Stories by Felix Desmarais

Bus fares will be free for disabled people in the Bay of Plenty by July, a move a disability advocate says is "awesome".

A Rotorua district councillor has expressed concern about children growing up in motels next door to gang members and Australia's 501 deportees.

Half a million dollars each year may be funnelled into ensuring community safety in Rotorua.

Macpherson says it was wrong for 'a little power bloc in RDRR to reset directions' and hopes for reconciliation.

An advocate for the homeless in Rotorua says it's the police who need to step up to combat a perceived lack of safety in the city's CBD, not the council.

Information obtained by Local Democracy Reporting reveals the Rotorua Lakes Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Lakes District Health Board spent just over $225,000 on catering for meetings in…

A petition calling for urgent council action on city safety and homelessness in Rotorua has garnered more than 1000 signatures in less than a week.

In January, Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick said the city had "seen renewed confidence", but after a rough year, does that still stand?

Rotorua's controversial i-Park parking system cost the district council just over $1.7 million last year, consuming almost 84 percent of its just over $2 million parking revenue.

A standardised speed limit near schools across the country would "make total sense", Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick says.

Transport Minister Michael Wood has committed to bilingual traffic signs across New Zealand by the end of this term of government, but says the current rules are not racist.

A decision to make changes to a main Rotorua connector road could see Rotorua Lakes Council defending itself in the High Court if it receives final sign-off tomorrow.

A row has erupted after three Rotorua Lakes councillors declared they will boycott any further Long-term Plan workshops, claiming "harassment"", being shouted at by a council staff member and…

"It's not the right place to be telling someone they have cancer." That's what a top doctor at Rotorua Hospital has to say about its emergency department.

Regulation of Airbnbs and similar offerings to quell their effects on the housing market could be "big brother territory", Minister of Tourism Stuart Nash says.

Bay of Plenty local government organisations shelled out more than $7.4 million on communications and public relations last year - with Tauranga City Council spending just over $2.6m.

Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi has supported calls for a review of New Zealand's traffic signs, saying he believes the rules are "absolutely" racist.

Rules around bilingual road signage have been described as having "a touch of racism" by a Rotorua iwi representative.

Rotorua Lakes Council failed 43 percent of its key performance targets in the last financial year, but the council says much of that is due to the impact of Covid-19.

New data shows a marked improvement in the water quality and health of Rotorua's lakes, but some say it's too soon to start celebrating.

The gateway to the Rotorua Redwoods - Longmile Rd - will be renamed Tītokorangi Drive as part of efforts by the district council and mana whenua to restore the pakiwaitara, or stories, of the area.

Unsuccessful Labour candidate for Rotorua, Claire Mahon, is not sure yet if she will stay in the city and contest the 2023 election.

Rotorua's second Whakarewarewa Forest hub has officially opened to the public, after a frigid and blustery karakia on Thursday morning.

Rotorua, Waiariki and Tauranga candidates clashed on colonisation, discrimination and the Foreshore and Seabed Act at a debate for students at Rotorua Girls' High School today.

The Rotorua community is divided over a local sex work bylaw, which could soon be updated to allow small owner-operated brothels to be based outside of the CBD.