EXCLUSIVE: The parents of a New Zealander grabbed by a crocodile in Australia have spoken of their pain as authorities continue to search for the missing woman.

Twelve families who had been struggling to find a healthy home were at the centre of celebrations in a Tauranga housing project at the weekend.

The distracted driver is one of more than 20 people fined on one of the Western Bay of Plenty's worst blackspots.

Yoda's legacy shows dogged determination.

About 140 people are currently living without basic shelter within walking distances of one of the region's most vulnerable schools, it was revealed at a community meeting last night.

A school's right to get tough on pot puffing international pupils is under examination today.

Tauranga means "continuous settlement". It is a place my whanau has stayed, long before the arrival of settlers to the area.

Pipeline was to carry human and industrial waste from Tauranga through the middle of mostly Maori-owned peninsula.

A mooted solution to the emergency housing crisis of opening up camping grounds will need to ensure "slums" are not created, Tauranga's mayor says.

A district court judge yesterday fined Mobil Oil New Zealand $288,000 for a major oil spill.

Convicted killer and drug dealer Dean Wickliffe has been refused parole because he poses an "undue risk" to the community, says the NZ Parole Board.

One of New Zealand's top surf lifesavers has pleaded guilty to wilful damage in relation to an incident which occurred in Australia.

A 40-year old Katikati man is in a critical condition after a glider crash Tauranga Airport this afternoon.

Only a small proportion of houses in Tauranga's biggest suburbs are going for under $450,000.

The eruption on the volcanic island appears to have deposited material over north side of the crater floor.

A Tauranga family has been reunited with their beloved cat 16 months after it went missing.