The 2020 General Election will be held on Saturday, September 19, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Tuesday. “I will be asking New Zealanders to continue to support my leadership and the current direction of the Government, which is...

Western Bay of Plenty Police are investigating a series of incidents in recent days involving damage to properties and shots being fired. There was an incident of wilful damage at a property on Friday night in Greerton, and the same property was gutted...

  The Automobile Association and Consumer NZ are advising motorists that if their vehicle is wheel clamped, they should not be charged more than $100 to release the clamp.   A recent amendment to the Land Transport Act, which took effect...

UPDATE 6.18PM: One person has received moderate injuries following a crash along State Highway 2 this evening. Emergency services were called to the scene along SH2 near Youngson Road at around 5.35pm. A police spokesperson says the crash involved...

Some countdown stores will further their efforts to reduce plastic usage as part of a ten-week trial. Plastic produce bags and more than a tonne of other plastic will be removed from stores, as Countdown figure out what more they can to do cut down...

Water use in Omokoroa, Te Puna and Minden continues to soar putting the area on the brink of restrictions. Unless water use drops immediately in these areas Western Bay of Plenty District Council will be imposing restrictions from Saturday, February...

7.30PM: Police have lifted all cordons, residents are now able to head home. 6:28PM: A local resident is handing out water to the residents stuck outside the cordon on No 2 Road.  6PM: A Te Puke resident, who lives nearby the property...

  Police are continuing to make enquiries into the homicide of a 56-year-old Bay of Plenty man in Taita.   “Police can now name the victim - Davis Phillips, aged 56, from the Whakatāne area,” says Detective Senior Sergeant...

Taupō Police are investigating the death of a 33-year-old woman at a rural property north of Taupō. The woman was located at the property on Saturday, January 25, with critical injuries, says Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Yardley. She was transported...

Family of a man who has been missing for a week are appealing for any information that will lead to his whereabouts. Nayah Mitchell says her brother Julian Varley has been for a week now, and they are doing everything they can to find him. “We...

A person who died unexpectedly in Te Puke on Sunday had recently travelled to China. Where someone dies unexpectedly follow up investigations usually take place, and this is currently underway, says Dr Neil de Wet, Medical Officer of Health for Toi...

  The public debate over what’s been infamously dubbed the ‘horror highway’ has been fired up again.   A petition is running in Katikati urging ‘real improvements’ to SH2 between Katikati and Tauranga. “Obviously...

Rachel Clarke's carefully honed lifesaving instincts promise to make 2020 a huge year, both on and off the beach. The 29-year-old Mairangi Bay surf lifesaver and ocean paddler dominated the Eastern Regional championships in Mount Maunganui over...

A body has been discovered in the burnt out remains of a vehicle. Police responding to a vehicle on fire near Morrinsville this morning, located the body inside the vehicle, says a police spokesperson. “We are working to understand the circumstances...

State Highway 29A, between the Baypark and Te Maunga roundabouts, will be closed for two weekends to allow for stone column ground improvement work as part of the Bay Link project. SH29A between the roundabouts will be closed from 8pm Friday, January...

With the exception of a few regions, most parts of New Zealand will be kicking off February even hotter than how they left January. WeatherWatch.co.nz forecasters say a heatwave moving back across Australia will also somewhat impact New Zealand. "This...

UPDATED 8.28AM: The city-bound lane of Waihi Road is blocked following a crash this morning. A reporter at the scene says firefighters are working to free one person from one of the crashed vehicles. "It looks like there are two vehicles involved....

If there was a special prize for the rider with the most wins in one weekend, it would probably have to go to Tauranga's Brodie Connolly. The 16-year-old was simply unstoppable at the weekend's 59th annual New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at...

Enquiries into several arsons in the Taupō area are continuing. Police are investigating five arsons, which took place in the early hours of Sunday, January 12. Two houses were completely destroyed in the fires, says a police spokesperson. "At...

  Public health staff will begin meeting flights from China this week, to actively look for signs of the novel coronavirus and provide advice, information and reassurance to passengers.   Health Minister Dr David Clark says the additional...

UPDATED 12.40PM: Armed police cordons remain in place on a Tauranga street this afternoon. Armed police have cordoned off Haukore Street following a shooting in the Hairini area earlier this morning. A reporter at the scene says a scene examination...

A homicide investigation has been launched into the death of a Bay of Plenty man in Taita yesterday. Emergency services were alerted to a man with critical injuries near the intersection of Futter Grove and Hughes Crescent at around 5.30am, Detective...

Traffic is expected to be busy between Tauranga Katikati today as people head home after the long weekend. The NZ Transport agency is advising people to expects delays in both directions on State Highways 2. “Traffic is expected to be busy through...

Members of a tour group have been assessed for novel coronavirus infection at Rotorua Hospital. Three members of a tour group of 19 were assessed at the hospital yesterday as public health services were alerted that they may have been exposed to someone...

A few showers are likely this week in New Zealand's driest regions but once again the bulk of the rain is falling in places that don't care for much more, says WeatherWatch.co.nz. Showers in the upper North Island will be hit and miss but the...

Two men have been arrested following an assault on The Strand on Sunday morning. The men, aged 20 and 21 were arrested last night in relation to the assault says a police spokesperson. “The men have been charged with wounding with intent to...

Whitianga’s Summer Concert wrapped up this year’s Summer Concert Tour when 16,000 concert goers added to Saturday’s Taupo and last weekend’s Queenstown sold out shows, taking in the warm and sunny conditions in the beautiful...

Health professionals started the first screening for the deadly coronavirus with passengers from two flights from China that landed at Auckland Airport this morning. The two flights are from Guangzhou and Shanghai, both cities have confirmed cases...

A Greerton business has been the target of a number of incidents this month. The Bladed N Faded Barber Shop and Tattoo Studio in Chadwick Road has been gutted by a fire this morning. A SunLive photographer at the scene say the building is completely...