Bay of Plenty Times
New traffic lights planned for busy intersections
Two new signalised intersections will be installed in Tauriko as part of the Tauriko Enabling Works project. In a Facebook post, New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said traffic lights will be installed at two intersections of State Highway 29...
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‘Strongest in modern history’
One of the “strongest” El Nino events on record could be heading New Zealand’s way, bringing a hotter, windier and drier spring for the Bay of Plenty. Forecasters say strong westerly winds, reduced rainfall and periods of unusually “spiky”...
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Why waitlist message alarmed doctors
Aexpectation from hospital management that Tauranga physicians give certain specialist appointments to “long-wait” patients has alarmed doctors. One physician said patients should always be seen based on clinical need, and she was concerned the...
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‘CONSTANT STREAM OF HOONS’
Businesses say Birch Ave racing is escalating, with signs smashed and plates unreadable ‘Hoons” doing burnouts and skidding vehicles on water main covers or fast-food trays are damaging a Tauranga street, a fed-up businessman says. Bryce Cole, chief...
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Hapū seeks $475m over port expansion plan
Ahapū and marae seeking for the Port of Tauranga’s expansion bid to be declined say compensation of up to $475 million should be required if the project goes ahead. It is the latest instalment in the ongoing conflict between Ngāti Kuku and the Port of...
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REVVED UP
Tauranga-based Ubco is revving up its comeback with a series of major new contracts for its electric motorbikes. The initial incarnation of the company collapsed in January 2025, owing $35.7 million. In July the same year, jobs were saved as a trio of...
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Regions’ top-grossing speed cameras
Aspeed camera with one of the Bay of Plenty and Waikato’s highest fine tallies is offline after being vandalised. The State Highway 29 spot speed camera has snapped thousands of speeders from its perch at Te Poi, on the Waikato side of the Kaimai...
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‘Bloody tough’
Mount Maunganui’s surf lifesaving clubhouse is no longer under a red placard, but the building’s future remains “in limbo”. The multimillion-dollar clubhouse was one of four properties deemed unsafe under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act...
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‘Out of options’
Twelve years ago, Tauranga dancer Maria Wortman-Dabrowska was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (blood cancer). For years, her treatments were successful. Now she has relapsed and is “out of options”. The 56-year-old is eyeing a $200,000 trip overseas...
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DRAMA QUEEN
Madeleine Sami’s new role on The Traitors was meant to be filled by Paul Henry. However, as she tells Mitchell Hageman, there are (at least) two things she has that the controversial former host does not. CHOWING DOWN ON glutenfree Weet-Bix in a small...
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Man allegedly shot dead over drug debt
Warning: This story deals with details of a violent death and may be distressing. ATauranga man was allegedly shot dead in an “execution-style” single shot to the chest, “all for a debt owed in the terrible cycle of feeding an addiction to...
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We’ll ‘get in and get out as quickly as we can’
Construction of two major roading projects on Tauranga commuter routes are set to overlap – but the council says it is working to minimise disruption. The $185 million stage two of the Cameron Rd upgrade is expected to start in 2028 and finish in...
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City traders struggle as sales slump
Tauranga CBD hospitality businesses are fighting an “uphill battle” as costs rise, people spend less, and margins are “extremely tight”. Two owners and two sector representatives have spoken about the challenges, with one local trader saying sales have...
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PLUS: PUZZLES EXTRA! Kiwifruit pioneer earns King’s honour
Two-thirds of New Zealand’s kiwifruit comes from varieties developed by Te Puke scientist Russell Lowe – now an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Lowe has been named in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours for services to horticulture and the...
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Safety fears grow over Wairoa Bridge cycleway
Aregular Wairoa Bridge cycleway user has likened riding on State Highway 2 to having a “death wish”. However, with the cycleway closed, this 90km/h stretch of road is now the only direct link for cyclists between Te Puna and Bethlehem. The Wairoa...
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FIND Out wHAt’s ON tHIs LONG wEEKEND Long days travelling for dialysis nearly broke her . . Now she has hope .
For three months, Tauranga mother Tui Penman woke at 5am three days each week to go to Waikato Hospital. The 47-year-old has chronic kidney disease, requiring a four-hour haemodialysis session every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Penman said Tauranga...
