Get out the gumboots and spades, urges Dionne Christian, and plant natives to spruce up the region's parks.

Popular ethnic restaurants, catering companies, sushi shops and butchers are among nearly 90 Auckland eateries with below par food hygiene.

Raking in the country's highest household incomes is not making Aucklanders feel happier or more financially secure than other New Zealanders.

The operators of Tournament Parking have made a surprise offer of $75 million today to buy the downtown carpark from Auckland Council.

Prime Minister John Key continues to back John Banks as "an honest man" and says he still has "options" despite being found guilty of knowingly filing a false electoral return.

Self-styled public watchdogs Penny Bright and Graham McCready claimed their biggest scalp yesterday as Act MP John Banks was found guilty of electoral fraud.

Residents' groups ringing central Auckland are ganging up on the city's transport authority to banish commuter parking from their streets.

Today's guilty verdict has ended John Banks' 34-year political career at least three months earlier than he would have hoped.

A proposal to stop the scattering of ashes at public places without Auckland Council permission will have an significant impact on families, say funeral directors.

The water connection fee in urban Auckland has risen by 23.5 per cent to $12,075 at a time when Auckland Council and the Government are trying to reduce housing costs.

Auckland households will have to pay more for water and wastewater charges from July.

Properties worth $35 million have been bought to secure the route for Auckland's proposed $2.86 billion City Rail Link.

Planning is under way to slash $2.8 billion of new spending at Auckland Council to control soaring debt and rates while pushing ahead with the $2.86 billion City Rail Link.

Students' needs increasingly met online but printed books still seen as key

Over recent months, Auckland Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse has found herself advocating for a major change in the legal status of marijuana, writes Brian Rudman.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown will be paid $259,500 from July after the Remuneration Authority approved a 3.4 per cent pay rise.

The fate of a fountain installed in downtown Auckland's Queen Elizabeth Square in 1980 speaks volumes about that space.

Mayor Len Brown and his council's supine surrender to the bully-boy tactics of the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust has been embarrassing, writes Brian Rudman.

Mayor Len Brown says Auckland Council's draft alcohol policy has "struck the right balance" between the need to reduce harm and providing the night-life of an international city.

Superyacht firms say their multi-millionaire customers will sail off to Australian shipyards for lucrative refit and service contracts if Auckland does not develop more deep-water facilities.

Auckland's top-ranking police officer has criticised a proposal that would allow some bar owners to get a two hour extension on trading hours.

A lawyer has warned Auckland property owners about selling their real estate to public bodies, saying "low-ball" valuations are depriving people of the real estate's true worth.

Editorial: Only a decade ago, all-night bars were touted as an essential part of a vibrant and dynamic Auckland. How times have changed.

This policy, if adopted, will see cordons go up around the alcohol section of every supermarket early in the morning and late at night, writes Cameron Brewer.

Auckland International Airport plans to sell $150 million of seven-year bonds that will trade on the NZX, completing the long-term debt funding of last month's capital return.

Ratepayers face a legacy of debt as council borrowing soars to replace creaking assets and cater for growth, while keeping rates down.

Auckland Council is in talks to privatise a section of QEII Square as part of a $300m redevelopment by Precinct Properties of the Downtown Shopping Centre, say sources.