If only the mayoral candidacy were as easy as "they are what they eat". It'd take out all the guesswork, and having to listen to boring policy blither-blather.

Troubled Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker has pulled out of the upcoming mayoral race as his council struggles with a consent crisis.

DOC has been warned that proposals to dig a tunnel or construct a monorail between Queenstown and Milford Sound could threaten the region's World Heritage status.

Auditor-General Lyn Provost has told the Auckland Council to urgently address purchase card payments after finding they were being made without appropriate documentation.

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.

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.

League great Tawera Nikau is after a vacant spot on Waikato-Tainui's tribal governance board.

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

Stripping the Christchurch council of its building consent authority is drastic, but made by an objective authority. And other councils should take note.

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.

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.

The housing crisis in areas like Auckland is not a by-product of migrants buying up residential properties, Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse says.

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.