Stories by Lois Williams

New radar technology is making it easier - and cheaper - for hydrologists and Civil Defence to keep an eye on rivers around the West Coast and predict floods.

Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has reminded councils that workshops should be open to the public by default.

The bill will end up costing rate payers $8.491 million.

The West Coast Regional Council's core debt has risen to $24 million, as it embarks on the largest infrastructure programme in its history.

Helen Lash raised questions about Peter Haddock's family connection with one of the council's main contractors.

As the price of gold soars to a record NZ$5000 an ounce, the West Coast is bracing for an influx of miners new to the industry - and its environmental rules.

The council this week appointed surveyor Chris Coll to fill the seat left vacant by the sudden death of Buller councillor Frank Dooley.

The council employs the equivalent of about 92 full-time staff.

The region has come a long way in the past couple of years, in terms of planning and resources for a major event.

But conservation groups have long opposed the practice of allowing cattle in the braided river valleys.

Franz Josef ratepayers have grudgingly agreed to a government finance deal for flood protection which they need but can ill-afford.

A nationwide campaign to have horse riders officially recognised as vulnerable road users has been offered some support.

The West Coast regional transport committee has been forced to withdraw its draft regional speed management plan, after Transport Minister Simeon Brown signed a new rule that overrides it.

Allan Birchfield has been censured since last year but can still attend council meetings, LGNZ principle advisor says.

The former West Coast Regional Council chair has made a point of trying to attend meetings he is banned from, claiming a right to be there as an elected councillor.

Ratepayers who pay for flood protection in the Harihari district are nervously awaiting a consultants' report on revamping the stopbank system.

Buller District Mayor Jamie Cleine says ratepayers have paid out $20,000 for a defamation suit - but the true cost is much higher.

Winter and a wetter-than-usual spring have kept West Coast regional council staff on their toes this year.

The document, meant to cover the the planning rules for Buller, Grey and Westland, has cost has cost the West Coast Regional Council $5.6 million since 2019.

Council planners are being told to speak in plain English when they communicate with the public.

Grey District Mayor Tania Gibson says it is a disaster waiting to happen and should be closed.

The possibility of council amalgamation on the West Coast - otherwise known as local government reform - has surfaced publicly this week at council meeting.

Jamie Cleine says government 'rhetoric' regarding council spending is stirring up feeling against councils.

West Coast mayors are welcoming an apparent rethink on the way they deliver water services, but affordability is still the big issue.

Liz Whiteside doesn't believe she should pay for things she has no use for - such as a floodwall.