Stories by Tess Brunton

Billy MacDonald had already evacuated neighbours in rapidly rising floodwaters by the time an alert was sent warning residents of the danger. Audio

Residents say it's like a bomb has gone off in the area with cars upside down, roads washed away and debris thrown everywhere after Cyclone Gabrielle ripped through the region.

Heartbreaking stories of people who have lost everything are emerging as the devastation Cyclone Gabrielle brought upon Hawke's Bay becomes clearer.

Ballooning costs mean it might soon have fewer beds, operating theatres and MRI units than promised.

Te Anau businesses are bracing for more staff shortages as student workers return to their studies in the coming weeks.

One pilot took evasive actions to avoid hitting the other at Queenstown Airport last month.

Backpacker bookings are looking healthy but the industry is worried it is on the back foot following multiple closures and ongoing staffing shortages.

Gore district's new mayor Ben Bell has lost a bid for his own executive assistant.

An Ōtepoti museum has returned cultural artefacts first taken from Indigenous Australians more than a century ago.

Emerging tourism leaders are urging young people to start thinking of the industry as a career and not just short-term jobs on the way to something better.

Tourism leaders are grappling with the future of their industry as the impacts and disruptions of climate change become more widely felt. Audio

Some matches for the 2023 Women's Football World Cup are nearly sold out despite individual tickets going on sale earlier today.

In Central Otago, the cherry blossoms are slowly giving way to fruit after a colder start to spring.

The Lady of the Lake - Queenstown's TSS Earnslaw - has celebrated 110 years since it first set sail. But its owners say it has not run out of steam yet.

South Island ski field operators are increasingly looking to rely on snow-making technology to keep runs open as the climate changes and snowfall is less reliable.

Invercargill ratepayers are coming to grips with a city without long-serving mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt at the helm.

Nobby Clark has taken the top job in Invercargill, ousting the country's longest serving mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt.

The Human Rights Commission says the government-funded emergency and transitional housing system has potentially breached human rights.

Staffing shortages and reduced airline capacity are hampering West Coast businesses as they attempt to brush the cobwebs off their mothballed operations. Audio

Tourists in Queenstown arrived before the workers did this winter - putting businesses on high alert.

There were more than 600 jobs on offer in Queenstown at a recruitment event last night but only roughly 100 prospective employees to fill the vacancies.

Rotorua businesses are calling for the government to intervene in emergency housing as the iconic destination prepares for an influx of summer tourists.

Invercargill's incumbent mayor of more than 20 years was a no show at the latest mayoral debate, but nine challengers picked up the gauntlet and shared their vision for the southern city.

Recreational fishers in Fiordland are being encouraged to fish for a feed, not the freezer under proposed rule changes.

Glenorchy is a small, idyllic settlement just down the road from a place called Paradise. But its residents face an uncertain future after a study detailed significant natural hazards.