Stories by Robin Martin
News
$50m Yarrow Stadium upgrade doesn't stretch to new seats
When the $50 million upgrade of the quake-prone Yarrow Stadium is finished, Taranaki rugby fans will still be using seats installed at the turn of the century.
MSD facing criticism over school accommodating homeless
A hotel management school is housing about 50 people - including children - for the Ministry of Social Development.
Surfing competition forced to make new category for 'improbable' 80yo surfer
A masters surfing competition in Taranaki has been forced to introduce a new age-group category - for its first ever contestant aged over 80.
How to escape from a crashed helicopter
Ever wondered how you'd escape from a helicopter which has crash landed in water? Strapped in, submerged, and most likely upside down, you don't have much time to think.
Dawn chorus celebration marks 2000-pair kōkako population
From a population of just 300 breeding pairs in the late 1990s, the North Island kōkako now boasts 2000 pairs.
Compost business grilled over stance on fresh water
A Taranaki composting business has been told its understanding of how to legally manage fresh water is at the very least, unusual.
Mainfreight yet to identify driver performing risky overtaking manoeuvre
One of the country's largest trucking companies is struggling to identify a driver caught on camera performing a risky overtaking manoeuvre last year.
Residents 'fine' with decade of rates hikes - council
New Plymouth is suggesting a lack of submissions on its draft long-term plan must mean ratepayers "are fine" about a decade of huge rates hikes.
'He's a hero to me': Flight nurse clocks up 1000 patient transfers
Hamish Hardy reached the milestone in just five busy years aboard the Taranaki Air Ambulance.
'Looks more like a landfill' - Compost firm stockpiles 20,000 tonnes of contaminated waste
A Taranaki composting business at the centre of a consents renewal wrangle is sitting on a 20,000 tonne pile of contaminated waste that could take up to 40 years to safely break down.
Taranaki hapū group sidelined over roading project, documents show
Details have emerged of efforts by the Transport Agency and Heritage NZ to sideline a hapū grouping from consultation over the building of a passing lane on SH3 in Taranaki.
EPA ordered to pay oil and gas company $110k
In a scathing Environment Court decision, the EPA has been ordered to pay $110,000 to an oil and gas company it prevented from disconnecting a floating production station off the coast of Taranaki.
Stormwater culvert collapsing underneath Port Taranaki rail link
The discovery of a partially-collapsed stormwater culvert underneath the only rail link into Port Taranaki is not unexpected but an example of a "nasty surprise", New Plymouth's mayor says.
Facial recognition used on photos of unidentified suspects only - Coster
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says facial recognition technology is only used on photographs of unidentified suspects.
Composting businesses warned about misleading customers
A composting business in Taranaki has been warned not to mislead consumers by saying all of its sites and compost products are certified organic.
Boardwalk built to protect sensitive wetlands
The construction of 100s of metres of new raised boardwalk in Te Papakura o Taranaki will help to protect two of the highest wetland areas in the country.
Peanut butter baron spreads good news as entrepreneurs get creative
The owner and founder of Pic's Peanut Butter Pic Picot was a keynote speaker at a "design thinking" conference in New Plymouth, which lauded user-friendly experiences as key to business success.
Return of rugby to Yarrow Stadium delayed until 2022
The return of professional rugby to Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth has been delayed until 2022.
Taranaki Regional Council has no regrets over hefty fines
The Taranaki Regional Council has no regrets about taking prosecutions that resulted in $600,000 in fines being dished out in the Environment Court this week.
Gas-guzzlers go head to head with plug-ins in Taranaki
A battle for hearts and minds is underway in Taranaki between lovers of gas-guzzling classic American cars and the utilitarian electric-powered new kids on the block.
Silver Ferns Farms fined $337k over ammonia leak's 'devastating kill'
The leak at a plant in Hāwera was potentially lethal to staff, emergency services personnel and nearby residents and was New Zealand's worst fish kill event, a judge has observed.
Heavy fines handed down for environmental offending
A judge had his hands full dealing with ecological miscreants in the Environment Court at New Plymouth yesterday, some of whom should've known better than to find themselves in the dock.
Details emerge of extreme precautions taken to remove body from cargo ship
The difficult recovery of a man's body, who died at sea while on a cargo vessel travelling to New Plymouth, has been described as "PPE on steroids".
Trial to shed light on bat behaviour
A trial is underway on the edge of the central North Island's Pureora Forest that will challenge the popular saying "as blind as a bat".
Second manslaughter against Taranaki police officers dismissed
A second manslaughter charge again three police officers charged over the death of a man in at a Taranaki police station last year has been dismissed.