Stories by Tracy Neal

With parts of New Zealand tinder dry much earlier than usual, a Fire and Emergency spokesperson says fire-stricken parts of Australia show what could happen here.

As the replica of Cook's ship Endeavour sailed into Meretoto/Ship Cove, a local whose ancestors were present there 250 years ago said he was transported back in time.

Events marking 250 years since Captain James Cook's arrival in Aotearoa New Zealand reach the South Island today.

Owners of small-scale power schemes say some government policies aimed at achieving a key climate change goal were instead hindering its path.

A family member of a woman who died in a Nelson hotel room has described the tension and verbal abuse that grew within the victim's marriage.

A holiday to New Zealand last year for a Chinese born Swiss couple ended with one dead, and the other now on trial for murder.

A heritage steam train named in honour of railway workers killed in World War I will today honour the return of tourism to quake-ravaged Kekerengu.

Almost 4000 more New Zealanders than overseas visitors have so far booked accommodation on the four Southern Great Walks, Department of Conservation figures show.

Rose Renton got national attention for campaigning for medicinal cannabis after her son died. Now, the role of "national green fairy" has become too much.

Pavement-style walking tracks in remote areas are wrecking an important connection to nature for walkers, says the head of an Auckland community newspaper.

Drilling of the seabed in and around Port Nelson is due to begin today, in preparation for the port to handle larger ships.

Fire and Emergency NZ should develop a nationally consistent framework for tactical fire planning, an independent review of the Tasman forest fire response has recommended.

Cantabrians heading into their gardens this Labour weekend and as spring warms up are being warned about Legionnaires' disease.

Chatham Islands Airport has missed out on government funding, but says it's not the end of the road.

The trust aiming to build a maritime education centre in Nelson has found its preferred site, near the Nelson waterfront.

No amount of planning could prepare the country for a large-scale earthquake, disaster officials say.

A new minerals lab on the West Coast could help boost value-added manufacturing, backers say.

The chairperson of Minerals West Coast says the industry is facing its worst-ever crisis due to the policies of a hostile government.

A Women's Refuge survey has found 60 percent of women have been stalked by their partner after they had broken up, but a greater number experienced the behaviour while in the relationship.

Pilot Nick Taber says there is little that compares with soaring on the back-country thermals above the mountain ranges that joined Nelson, Marlborough and Canterbury.

There might be easier ways to find out how to get rid of mosquitoes than using the Official Information Act, but that is what one Tasman resident did.

The technical director of an Australasian sustainable business organisation said the changing climate would influence how homes were built in future.

The Chief Ombudsman says too many New Zealanders were in the dark over their right to access official information.

What do cruise ships do with on board rubbish? Sometimes they burn it and sometimes it goes into our landfills.

Competition was hot at Nelson's Saxton Field last night, but it wasn't cricket, netball or hockey.