An Armed Offenders Squad officer has described a hail of bullets as he attempted to rescue an officer shot in the head during last year's siege near Kawerau.

A detective has been grilled by a defendant over what he was doing at a Bay of Plenty property on the day of an alleged shootout that left four police offers injured last year.

The alleged gunman at the centre of the Kawerau siege has been told to sit down during his opening statement because his comments were not appropriate.

Whakatane Mayor Tony Bonne is confident in the success of the region, despite a Maxim Institute report projecting population decline in the next two decades. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Kawerau Mayor Malcolm Campbell discusses what the industrial service centre needs to do to ensure a prosperous future, after a Maxim Institute report forecast population decline in the area in the next two decades. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Kawerau Mayor Malcolm Campbell discusses what the industrial service centre needs to do to ensure a prosperous future, after a Maxim Institute report forecast population decline in the area in the next two decades. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Kawerau District Council staff are working as fast as they can to unblock drains after torrential rain caused flooding of over a metre.

Multiple arrests have been made after shots were fired at a Mongrel Mob funeral procession in Whakatane.

A brawl between two rival gangs involving weapons broke out during a funeral procession in Whakatane yesterday.

Kiwi Dreamworld victim Cindy Low's distraught family have spoken of their loss for the first time.

The grandmother of the Kiwi woman killed in a tragic accident at Dreamworld is avoiding television reports on the horrific accident.

Family members of the Kiwi woman killed at Dreamworld have rushed to the Gold Coast to support her grieving husband and two young children.

A Kiwi woman's 10-year-old son watched her die in a horrific accident at a Gold Coast theme park.

As all the jobs and big-smoke buzz centres on Auckland, the regions are trying to find a way to carry on, writes Russell Blackstock.

Parents are insisting their tamariki get a Maori education and immersion schools are feeling the pressure.

Name suppression has been lifted on four police officers who received gunshot injuries in a Bay of Plenty stand-off.

The Bay man accused of attempting to kill two police officers and also allegedly shot at four others is heading to trial.

One person has died and another been injured in a two-truck crash, which unleashed a swarm of bees, hindering emergency services attending the incident.

Three men are facing assault charges after allegedly stabbing two people and breaking another man's hand in Kawerau on Friday.

This geothermal beauty basks in the glory of its famous maunga, says Elisabeth Easther.

An abandoned car found by a hunter in the Rangitaiki Forest has been eliminated from the Mona Blades inquiry.

The injury to the neck suffered by a man stabbed in Kawerau last night was unsurviveable, police say.