Auckland Council's chief planner says he wants the inner-city rail link completed by 2021, despite the Government saying there is a stronger case for building it almost a decade later.

Former policeman George Wood says he did not realise he was breaking the law by taking a cellphone photograph while driving across the harbour bridge.

Parents have been stopped from "tandem" riding with their young children down hydroslides at Auckland aquatic centres.

The Auckland Council has stopped a mobile phone pole being erected in a park because it would threaten trees - so instead it will be put up in a Whangaparaoa street.

The International Rodeo could be barred from returning to Forsyth Barr Stadium if the Dunedin City Council agrees to a plea from animal rights group Safe.

The Government is offering to hand over its interests in Eden Park, the Cloud and Queens Wharf to the Auckland Council, but the deal carries financial risks to ratepayers.

Proposals to change the Official Information Act are at odds with the Government's claims it is committed to openness and transparency, the Green Party says.

Aucklanders have a pleasant surprise in store next summer holidays when "no trespassing" signs come down at a secluded coastal industrial complex.

The sale of power shares would create barriers to the Government's ability to provide redress for Maori rights, Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias says.

The Maori Council says key principles behind its 1987 Lands case victory apply with greater force over its current bid to delay the sale of Mighty River Power.

A Far North district councillor has just days to stump up more than $800,000 or face bankruptcy.

The Maori Council's final bid to delay the Government's flagship asset sales policy until Maori water claims are dealt with.

More than 80 per cent of those who live with cats consider them to be a member of the family, writes Bob Kerridge.

There is no relief in sight from the long, dry summer that has made the country tinder-dry.

Mayor Len Brown's long-promised peek into our city leaders' private lives offers giggles but little else for gossip hounds, writes Brian Rudman.

Auckland's water storage levels are dropping steadily as the year's dry spell continues, with sunny weather forecast to last through the week.

Auckland Transport has quietly dropped a controversial feature of its $2.86 billion underground rail project.

No one seems to doubt Auckland will need another harbour crossing to the North Shore within a generation.

UNICEF goodwill ambassador Gareth Morgan is known for combining an adventurous spirit with a commitment to original thinking.

Watercare is heading for a fight with its biggest customers as it tries to follow on from the controversial introduction of a single waste water tariff.

Auckland is home to a higher proportion of high-value service sectors operating in niche areas that we are competitive in, writes Geoff Cooper.

The Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust has an odd way of trying to persuade Auckland Council that it's down to its last can of aviation fuel, writes Brian Rudman.