Stories by Robin Martin
Audio and features
Taking salad to the next level in Taranaki
A Waverley business has cut the ribbon on a 900 square metre state-of-the-art tunnel house. Salad Brothers took over the 1.1 hectare site about 18 months ago and aims to produce half a million… Audio
Football for dummies: A bluffer's guide to the beautiful game
From Thursday, everyone in New Zealand is expected to become a football expert when the FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off. Here's RNZ's resident football expert Robin Martin's bluffers' guide for the…
The Taranaki cow shed where it's Christmas every day
It is too early to start thinking about Christmas, right? Wrong, if you are in New Plymouth.
There is a converted milking shed on the outskirts of New Plymouth where it is Christmas everyday.
Our… Video, Audio
Pint-sized lawnmowing contractor has edge
It is not everyday that you run into an 11 year old lawnmowing contractor, but then again New Plymouth youngster Kayden Wallis-Potroz is not your everyday kid. The Central Primary School pupil already… Video, Audio
Pātea coolstores owners on notice to do more for safety
The owners of a derelict coolstores building on the banks of the Pātea River in Taranaki are being put on notice that it is structurally unsound and more must be done to keep people out of it. Video, Audio
New bylaw raises New Plymouth dog owners' hackles
A proposed new dog bylaw in New Plymouth has got canine lovers' in a spin.
The council wants to ban off-leash dogs from sections of Onuku Taipari - currently the only city beach where dogs can roam… Video, Audio
Omicron turns New Plymouth into a 'ghost town'
New Plymouth retailers say the CBD resembles a 'ghost town' as the Omicron wave makes its presence felt around the country. Trade is down as much as 40 percent despite the red light setting allowing… Video, Audio
Len Lye wind wand at New Plymouth waterfront after touch up
New Plymouth commuters could be forgiven for being a little distracted this morning - as one of the city's more notable landmarks - Len Lye's Wind Wand sculpture - dangled from a helicopter on its way… Video, Audio
Covid-19 vaccination rollout begins for Taranaki Pasifika
The soothing sounds of the islands greeted a steady stream of people at special Covid-19 vaccination clinic set up for the Pasifika community in Taranaki today. The Whiteley Methodist Church in New… Audio
Taranaki couple fear bypasss will force them out of their home
A Taranaki couple are vowing to fight to the bitter end to stay in their home which is in the path of the province's biggest roading project in generations.
Tony Pascoe has lived his entire life in… Video, Audio
Urban farmers living the good life in Taranaki
New Plymouth couple Carl and Kati Freeman have converted their quarter-acre section into a small-scale organic market garden and now they want to teach others how to do it too. Video, Audio
Beyond gas and oil: Can alternative energy save Taranaki?
Taranaki is wrestling with it's economic future after the government banned new offshore oil exploration. Robin Martin asks if alternative fuels could be the region's saviour. Audio
Runaway Kunekune pigs find new home
When 14-year-old George heard two Kunekune pigs were looking for a new home, he stepped up - adopting the porkers. It wasn't long before they became part of the family. Video, Audio
Whanganui emergency housing unhabitable, Salvation Army says
Conditions at some emergency housing providers in Whanganui are so poor they are putting vulnerable people at risk, the city's Salvation Army's tenancy manager for emergency housing says. Video, Audio
Taranaki whanau refuses to leave land court says belongs to neighbours
A Taranaki family is refusing to leave what it says is its rightful ancestral land, despite a Māori Land Court decision saying it belongs to the neighbours, based on an agreement signed almost 100… Video, Audio
Eels die as Taranaki streams dry up
A Kaitiaki at Parihaka says poor land management and the effects of climate change are to blame for the mass death of eels in a coastal Taranaki stream. Robin Martin reports. Video, Audio
Cows blamed for closure of popular swimming holes
Dairy cows have been blamed for the high E. coli levels which have forced the closure of popular Patea River swimming holes in Stratford for more than a month. Video, Audio
Rural medical training programme aims to help fix doctor shortage
Eighteen year-five medical students from Auckland University are being trained at Hawera Hospital, and it's hoped some will return to the province to work. Video, Audio
Sixty year old symbol of friendship poisoned in Taranaki
Authorities in Taranaki are investigating the poisoning of a Pohutukawa planted by two air force veterans as a symbol of friendship in 1951. Video, Audio
Auld Mug and Log O'Wood in Taranaki double act
The America's Cup and the Ranfurly Shield are on public display together today in New Plymouth in what's believed to be a first. Video, Audio
Small town with big idea finally gets a petrol station
Pongaroa locals finally have a petrol station after years of raising funds, and travelling for two hours to fetch petrol from elsewhere. Video, Audio
Petition to move Taranaki pedestrian crossing
An online petition is calling for the New Plymouth District Council to move the crossing in Inglewood where seven-year-old Emma Warren was killed last month. Video, Audio
Brighter Future? The boom, the bust and the rustbelt
Has it been boom or bust for the regions over the last nine years? RNZ's journalists report.
Brighter Future? Does tourism trump taonga?
As part of RNZ's election year series "Is this the Brighter Future?", which examines the Government's record since it was elected in 2008, our reporters look at the impact of tourism on the… Video, Audio
