Stories by Felix Desmarais

Former NZ First MP Fletcher Tabuteau has thrown his hat in the 2022 Rotorua mayoralty ring after mayor Steve Chadwick confirmed she would not be standing again.

People hoping to be vaccinated have been left confused by the Ministry of Health's national BookMyVaccine system, after it told them there were no vaccination centres in their cities - including…

It might be icy cold on the Rotorua lakefront at the moment, but it appears the response to its redevelopment is a mostly warm one.

An expansion of the role of Rotorua Economic Development has been floated to support the delivery of "transformational place-making projects", including two apartment buildings in the city's CBD.

Rotorua's ratepayers will shell out a further $11.1 million on the restoration of the Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre.

Rotorua's mayor Steve Chadwick has hit out at "nonsense" calls for an independent review of Rotorua Lakes Council, calling it "silly chatter" and "sad".

Rotorua Lakes Council's "organisational realignment" - which has seen seven deputy chief executives appointed - has so far cost $51,842, with the cost expected to rise to about $75,000.

Rotorua MP Todd McClay is calling for an independent review into Rotorua Lakes Council, following the revelation that it had appointed seven deputy chief executives.

An "utterly appalled'" Rotorua Lakes councillor wants central government intervention over the naming of seven council deputy chief executives.

Seven senior staff at Rotorua Lakes Council can now call themselves deputy chief executives, and one has had a minimum $40,000 pay rise.

A Rotorua nurse says nurses are terrified about mistakes in patient care due to short staffing and under-resourcing.

The council says the complaints "did not constitute bullying or harassment".

Māori wards will be adopted in Rotorua in time for the next local election.

Rotorua's mayor and two councillors have accused Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi of "misinformation", over his comments on the Ngāpuna sewerage fault.

A Rotorua maintenance hole cover that flipped, causing a woman to fall in and become stuck, was never inspected by the council.

Rotorua ratepayers are footing a $16,700 bill for a diesel-fuelled generator that was used to power the closed Rotorua Museum in February.

Lake Tarawera residents are upset they may be asked to pay a lump sum of about $33,000 each for sewerage reticulation, and without a guarantee of the final cost.

The government is proposing to drop speed limits outside schools across the country to 30 km/h around urban schools and a 60 km/h maximum in rural areas.

Accusations of propaganda, destroying "taonga" and jeopardising people's mental and spiritual health - all par for the course at a meeting over the future of Rotorua's Springfield Golf Course.

The fate of two seagull feathers and a souvenir mug hang in the balance, listed among items to be removed from Rotorua Museum's permanent collection.

Nearly two dozen youth organisations across the country will receive more than $7.4 million following a government announcement in Rotorua today.

Workshops are in a problematic kind of no man's land for local government law and rather than being the exception, they have become the rule, a legal expert warns.

A Rotorua businessman has raised questions with the Ombudsman's Office over Rotorua Lakes Council's refusal to provide detailed information on its public-excluded workshops and forums.

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick says she did not attend a public meeting on homelessness and crime organised by National MP Todd McClay because she would be "on the spot" to answer aspects of government…

Homelessness is impacting Rotorua's tourism "brand" and the city is one of the areas "struggling the most" as domestic tourism slows, the chair of Rotorua's economic development agency says.