The cost of burying two to three people who die each year on Great Barrier Island left Auckland councillors stone cold at the end of a marathon, two-day budget meeting yesterday.

A concrete wall and a mega-mansion Sir Russell Coutts is building on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula is causing controversy even before they are fully built.

Cafes and restaurants face higher costs to put tables and chairs outdoors under a new plan critics say will kill the streetside dining atmosphere.

House values throughout New Zealand rose 1.1pc in the past three months, the slowest rise in two years, according to QV data out.

Auckland Council's budget committee has voted 16-7 for a proposal to increase rates by 3.5 per cent for each year of a new 10-year budget.

The costs of burial plots and grave digging could rise by hundreds of dollars at some Auckland cemeteries.

Main work on the $2.4 billion city rail link will be pushed out to 2020 unless the Government comes on board with early funding, say officials.

Revised plans for a high-performance centre for Yachting New Zealand in Takapuna have been unveiled.

Auckland is taking a leaf out of New York’s fashion books with t-shirts, jumpers and other merchandise declaring: “I love AKL.’’

Auckland Council's report on its transport future is a stark reminder about how the low-inflation landscape is changing everything, writes Bernard Hickey.

Peter Bromhead's take on Auckland's toll.

Aucklanders wanting to celebrate Guy Fawkes on November 5 must find a public display or stay in their backyards, the council says.

The Transport Minister, Simon Bridges, may not be as loud and brash in his pronouncements as his predecessors but the message yesterday remained the same.

People do not have to be lawyered up to participate in the Unitary Plan process, says the judge chairing the independent hearings panel.

Warkworth's village character and market town charm is being put at risk by a big retail development aimed at luring motorists on SH1, say residents.

What is Auckland Council's mandate? According to the royal commission on Auckland governance, amalgamation would provide better services through well co-ordinated resources that, with economies of....

The latest round of Auckland property valuations present, as usual, a double-edged sword.

A big court case over one of Auckland's most ill-fated apartment tower developments is set down to be heard early next year.

Mary Barry is a tiny voice in a battle over the future of Auckland, fought between powerful developers with expensive lawyers and volunteer community organisations.

Len Brown has returned from a month-long overseas holiday to a budget revolt by local boards and his deputy Penny Hulse not discounting a bid for the mayoral chains.

A new body to undertake urban regeneration of neglected suburbs such as Avondale, New Lynn and Otahuhu is being mooted by Auckland Council.

Community housing groups want the Auckland Council to underwrite "housing bonds" worth $30 million to kick start more than 200 new homes for low-income families.

Moving furniture between the Town Hall and Henderson for Auckland Council meetings - described as an "absolute bargain" by mayor Len Brown - has cost ratepayers more than $14,000 since the Super City amalgamation.

A ban on domestic open fireplaces and old wood burners affecting up to 85,000 homes is being drawn up by Auckland Council.

Waterfront Auckland CEO John Dalzell had the biggest pay boost among council chief executives for the past two years, taking his salary to more than $500,000.