Stories by Moana Ellis

The funding will be used to make structural upgrades including improvements to two of the Rangitīkei settlement's main buildings.

A new pou whenua has been installed at the beginning of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing to recognise the cultural significance of the landscape and protect hikers.

"We've had a rough time over the last 12 months. At a time like this, the opening of Te Ara Mangawhero is much needed," the district's mayor says.

Central North Island iwi Ngāti Rangi is offering housing opportunities to tribal members in the iwi's first housing development.

Weston Kirton says costs will go up, regardless of which new service delivery model the council chooses.

Hauora providers say the free clinics revealed the severity of dental health issues among Māori and the extreme need for access to treatment.

Members of three central North Island iwi are preparing to elect their first board of trustees since signing a $28.5 million Treaty settlement.

A wind farm near Taihape big enough to power 150,000 homes could be on a fast path to construction.

The final cost is expected to come in at between $73.5 and $74.2 million, with Whanganui ratepayers paying 27.5 percent.

Whanganui River iwi are banding together with councils, DOC and others to avert a potential biosecurity disaster.

Ngāti Rangi says the community has drawn together, the iwi had fought to find a way to keep the mills going.

Ruapehu District councillors are seeking advice on the consequences if they refuse to run a binding poll on its Māori ward on at next October's election.

More than half of the 45 district, city and regional councils have voted in the past month, with all but two choosing to retain their Māori seats for the 2025 elections.

The mill, which employs 230 people across two sites in the central North Island, announced it was closing due to high electricity prices.

Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton says he is deeply concerned as around 230 jobs are on the line.

Councillors left no doubt about their own feelings at a community meeting in Ohakune on their Ruapehu Māori ward.

A rural council that hit its debt ceiling while expecting relief from Three Waters cash is warning that the cost of water services is about to balloon.

A collection of freshwater gold clams were discovered after guests left a lodge in Ōwhango, in the central North Island.

The New Zealand Defence Force is moving ahead with a $490 million expansion and upgrade of housing at its military training base in Waiouru.

Recyclables will be collected weekly at the roadside, hand-sorted and disposed of by contractors.

A community effort to create more space for whitebait to spawn in the Whanganui River came up against an unexpected snag.

Pay for elected council members hinders local government's ability to attract and retain qualified councillors, a mayor says.

The new rates are determined "with a lot of difficulty" but the increase aligns with the public sector.

A Whanganui marae leader is hailing a "brave decision" by Whanganui District Council to set aside $3.5 million in its 10-year plan for marae upgrades but says social media backlash has been "vile".

Emma Rawson-Te Patu said the immediate priority for her two-year tenure at international organisation was decolonising public health globally.