Stories by Matthew Rosenberg

Craig Little has secured a fourth term as mayor of Wairoa with a resounding victory, clocking up twice as many votes as the second place candidate.

Mayoral candidates in Gisborne and Wairoa have shown overwhelming support for Māori wards, but there are differences in opinion on other key election topics.

A Gisborne council candidate basing part of his campaign on the fact he was a police officer underwent disciplinary action for wearing a pig mask while on duty.

A Kiwi student who broke nearly every bone in her body after a nightmare rock climbing fall in California last month has made it home to New Zealand.

Accusations of foul language, intimidating behaviour and conspiring to record a conversation spelt the end of a council-run group designed to be the eyes and ears of the city, a leaked report shows.

An incumbent district councillor in Gisborne believes election rules disadvantage newcomers from securing a seat at the table.

A Wairoa mayoral candidate engaged in an employment dispute with the district council he once worked for has again found himself in a difficult spot, this time over election hoardings.

A Gisborne mayoral candidate is standing by a controversial picture on social media which shows him standing in a hazmat suit with a swastika on the front.

Tairāwhiti got its first taste of the options for this year's local body elections last night as nominees took the opportunity to introduce themselves at a "meet the candidates" event.

A Māhia resident says he has been left "numb" by the publishing of his personal information in the local newspaper via a district council response.

The coastal road providing the main access to Māhia Peninsula is slowly dropping into the sea, leaving one concerned resident wondering what plan of action is to be taken.

Gisborne district councillor Meredith Akuhata-Brown has apologised for comments aimed at the mayor but was absent at a council meeting where an in-person apology was expected.

Desperation has forced a young Tairāwhiti family to break down the door of an empty Kāinga Ora home and take up residence this month, even though utilities were disconnected.

Residents of a small East Coast town are still feeling the pinch from extreme weather in March, with some locked out of homes that have been red-stickered for months.

A lone lamp post that once kept watch at the end of a historic East Coast wharf is no more, removed for safety reasons despite the council expecting pushback.

New information has emerged on the ordeal endured by the crew of a shipwrecked boat the day it got into difficulty in rough seas off the East Coast.

Tairāwhiti has the highest hazardous drinking rate in the country according to a report presented to Gisborne District Council.

The former head of animal control at Gisborne District Council is concerned negligent dog owners aren't being held to account in Tairāwhiti.

Gisborne District Council has lost control of a river which frequently overflows and causes major issues for growers in the region, a resident claims.

They believe it will be key to distributing the region's goods but will need government funding.

Tokomaru Bay was a buzz of activity on Saturday as a crowd assembled from far and wide to protest century-old legislation locking up Māori-owned land.

A petition to abolish century-old legislation affecting land use in the small East Coast town of Tokomaru Bay has united the community in support of change.

A Gisborne district councillor wants a climate emergency to be declared for the region following severe weather events in Tairāwhiti.

An East Coast woman is on a mission to gain back control of her whenua after leasing laws dating back 100 years locked her and others out of controlling their land blocks.

A small Hawke's Bay town has had its dental hole filled after two years, albeit temporarily.