East Coast

King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero has finished a four-day visit to cyclone-hit communities across the Ngāti Kahungunu rohe.

A Gisborne woman living with terminal cancer fears she will "die prematurely" if proposed changes to the country's medicine legislation go through, limiting her ability to import a "miracle" drug.

A Gisborne farmer upset over the district council's lack of care for a frequently-flooded river is calling for action in the wake of devastation from Cyclone Gabrielle.

An iwi organisation says Wairoa has ready-to-go projects that could be accelerated to quickly get people back into homes.

More than $350,000 of council money went towards accessing water from an industry site following Cyclone Gabrielle, but the project never got off the ground.

The 2.2km route, named Pourau Road, provides a way around State Highway 35's busted Hikuwai No.1 Bridge.

Exhaustion, frustration and an air of sadness could be felt at a Tolaga Bay meeting, as people shared emotional accounts of the impact of slash and recent cyclones.

They used falsified customary permits, but iwi and marae had no knowledge or involvement.

After a five-year hiatus, the biennial Tūhoe festival, Te Hui Ahurei a Tūhoe, is set to return over Easter weekend.

More than a month after Cyclone Gabrielle hit, Gisborne locals are fed up with water restrictions as the council struggles to fix multiple breaks in the city's main pipeline.

Beef and sheep farmers in Tai Rāwhiti fear they will have paddocks full of starving animals this winter due to a lack of road access. Audio

Tensions have run high in Tokomaru Bay over the district council's handling of convoys which have proven a life-line to residents needing to access Gisborne.

It is estimated between 5000 and 6000 beehives were washed away or damaged in Hawke's Bay and Tai Rāwhiti during Cyclone Gabrielle.

Gisborne residents are reporting a strange taste and marks on their washing due to elevated iron levels in their water.

The forestry company says the damage during Cyclone Gabrielle was unavoidable because of the nature of the storm.

A Gisborne environmentalist who has spent 20 years trying to improve the state of a local river says her efforts have been decimated by the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle.

After two failed attempts Chris Hipkins has finally visited Wairoa - more than a month after the town was hit by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Police say the spreading of misinformation is hampering their search for the Gisborne man who disappeared at the time Cyclone Gabrielle hit.

The government is spending $2.75 million to set up an emergency shipping route for Hawke's Bay and Tai Rāwhiti, including chartering a vessel for three months.

The search for Joseph Ahuriri has been expanded.