Stories by Lois Williams

Campaigners for cleaner rivers in Northland are accusing the regional council of dragging its heels over rules to keep stock out of waterways.

The Waitangi Tribunal has begun an urgent inquiry into another troubled bid to settle Treaty claims - this time for the Ngātiwai people of Northland's east coast.

A Waitangi Day organiser has given elders three weeks to decide whether the Prime Minister will be made welcome at Waitangi marae next year.

A Northland man says cerebral palsy hasn't stopped him entering local government - and there's no reason it should stop an aspiring Dunedin councillor. Audio

A Hokianga hapū spokesman is recommending an independent commissioner be appointed to oversee the Ngāpuhi mandate restructure.

Analysis - Tūhoronuku says it will now fully accept a plan to hand the reins to hapū in negotiating Ngāpuhi's treaty claim. Lois Williams explains.

The board that holds the mandate to negotiate Ngāpuhi's Treaty of Waitangi claim says it will now fully accept a plan to hand the reins to hapū.

Four Ngāpuhi trustees have resigned from the board tasked with negotiating the iwi's treaty settlement, effectively ending hopes of unity under its mandate.

It's decision time for the Ngāpuhi mandate today, with opposing factions in the long-running dispute set for a show down.

Court action is possible if the Ministry of Treaty Negotiations transfers a mandate to negotiate on behalf of Ngāpuhi, an iwi leader says.

The row over Ngāpuhi's problematic Tūhoronuku mandate has reached crisis point, with some hapū leaders imploring the Minister for Treaty Negotiations to scrap it.

The rebel ratepayers of Mangawhai in Northland have won a partial victory in their fight over certain rates, imposed for a wastewater scheme. Audio

Whangarei's mayor Sheryl Mai is rejecting a claim by David Blackley that Whangarei is missing out on growth because the council lacks business experience. Audio

The group holding the mandate to negotiate the massive Ngapuhi Treaty settlement is on the verge of losing it.

It's time for Ngāpuhi leader Sonny Tau to bow out, the Treaty Negotiations Minister says, and let younger talent take the helm of the tribe's affairs.

Far North criminals are getting bolder by the day because they know there's little risk of being caught, a Kaitaia farmer and retailer says.

Locals in the picturesque Northland town of Mangonui are upset at the Far North District Council's $200,000 plan to put a safety rail on their waterfront boardwalk. Audio

Northland councils are warning that new transmission prices planned by the Electricity Authority would be a deadly blow to the region's economic development.

A Far North conservation group has argued in court that swamp kauri is a fossil and cannot legally be exported.

Ministry for Primary Industries staff were concerned about the legality of some swamp kauri exports and considered asking for legal clarification.

Wahakura, or pepi pods, for young babies will continue to be funded in Northland, despite Ministry of Health uncertainty over their effectiveness. Video

Sideline abuse is making rugby referees quit - and jeopardising the future of the senior game in Northland.

Record migration levels are pushing up rents and putting the squeeze on housing in Whangarei.

A Far North community that helped save an ancient forest from pests now has a new enemy to contend with - kauri dieback.

Scientists working on ways to fight kauri dieback say field trials using a common horticultural chemical are showing promising results.