Businesses have blasted Auckland Council's unnecessary red tape which they say is holding them back and causing costly delays.

Bill English is optimistic the Auckland Council will make good decisions when final recommendations for the Unitary Plan are given to councillors.

A blueprint to build more houses on smaller sections for Auckland's ballooning population is days away from being unveiled.

Mayoral candidates Vic Crone, Phil Goff, John Palino and Mark Thomas squared off at a debate in South Auckland tonight.

The $1.5 million Michael Parekowhai sculpture, based on a modest, two-storey Mt Eden state house, has been revealed.

Orlando Shepherd appeared in Manukau District Court this afternoon to be sentenced for owning a dog that attacked a person.

COMMENT: The plan will guide development over the next couple of decades. The key question is whether it will deliver a quality outcome.

COMMENT: Investors have become scapegoats to divert attention from a council that is expensive to do business with and has lacked proactive policies.

An Auckland councillor is using money from his own back pocket to take to the airwaves and criticise the decision to drop trains to the airport.

Auckland may be one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world but 9 in 10 elected Auckland Council representatives are white.

Penny Bright had appealed a decision made in February that required her to pay her rates, which have been outstanding since 2007.

A new mayor and council for Auckland face some tough decisions on transport, housing, Ports of Auckland and asset sales, says a pre-election report.

Downsizing from a family home to an apartment can open up opportunities for a change in lifestyle, meeting new friends and exploring

COMMENT: John Key is more worried about the short-term fates of leveraged-up speculators and developers than the long-term fate of Generation Rent.

Auckland Council officers are being accused of getting politically involved in the Unitary Plan process

A puppy found abandoned in a rubbish bin in central Auckland has been put down today.

Public reserves are being sold by Auckland Council without public consultation, triggering outrage among residents and elected representatives.

Auckland Council has budgeted $291mi for the leaky building disaster and its financial forecasts indicate it will become an inter-generational issue.

Editorial: If Ports of Auckland was on the sharemarket, it would not be still enraging Aucklanders with these bids for more of the harbour.

New research by Auckland Council suggests more Aucklanders agree with intensification for the city's future growth under the Unitary

Eden Park is making a last-ditch attempt to secure major concerts at the country's rugby fortress.

More than 1200 menacing dogs have been registered, microchipped and de-sexed as part of Auckland Council's menacing dogs amnesty.

Study of Auckland's port needs says future sea freight business should be moved to a new "super port" in the Manukau Harbour or the Firth of Thames.

Ports of Auckland could be moved to a new "super port" in the Manukau Harbour or the Firth of Thames at a cost of $4 billion to $5.5 billion.

A petition to save Chip the puppy from being put down has more than 10,000 signatures, but Council claim the dog is sick.

Sources say a long-awaited report into the future of Ports of Auckland is recommending a 25m extension into Waitemata Harbour.

Auckland's growing fast - and the council-owned Watercare Services says it'll be spending $4.9 billion over the next decade to cope.

A petition has been set up in an attempt to find a loving family for this dumped dog.

Auckland councillors want the Auditor-General to investigate the City Rail Link's billion-dollar costs.

An Auckland electrician who rescued a young pup out of a rubbish bin is disappointed to his good deed might end with it being put down.