A bleak picture of the state of New Zealand's environment has been painted by the government's official report, Environment Aotearoa 2019. The report is jointly produced by the Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand, and is...

A section of walkway joining The Strand waterfront with the Matapihi Rail Bridge and Harbourside restaurant area will remain closed over Easter. The wooden walkway was initially closed earlier this week to allow contractors to undertake repairs. “The...

After debuting to a great success this year as the warm-up party to the famed reggae festival in Tauranga, Good Vibes is hitting the road this winter. Presented by Mai FM and Pato Entertainment, the Good Vibes Winter Tour will feature some of Aotearoa’s...

A vehicle has crashed into a power pole in Welcome Bay. A caller to the 0800 SUNLIVE news hotline says it happened near the Kairua Road and Welcome Bay Road intersection. Power in the area has also gone at as a result of the crash. According to...

The 33 finalists in the 2019 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are preparing for the final round of judging.  The winners will be announced at a black-tie awards dinner at TSB Arena in Wellington on Saturday, May 11. The finalists represent...

A select group of some of the best young taekwondo talent in Oceania tested themselves in competition at the Budo South Open held at Tauranga Boys’ College gym last weekend. The event featured 250 athletes from around the North Island plus international...

This year marks the 155th anniversary of the Battle of Gate Pa. On Monday, April 29, the Anglican Parish of Gate Pa is offering a short service to commemorate the battle and to honour those who fought and died in the tragic event. The service gives...

If you can picture superbike racing on a grass track, then you’ll have no trouble at all imagining what it may look like at the upcoming 2019 New Zealand Miniature TT Championships. Again sponsored by Kawasaki New Zealand and jointly run by officials...

About 9500 cannabis plants were seized during a recent joint operation between the New Zealand Defence Force and New Zealand Police. The three-week operation, supported by a Royal New Zealand Air Force NH90 helicopter, covered areas in the Tasman and...

Get ready to dance the Easter weekend away as Tauranga CBD explodes with some of the hottest jazz, funk, dance and contemporary music of today and yesteryear. The 57th National Jazz Festival starts today, featuring classic jazz and blues right through...

For a national Wakeboarding champion, Darren Bishop lives a far different life to what most people would expect. The 31-year-old from Tauranga says work takes priority for him these days, and he gets out on the water a few times a week, or whenever...

The Easter holidays are upon us, and this year the public holidays fall nicely with ANZAC Day. If employees take annual leave on Tuesday 23, Wednesday 24 and Friday 26 April, they are entitled to have a ten day holiday. SunLive travelled to Mount...

A Tauranga mother is struggling to come to terms with the heartache of finding out her daughter has a terminal illness. “It is extremely stressful, not to mention sad. My baby girl is dying. One day soon I won’t be able to hold her and...

Do you want to have your say on rates? You have until 5pm on Tuesday to do so, as this is when consultation closes for Tauranga City Council’s Annual Plan 2019/20. The Annual Plan updates the work plans and budgets for the next year that are...

Light winds once again plagued the Hempel World Cup Series regatta in Genoa but there was just enough action for Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie to solidify their place near the top of the 49er fleet. Only three races were possible on day three...

One person has been injured in a two car crash near McLaren Falls. Police were called to the crash on McLaren Falls Road at 8.40am. A police spokesperson says one person appears to have sustained injury. “It’s not clear from our information...

  Mount Maunganui residents are getting “pissed off” at men using what they says is a zoned nudist part of the beach for their own pleasure.   One resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, says there are people on the beach...

An enormous high pressure system is perfectly centred across both main islands of NZ but stretches from Fiji to eastern Australia and all the way down to near Antarctica. WeatherWatch.co.nz says from north to south the high (anticyclone) is around...

The consumers price index (CPI) rose 0.1 per cent in the March 2019 quarter, due to higher prices for cigarettes, says Stats NZ. CPI inflation was also 0.1 per cent in the December 2018 quarter. In the year to March 2019, the inflation rate was 1.5...

Tauranga City Council’s third water treatment plant is hitting an important phase with the start of construction of the first pipeline, connecting the reservoir at the intersection of Poplar Lane and Te Puke Highway with the Eastern Reservoir...

  A musician who was in the process of shooting a new music video when their guitar was stolen over the weekend, is offering a cash reward for its return.   “I was in the process of shooting a new music video for my song ‘Papamoa...

Police have arrested a 28-year-old male associate of the Comanchero gang in relation to an aggravated robbery in the Bay of Plenty last year. The aggravated robbery, and subsequent alleged assault of a police officer, happened in Mount Maunganui, on...

Children with learning difficulties are missing out on critical support as the waiting list for preschoolers needing specialist help continues to grow. Average wait times across the country have increased, despite the Government's $21.5 million...

The debt of Housing New Zealand (HNZ) tenants wrongly evicted under a flawed meth testing regime will be wiped by the government. HNZ ended 800 tenancies between July 2013 and June 2018 as a result of its methamphetamine contamination policy. Last...

Waikino School has won $10,000 through the Genesis ‘Energising Young Minds’ competition. With the generous prize, the rural Bay of Plenty school decided to create a shipping container with a 1.5 kilowatt solar array, a 3D printer and other...

Following the announcement that the Government is not going ahead with the Capital Gains Tax, opposition leader Simon Bridges says “there is still a range of taxes on the table”. He says after 18 months of waiting and a $2 million tax working...

Mount Maunganui and Rangataua aren’t often charitable to one another on the rugby field, but this Good Friday they will come together for charity. The two sides will meet at Te Ariki Park for Week five of the Farmlands Co-operative Baywide Men’s...

Two more people have been arrested following the termination of a year-long investigation into the activities of the Comanchero Motorcycle Gang. Police carried out search warrants at ten properties throughout the Auckland region last Thursday, and...

The Coalition Government will not proceed with the Tax Working Group’s recommendation for a capital gains tax, Jacinda Ardern announced today. “The Tax Working Group gave the Government, and the country, an opportunity to look at the fairness...