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Popular market fights frequency reduction
Organisers of a longrunning market series are opposing council plans to reduce their summer bookings for Mount Maunganui’s Coronation Park. The Little Big Markets have the backing of a local business owner who says the events attract people to the...
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$30k rise in five years
Aproposed 7.3% increase to Tauranga’s citywide development contributions will mean the cost for a new three-bedroom home has increased by more than $30,000 in five years if confirmed. Urban Task Force (UTF), a local property industry advocacy group,...
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‘I cried, I cried, I cried’
On the last day of his life, Ramandeep Dhillon spent time with his wife and their toddler, who has inherited his smile. Then, on Wednesday the week before last, he left home for his shift as an Uber driver. He never returned. About 7.15pm, the Pāpāmoa...
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+ Tauranga doctor finalist in art awards
A Tauranga-based artist has been named among the country’s top portrait painters, with Dr Bronwyn Copeland selected as a finalist in the prestigious Adam Portraiture Award 2026. Copeland is one of 43 artists shortlisted from 429 entries for the...
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Tauranga Recovery Plan draws mixed response
The Tauranga City Council has released its recovery plan following the January landslides. One Mount Maunganui community leader says the plan lacks detail and clarity, while another says it makes the path to recovery clearer. The Tauranga Recovery...
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Matariki for Tamariki show brings Māori New Year to stage
Tauranga will be the first North Island stop to experience a new Matariki stage production. It also marks Baycourt’s first time presenting a Matariki show celebrating the Mā ori New Year. The New Zealand Dance Company and Baycourt Community and Arts...
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881 ATTACKS ONLY 8 PROSECUTED IN 5 YEARS
More than 800 dog attacks were reported to Tauranga City Council in the past five years – but fewer than 1% resulted in prosecutions. Data obtained by the Bay of Plenty Times shows 881 dog attack complaints were made to the council in the past five...
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‘Wasted effort’ Port ordered to compensate iwi $298k for unpaid cultural labour
Acompany that dragged local iwi and hapū through years of litigation only to walk away at the eleventh hour has been ordered to pay for the cultural work it failed to do itself. In a recently released Environment Court ruling, the court said Ports of...
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Animal cruelty probe after cat shot in face
Acat owner is “heartbroken” after her beloved pet Clyde died from being shot in the face in Mount Maunganui. Rosalie Liddle Crawford, a Weekend Sun and Bay of Plenty Times reporter, said her beloved 3-year-old ragdoll, whom she had raised since he was...
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NEW TOLLS ON THE WAY?
New tolls will be explored for New Zealand’s mosttolled region under a new agreement between Western Bay of Plenty councils and the Government. The long-discussed Katikati Bypass is also on the agenda, earmarked for funding from asset sales. The...
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‘No one can tell me where my gold is’
ATauranga retiree says she has spent nearly $10,000 trying to find a missing gold bar she sold to a bullion company that collapsed six days later. The woman says she gave the gold bar to former Tauranga city councillor Andrew Hollis, whose...
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FINAL ROLL CALL
Past students of Tauranga’s first coeducational secondary school will gather this weekend for a final reunion. The Tauranga College reunion, expected to be the last, will see about 50 people return to share memories of the school that operated for...
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Gateway to the world
Tauranga has been described as Peru’s “ideal partner in this part of the Pacific” as a proposed trade corridor to the South American nation gains momentum. The two-way export route – dubbed the Southern Link – between the Port of Tauranga and Peru’s...
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‘We’re losing too many men’
A Tauranga prostate cancer survivor says “too many men” are dying from the disease, amid calls for a national screening programme. Meanwhile, a Rotorua widow whose husband died from prostate cancer in 2024 says a screening programme will save lives,...
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Homeless woman's dog put down by council
Ahomeless woman’s dog impounded during a police and council operation has been put down despite public offers to pay for his registration. Tauranga City Council acknowledged there were offers but claimed the dog’s owner did not provide other...
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Why this region pays more for power
There are fresh calls for an investigation into Tauranga’s electricity market as local consumers face the highest prices in New Zealand. Data shows the average Tauranga consumer pays 9.1% more for power than the national average, with the city’s...
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‘Time to pull the pin’
The “iconic” Crown and Badger pub has poured its last pint. The pub has been operating on The Strand in Tauranga’s CBD for 26 years and shut its doors for good on Sunday. It entered voluntary liquidation on Wednesday. Owner/operator Jessica Mackenzie...
