 235 properties have been evacuated. About 40 police officers from Wellington… Audio
Tracy Neal, update on the Nelson fires
Nelson reporter Tracy Neal has the latest on the fires in the Nelson and Tasman districts. A civil defence emergency has been declared. The fires are still burning out of control after a number of… Audio
Winter woolies out as heatwave passes
A cold front has brought an abrupt end to the heatwave over most of the South Island -- and the North Island looks set to follow suit. Video, Audio
Campaign to make leopard seals Kiwi citizens
A New Zealand scientist has embarked on a plan to make leopard seals New Zealand citizens. Owha, the female leopard seal who's relocated herself away from the Antarctic to the warmer waters of… Audio
Tracy Neal talks about the new airport in Nelson
Tracy Neal talks about the new airport in Nelson. Audio
Midday Rural News for 14 December 2018
The Waikato Regional Council says monitoring of high risk farms has revealed the dire state of some dairy effluent infrastructure in the region. Audio
Council staff abused over non-traditional Santa
The organiser of Nelson's santa parade has apologised to those who were upset this year's parade did not feature a traditional Santa Claus - saying even he was surprised Santa wasn't wearing a hat. Video, Audio
Fraudulent psychiatrist remembered
For the first time in 21 years Robyn Byers has talked publicly about her former co-worker - a fraudulent psychiatrist who tricked a string of authorities to become head of clinical psychiatry at… Audio
Difficult and dangerous - why truck drivers are quitting
The road freight industry is already estimated to be 2500 drivers short and that number will grow to 28,000 in a couple of decades. Tracy Neal investigates if the driver shortage is threatening the… Audio
28,000 more truck drivers needed in next decade - industry
The road freight industry says it's going to need 28,000 more truck drivers over the next decade. It's already short of more than 2000 and the work pressure on those still driving appears to be… Audio
Nelson developers frustrated by delays on SHAs
Developers in Nelson-Tasman are frustrated by slow progress being made to build homes in zones designated for fast tracking. Special housing areas were meant to have added close to 2000 new… Audio