Samantha Motion
Regional Content Leader
Samantha Motion is a regional content leader for NZME. She has reported in the Bay of Plenty region for more than a decade.
We are your advocate, Aotearoa. Uncovering stories that matter, asking hard-hitting questions of those in power, live-blogging sport events, monitoring the highs and lows of the NZX and providing Premium expert opinion and analysis. Bringing you distinctive, quality journalism and breaking news from across New Zealand and around the world. With specialists working together to create indepth reads, engaging video, and unmissable podcasts.
Check out Samantha’s latest content
'Urban sprawl': Ex-MP's greenbelt subdivision plan hits opposition
He says it's 'no wonder' city has a housing crisis if it's this hard to build three homes.
Remembering Rod Vaughan: Reporter on life after TV and his plane crash
Former television journalist bares his scars of a career on camera.
'Discriminatory': Sports rules causing 'frustration' for home-schooled students
But officials say regulations aim to create a level playing field.
'Rare human': Tributes flow for tireless 'community champion'
His death on Sunday after a heart attack in Rotorua on Saturday was a 'huge shock'.
Colleagues 'shattered' as 'incredible' local leader dies
'Huge shock - He will be sorely missed.'
Lifeguards save beached dolphin at Mount, swimmer airlifted off Waihī beach
Plus, 'tonnes of shark sightings' in busy day for Bay of Plenty and Coromandel lifeguards.
Flying furniture: Family faces up to $100k in damage after tornado
A neighbour also described lying in her caravan, fearful a tree would fall on her.
Opinion: Let's not forget the lives on the line in road cone debate
Opinion: Road workers are at the coalface of public roadworks rage.
Opinion: The big question the census didn't ask but will still answer
Kiwis may be losing their religion but need reasons to keep the faith in big public data.
Tracking Miss Daisy: Was life better when we didn't know where the sharks are?
Bay beachgoers can't stop talking about a great white shark tracking app.
Samantha Motion: The raw, burning regret of slacking off in the sun
OPINION: The blistering was so extensive and painful I couldn’t leave the house for days.
Another holly, jolly Bay of Plenty news parody
OPINION: Samantha Motion returns with another musical take on the year in news
Ho ho hold up: More ratepayer dosh without consultation?
OPINION: Commissioners' decision to skip consultation indicates they've stopped listening.
'She screamed out for help': Shop worker pinned as car smashes through store's doors
'This is a reoccurring problem in the area.'
Opinion: Stuck in limbo on the elective surgery waiting list
OPINION: What it's like to be one of the thousands waiting to go under the knife.
Samantha Motion: Protests trump apathy as climate disaster looms
Opinion: Perhaps 'extreme' protests are needed to snap us out of our cognitive dissonance.
Samantha Motion: It's time to address the orange envelope in the room
OPINION: What do we want from the people we vote for, anyway?
'Significant taonga': Pounamu unearthed in CBD dig a 'rare' find
The adze was found on the site of a multi million dollar development.
Samantha Motion: There will never be another like Queen Elizabeth II
OPINION: The Queen used her celebrity with an amazing grace that befitted her position.
Opinion: Is climate change to blame for prevalence of potholes?
OPINION: Local roads, state highways, rural roads; none are spared the scouring forces.
'Pirate life': Why this couple quit their office jobs and sailed to Fiji to live
'We meet so many people, who ... say 'oh I wish I'd done something like that.'
Opinion: How Tauranga's faring under commission rule
Opinion: Decisions, decisions - but what comes next?
Seally season: Seal chases cat into marine biologist's lounge
'The one kind of family emergency where a marine biologist would have been useful.'
Opinion: Should parents be held responsible for their kids' crimes?
Opinion: Parents should be held responsible when their kids act up and harm others.
Samantha Motion: Pokies plague creates ethical dilemma for communities
OPINION: There's no shortage of shocking statistics when it comes to pokies in NZ.
Samantha Motion: US opioid crisis is lapping at our shores - is NZ ready?
Many who die from the drug do not know they have taken it.
Opinion: New Year in summer is terrible - Matariki makes it right
Opinion: It's good to set goals - but summer's a sucky time to start.
Do local politicians really need to live locally?
Giving up on local candidates being local would be another nail in the coffin.
Opinion: 'Fat girl!' The story of (another) verbal hit-and-run
OPINION: Why is it always a loser in a crappy car?
'Optimal fan experience': $170m 'people's stadium' pitched
But local sports clubs that may be displaced by the stadium wait nervously for options
'What a farce': Links Ave petition presentation called to abrupt halt
'We understand it is causing significant disruption to people's lives.'
Opinion: As New Zealand reopens, tourism shouldn't forget Kiwis
OPINION: Tourism's adaptations for NZ travellers should last beyond the pandemic.
Opinion | Gib board shortage: Taking advantage of home builders is despicable
OPINION: Stockpiling, price inflation is a ruthless way to make a quick buck.
'We're all in shock': Friends of missing doctor say he is caring, generous
Police and friends want to hear from witnesses who were on Pāpāmoa Beach on Friday night.
Samantha Motion: We need an exit plan for vaccine mandates
OPINION: Public support for the mandates is demonstrably waning.
New Tauranga valuations: How much each suburb is up
A 50pc average rise across the city does not mean a 50pc rates rise will follow.
Samantha Motion: After the year of the vax, these people deserve our thanks
OPINION: Next week marks a year since New Zealand began rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine.
Samantha Motion: MIQ's short hello and long goodbye
OPINION: MIQ came to - or rather, was dropped on - Rotorua one weekend in June 2020.
