Christchurch council boss Tony Marryatt has taken leave over the building consents debacle as an urgent inquiry is launched to see if any buildings are dangerous.

A proposed bylaw to rid Auckland’s streets of beggars has divided New Zealand Herald readers.

Christchurch City Council had its building consents accreditation removed because it was granting consents that could potentially put people and property at risk, International Accreditation New Zealand says.

The latest Herald-Digipoll survey shows 61.5 per cent of voters disapprove of the deal and only 33.8 per cent approve, writes Brian Rudman.

Begging could be banned throughout Auckland under a bylaw being drafted by the council.

The ban on begging under consideration by Auckland Council comes as other cities trial different ways to address the social problem.

Councillors are bracing themselves for a dressing down by government ministers over Christchurch City Council's failure to retain accreditation for building consents.

Aucklanders subdividing their land have decried big infrastructure and development fees, with one Flat Bush resident charged more than $500,000.

Almost half of New Zealanders support the adding of fluoride to their drinking water despite councils increasingly dumping it, a Herald-DigiPoll shows.

The Auckland Council is toning down controversial plans for small-scale apartment buildings in half of suburban Auckland.

The council's communication over the Unitary Plan was poor from early in the process.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown is facing a mayoral challenge from the head of the council's Pacific Peoples Advisory Panel, the Rev Uesifili Unasa.

Auckland motorists paid more than $37 million in council fines in the past year, prompting a call from the AA to educate, not punish, drivers.

The Ikaroa-Rawhiti byelection has sparked a flurry of enrolments on to the Maori roll by first-time voters.

Parking wardens who are being verbally and physically abused are being armed with cameras to curb and capture aggressive behaviour.

In 1975 I was the Visiting Fulbright Professor at the University of Auckland.

A group set up to find ways to pay for Auckland's long-term transport needs is under fire for how much it is spending.

Former shock jock Michael Laws - once an MP and mayor of Wanganui - is thought to be considering a rerun for his old mayoral job.

Natana Pohe watched commercial fishermen head out into Mahia Peninsula's waters to pick up their crayfish cages.

The Auckland Council is getting into detail behind closed doors on the hot button subject of high-rise buildings.

Australians are contributing to New Zealand's skyrocketing house prices, with new research showing they bought more property than any other overseas group.

Auckland Council members meet today on the thorny issue of building heights in town centres.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown is sticking with a projected population growth figure of one million more Aucklanders.

A new report says housing has become a battle between old and young - and the younger generation certainly isn't winning.

Central government is encouraging local bodies to become more focused and efficient. Many are considering mergers with others and seeing how to cut costs.

A group that helped to convince the Hamilton City Council to remove fluoride from its water supply says it will continue lobbying other councils throughout New Zealand to do the same.

Nine-year-old Isla Lodewyks is so upset the Auckland Council took down a rope swing in Puhoi that she has started a petition to get it back.