Stories by Robin Martin

Aotearoa's first transgender Miss New Zealand contestant was the star turn at another first today - the first transgender awareness event held in New Plymouth.

Contrary to popular opinion, Mt Taranaki is neither extinct or dormant, but an active volcano with a 50 percent chance of erupting in the next 50 years.

A mass brawl and numerous serious alcohol-related incidents in New Plymouth have been pinned on the city's alcohol control bylaw lapsing.

The developer behind a plan to build an apartment and commercial complex in New Plymouth has abandoned its Environmental Court challenge.

The Attorney-General has been granted leave to intervene in a Supreme Court appeal over seabed mining off the coast of Taranaki.

Austrian-based oil and gas company OMV says it is in the early stage of looking at tenders for a drilling campaign to extend the life of the Maui field offshore of Taranaki.

The owners of the quake-prone Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth have decided to demolish the East Stand and rebuild it with a wider focus on community sport.

The new scene emerging out of rural New Zealand is Farm Music - people hitting bits of scrap found in the shed, garage or out in the paddock.

Faced with axing one of its premier events due to Covid-19 restriction, the Taranaki creative community has instead combined its celebrated Garden Festival with its lesser-know cousin - the Taranaki…

New Plymouth bar owners say they have noticed more unruly behaviour in the city since a council blunder meant the city's liquor ban is no longer enforceable.

After years of complaints, the avenue of alder trees lining New Plymouth's main street are undergoing a heavy trim before they get the chop completely.

After a four-year fight an energy sector watchdog has won a precedent-setting battle which could see safety buffer zones imposed around hundreds of oil and gas wells and dozens of petrochemical…

Jobseeker numbers in Taranaki shot up after lockdown and have remained high for months, but business representatives see signs of improvement.

A penguin conservationist says the stranding of a Tawaki / Fiordland crested penguin in Taranaki is an extremely rare event.

A steady stream of potential buyers - along with the merely curious - have taken advantage of the first open homes at the KiwiBuild project in the New Plymouth suburb of Marfell.

Allowed to watch their beloved Taranaki rugby side in the flesh for the first time this season, Bulls fans were left looking for a silver lining after they relinquished the Ranfurly Shield to Otago.

The custodian of the Rahotu Town Hall in Taranaki says a Provincial Growth Fund grant of more than $210,000 will be a godsend for the 130-year-old building.

Memories were shared, songs sung and tears shed as Mawhitiwhiti Kanihi Pā was farewelled at the weekend - in a style befitting one of Taranaki's most beloved dance floors.

Famously labelled zombie towns, regional centres are bearing up well through the Covid-19 crisis off the back of the rural economy and extremely low case numbers.

Taranaki teachers' hopes for the withdrawal of a $11.7 million grant to a private Green School have been squashed, at a closed door meeting with the Green Party co-leader.

Drilling companies entering the oil and gas industry in Taranaki should have their business case stress-tested strenuously, New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom says.

An oil and gas insider is warning that if an Austrian oil firm sells its share of a Taranaki oil field the taxpayer may foot a hefty bill for decommissioning.

Opponents of an application to renew consents for an oil and gas drilling waste processing operation in Taranaki say they are being asked to pay an "extortionate" amount for an independent hearing.

A South Taranaki iwi is wrestling with a nice to have problem - how to spend $3 million in government funding. Video

If it goes ahead, the hub will include a six-court indoor stadium, a hockey turf, and facilities for a range of other sports and activities including rugby, netball, football, volleyball, badminton…