Stories by Alexa Cook

Staff from the Ministry of Primary Industries travelled to Europe to learn about velvetleaf and how New Zealand may be able to contain the outbreak.

Both an expert soil scientist and the president of Federated Farmers support "no-tillage" farming for its environmental benefits.

The extension of the deadline for a deal between Silver Fern Farms and Shanghai Maling could be a sign the Chinese company has lost interest, shareholders who oppose the deal say.

A farmer says Westland Milk Products backed out of a promise to pay a premium for winter milk - but the co-operative says it gave no such undertaking.

The deputy Prime Minister is unapologetic for labelling beneficiaries hired to work on farms as "pretty damned hopeless". Audio

A Northland beekeeper is still waiting for test results after losing 400 hives to suspected poisoning.

Wellington renters are being hit hard in the pocket, with prices hitting a record high average of $450 a week.

Medical sector colleagues have formed an industry group to address bullying in the workplace.

A female soldier charged with assault has denied strangling her friend but says she did push her by the throat with an open palm.

A chimpanzee at Wellington Zoo will need more surgery after she pulled out an ear plug that vets designed to save her hearing.

Māori men need to step up and be more supportive of Māori businesswomen, the Federation of Māori Authorities says.

A Bay of Plenty rūnanga is disappointed the region's council did not tell it Fonterra had spilt 11,000 litres of whey into the Rangitāiki River. Audio

A report released today highlights agricultural opportunities for Māori in the Manawatū-Whanganui region.

The Green Party says if the Government is serious about keeping Te Reo Māori alive then it should allocate more money into researching how it is used in schools.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori has brought the language out of the woodwork across Government and in Parliament.

Three new Māori aquaculture agreements between the Crown and iwi have been signed in Parliament today.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council says it has "cleaned up its act" after a lack of communication with Māori following an oil spill earlier this year.

A Māori poet has been chosen for an all-expenses paid trip to Canada for an indigenous writing residency with Witi Ihimaera.

A group of Māori intellectuals are calling on tāngata whenua to become more open to supplying human tissue to improve their health. Audio

A Gisborne kura says the Government has slashed nearly $40,000 of desperately needed funding from its budget due to an incorrect decile rating. Audio

A Māori prison reform advocate says the Government is avoiding racial issues in New Zealand and needs to take responsibility for the problem.

A Gisborne pouako says some tauira are leaving her kura to go to Australia with their parents due to the area's struggling economy.

Māori in Lower Hutt have spent the day bailing rainwater out of Kōkiri marae, in a desperate attempt to reduce damage from the storm that has caused chaos in the Wellington region.

A Māori trust is keen to buy state houses in the Papamoa rohe of Tauranga from the Government.

A Māori artist is pushing for the National flag to display more symbols representing tāngata whenua.