'Poor fishing practice': Shark found in net there for 'at least' two days
The set net had caught a lot of fish and crabs which were also killed, DoC says.
Samantha Motion: The case for restricting dogs on beaches - to benefit dogs
OPINION: The Bay of Plenty is a great place to live or holiday with a pooch.
Samantha Motion: The biggest losers of the vaccine pass era aren't the unvaccinated
Councils can choose whether they require vaccine passes at public facilities.
Plan change 27: Flood modelling maps 'inaccurate', submitters claim
'Us ratepayers are going to have to fix this problem.'
Western Bay council says unvaccinated people can use pools, libraries at orange - Tauranga undecided
Tauranga, Rotorua, Taupō councils still deciding facilities approach.
'Sledgehammer approach': Developers slam Plan Change 27 as hearing begins
'Time, dollars, frustration, resources – not what's needed or required.'
Samantha Motion: Dear Auckland, you are all we want for Christmas
OPINION: Today, the Government is set to give more detail about the path out of lockdown.
Katikati Covid case: Locations of interest, testing, jabs - what you need to know
Locations of interest, testing sites, vaccination sites, what we know about the case.
Samantha Motion: Delta is at the gates, time to suit up
OPINION: Unvaccinated people have decisions to make as Covid spreads further.
Samantha Motion: Masks seem here to stay, but we can learn to live with them
OPINION: Masks are part of life in New Zealand now and probably will be for some time.
Burglars raid Tauranga Crossing jewellery stores
A vehicle was left at the scene and items stolen.
Samantha Motion: It's time for a real debate on arming police
Gun crime hit a new high in New Zealand last year - but is the answer more guns?
Holocaust survivor turns 100: How he defied Nazi invaders and escaped
'My life is in the Lord's hands. I have no say in it.'
Samantha Motion: How Dry July gives more than it gets
OPINION: There is evidence drinkers can really stand to gain if they stick it out.
Samantha Motion: The ocean was on fire but there's a bigger problem in the water
New Zealand's phasing out of single-use plastics is a great start, but it's a slow burn.
Samantha Motion: Bring back the biff in rugby league? Yeah, nah
OPINION: If a bloke wants to punch his mate, he can take up boxing or MMA.
Hospital not aware of 'gang fight' but Bridges sticking to his story
Bridges claimed "patched gang members had taken over the entrance" to hospital.
Opinion: Time will tell if Kawerau can survive mill closure as a single entity
OPINION: Time will tell if whether the town can remain a district in its own right.
Samantha Motion: Marriage is so last century, but we can still learn from it
OPINION: The qualities that make a good marriage apply to any sort of long-term union.
High Court quashes 'super pole' decision on appeal
The Environment Court made 'material errors', the High Court has ruled.
Samantha Motion: Our housing response is broken if it harms one to help another
OPINION: There is good intention in the housing market, but the system is broken.
Samantha Motion: Back from the brink - Maketu Pies' extraordinary survival
Opinion: There are fringe and rural towns around New Zealand teetering on the edge.
Samantha Motion: We're open to Aussies on planes, why not cruise ships?
If the Government doesn't find some urgency, another summer season may sail by.
Samantha Motion: We need a living wage to ease impact of rising rents
Opinion: Shocking accommodation supplement stats show full-time workers are struggling.
Samantha Motion: How to spot lifestyle creep before it's too late
My goal is a balance between future-focused frugality and enjoying my money.
Samantha Motion: Land use changes par for course in housing crisis
Opinion: Golf courses are not exactly multifunctional spaces open to the community.
Samantha Motion: Bay Patrol is the sun-soaked summer of dreams and nightmares
Opinion: Summer rewind on Bay Patrol - but it's not all fun and games for the lifeguards
Hosting an Aussie? Do tourism a solid and get out and about
Opinion: Get out and make some memories in the new New Zealand.
Samantha Motion: Good neighbours must do travel bubbles right
Opinion: High fences don't necessarily mean we have walls up.
Samantha Motion: Not in my backyard: Scourge of suburban moaners
Opinion: There's a difference between dobbing in a party and a popular community event.
Samantha Motion: How lockdown changed my life
Opinion: The lockdown experience flicked a switch and there was no going back.
Samantha Motion: You don't have to buy a house before you're 30
OPINION: The goalposts keep moving for first-home buyers.
Samantha Motion: In politics, talking about people is not small-minded
'Great minds discuss ideas, small minds discuss people' - discuss.
Samantha Motion: Up to us to listen in and speak out on local affairs
Opinion: Participation in a democracy is a two-way street.
Letters: Why not wind up TECT and pay everyone out?
A reader says a payout would give 49,000 people enough to install solar.
The pākeha mana wahine who stood for the injustices of Māori
'You'd have to think twice if you chose to take a stand against her ... she'd smoke you.'
'There are hard decisions to make': Q+A with commission chairwoman Anne Tolley
Anne Tolley on how only the fourth council commission in New Zealand history will work.
Boldly selecting the Best Dog at the Doggy Day Out
Making the tough calls, in the name of bold and unflinching journalism.
Samantha Motion: The superhuman strength of sick kids and their families
OPINION: No amount of sympathy can put us in their shoes.
Tauranga commission welcomed in pōwhiri
Commissioners for Tauranga City Council have been welcomed to their roles by iwi.
Tie debate: Why some men still wear them, and others don't miss them
'In today's liberal society, relaxed as we are, what is the big deal about a tie?'
Transfer of power at Tauranga City Council complete: What happens now?
What about the by-election? Will they hold meetings? Who pays them?