Stories by Amy Williams
News
Plea for fast-track deal to save 51 homes from demolition
Parts of Auckland are becoming "increasingly vulnerable to heavy rain" - so we have to act now, councillor says.
'We were seen as dirty girls': Mum's baby taken from her while she slept
Maggie Wilkinson is 80 but remembers the day the matron of an Anglican-run home for unwed mothers took her baby against her will like it was yesterday.
'It caused his death': Man abused in care dies before justice served
A woman whose disabled brother contracted a fatal disease as a result of horrific child sexual abuse at a religious boarding school is angry he died before justice could be served.
Forgot about Zumba? These elders haven't
While their families are at work and school, Pasifika elders are letting their hair down at classes that started in 2013.
Budgeting services plead for urgent review of funding
In an open letter to the government, they said a third of the free budgeting services are losing funding, putting more pressure on poor communities.
City mission apartments not to blame for crime - residents
Those living at the apartments say it's their second chance after being homeless, and "you can't do a witch hunt."
Street almost competely levelled after flooding
Nearly all the houses of a South Auckland street have been bulldozed after last year's flooding.
Budgeting cutbacks: 'There will be nowhere for people to go for support'
Budgeting services whose government funding has been chopped are warning other free financial mentors are too busy to pick up their clients.
Storm aftermath: 39 whanau still in temporary accomodation
More than 100 Aucklanders are still living in temporary accommodation provided by the government's disaster service after last year's catastrophic storms.
Auckland City Mission cook-off: 'Not everyone has the ability to cook a simple meal'
Auckland City Mission invited 150 guests experiencing homelessness or food insecurity to a three-course meal cooked by celebrity chefs and business leaders. Audio
Owners of flood-damaged homes left waiting until 2025 for buyout news
Authorities say the wait is necessary to get the decisions right, but an advocate says community members feel "let down" by the delay.
'They want to feel that sense of belonging' - youth group
A youth group formed after a spate of violent crime on Auckland's North Shore is providing young people with a place to belong and get involved in their community.
Secretive sect under investigation faces venue cancellations
A sect being probed for historical child sexual abuse is facing venue cancellations for some of its meetings.
Religious sect investigated by FBI, and NZ Police apologise
A woman who was sexually abused by a minister of a secretive sect as a child says the religious group's apology has been a long time coming.
Dozens of free budgeting services face closure after missing out on funding
A third of the country's free budgeting services face closure during a cost of living crisis, after missing out on the latest round of government funding.
Sexual assault victim felt silenced and shamed in sect: 'I had only ever known fear'
A woman who was a victim of sexual violence as a child and teenager has spoken for the first time of the abuse - and how the secretive sect she was raised in turned a blind eye and later condoned her…
Cyclone Gabrielle: Emergency failures revealed in damning self-review
NEMA did not have enough trained staff when Cyclone Gabrielle hit - just one of a litany of failures a review has uncovered.
WorkSafe sought more funding for Whakaari prosecutions just prior to trial
WorkSafe alerted officials that it was running out of money to fund its prosecution over the deadly Whakaari/White Island disaster a month before the trial began last year.
US paedophile minister attended sect's New Zealand gatherings
A minister of a secretive sect who was outed as a sexual predator visited New Zealand multiple times.
Sect tried to deal with sexual abuse in-house
A New Zealand woman who as a child was abused by a member of a secretive sect under investigation says its leaders spent years trying to get the man to admit guilt. Audio
'The Truth' 2x2 religious sect confirms police investigation
Former members of a secretive sect under investigation by the FBI for historical child sexual abuse warn it is a highly controlling and insular group with many unwritten rules.
'We pay our rates': Tensions flare over council sale of units
Pensioners who own units in a council-run scheme that's up for sale say they were barred from voicing their concerns at a meeting.
Reports of historical child sexual abuse within sect operating in NZ
The secretive house-church has no official name, but is known as Two by Twos to those who have left, and The Truth to those who belong.
'Gigantic waste of time': Pensioner unit owners worried as sale falls through
They thought they were buying their "forever homes" - but say it's now unclear what will happen.
Visas for wealthy investors plummet, lawyer says
Hundreds of millionaires were given NZ residence each year before the scheme was overhauled 18 months ago. Since then, the number has dropped to 20.