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Tauranga passenger rail push gaining steam
Apush for a future passenger rail station and service in Tauranga is gaining momentum after strong interest in the Kaimai Express. The heritage excursion on May 2 from Auckland to Tauranga marked the first passenger service on the route in 14...
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Why the Bay of Plenty has grown more ‘sceptical’ towards migrants
The Bay of Plenty is the most “sceptical” region in the country towards migrants, a new report says. The new Helen Clark Foundation Social Cohesion report, which surveyed 2882 people last year, showed 45% of Bay residents believed immigration levels...
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Cremation fees drive families to Waikato
Some Tauranga families are taking their loved ones outside the city for cremations because it is cheaper, funeral directors say. It comes as Tauranga City Council proposes changes to its cemetery fees to stem a growing financial deficit. The council...
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How new big-brand hotel could boost city
The “gateway” to the Bay of Plenty is getting its first internationally branded hotel, with city leaders saying it will boost the conference sector and attract more international visitors. Mercure Tauranga opened in the city’s centre on Friday,...
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‘WOULD MEAN EVERYTHING TO ME’
Ollie Hatchby is making waves on the international jet sport circuit, with his sights now set on the world finals in the United States. The fulltime Mainfreight 2IC storeman began racing at 15, shortly after moving from Invercargill to the Bay of...
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Fears medical services could ‘disappear’
ABay of Plenty medical centre has warned it may have to increase fees, cut opening hours and reduce services if it loses its rural funding contract. Katikati Medical Centre, about 40 minutes’ drive north of Tauranga, receives Government funding...
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All Blacks Sevens player has drink-driving conviction quashed
An All Blacks Sevens player has lost his bid for permanent name suppression, but has been given a discharge without conviction for his second drink-driving offence. Ngarohi McGarvey-Black, who is based in the Bay of Plenty, was stopped by police while...
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Inconvenienced
This might be Bay of Plenty’s most controversial public loo. The single unisex toilet in an Omokoroa ¯ reserve has generated hours of debate, reports, a public meeting, a petition and a complaint after a woman spent 20 distressing minutes trapped...
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Not worth fixing
Twelve social housing units in Tauranga will be demolished after “significant damage” to the buildings’ structural integrity was found. Another nine adjacent state housing properties will be sold after leaky building issues were found. Social and...
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AN EMOTIONAL ANZAC JOURNEY
Flight NZ101 will travel its normal route from Auckland to Sydney today but it will also take on a special meaning from the normal jump across the ditch. The Air New Zealand flight will be commemorating fallen soldiers in a collaboration with the...
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Massive Fonterra pay day to flood Bay
About $320 million from the sale of Fonterra’s dairy brands is landing in the bank accounts of Bay of Plenty farmers in a “once-ina-lifetime” payout. Farmers are considering new kitchens, giving family members a “helping hand” and maybe buying a new...
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‘Your income stays, ours doesn’t’
Mount Maunganui businesses facing ongoing financial pain after January’s slip have demanded better council support and communication in a heated meeting. Mayor Mahe´ Drysdale called Tauranga City Council’s information session for businesses, held at...
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‘What’s next?’ Anxiety on the rise following tornado, storm events
Anxiety is high and people are asking “what’s next”, a Tauranga councillor says, after a tornado damaged homes, a marae and parks on Sunday. It was the latest severe weather event for the city this year after the Cyclone Vaianu scare the prior weekend,...
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‘Like a freight train’
A Welcome Bay home owner is counting her blessings after a tornado ripped through her family home “like a freight train leaving a trail of destruction”. Jo Logan and her wife have spent the past two days surveying the damage after a tornado tore...
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RIVER TRAGEDY
Two people have died after a water-related incident in the Tarawera River near Kawerau’s Boyce Park. Emergency services were called to the scene about 11.30am yesterday after a report of a party becoming “stuck under a bank”. Eastern Bay of Plenty...
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Magic vs Mystics
The Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic will bring one of the ANZ Premiership’s most anticipated rivalry fixtures to Tauranga for the first time this weekend. The Hobbiton Cup will be on the line when the Magic take on the Northern Mystics at Mercury Baypark...
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