Video footage of what appears to be a man "car surfing" off the back of a moving car is being slammed by road safety authorities as "incredibly dangerous" and "stupid".

'I'm not saying it'll be a skip in the tulips - but it can be done.' A city councillor in Tauranga believes he won't have to quit if he gets into Parliament at the election.

A 7-year-old boy was flown to Auckland's Starship Hospital in a serious condition last night after being hit by a car in Tauranga's Welcome Bay.

A 7-year-old boy hit by a car in Welcome Bay last night remains in a critical condition at Auckland's Starship hospital this morning.

Tauranga's coroner says "significant and serious failures" in the health care provided at Tauranga Hospital to two patients contributed to their premature deaths.

Helicopter monsoon buckets were yesterday used to clear loose material from above two highways - one of which was closed by an early morning rockfall.

Shipping giant Maersk Line, and Fonterra-backed logistics company Kotahi have signed 10-year contracts aimed at supporting the port's plan to deepen its channel by 2016.

The NZ Transport Agency is using a helicopter carrying a monsoon bucket to wash away debris on the side of cliffs that are threatening to crumble and cause slips on State Highway 36 between Tauranga and Rotorua.

Police and coastguard staff say two tourists who took a drunken early morning harbour swim from Tauranga to Mt Maunganui are lucky to be alive.

A German tourist swam from Tauranga Harbour to Mount Maunganui after a night on the town.

Danielle Wright discovers clubs happy to welcome you in out of the cold.

A young mother who crashed her car into a park bench, catapulting her two children from the bonnet, did not "engage her brain", a court hears.

Severe rain and wind warnings and a drop in temperatures have been issued for parts of the South Island and lower North Island this weekend.

Two children seriously injured in a Bay of Plenty crash that killed their mother will today be released from Starship Hospital and will soon be heading home.

A 58-year-old woman suffered a broken leg when her car left the road in Tauranga, smashing through a fence and falling several metres over a bank into a property below.

A 58-year-old woman suffered a leg fracture when her car left the road in Tauranga, breaking through a fence and falling metres over a bank into a property below.

The family of Tauranga man who died after alleged medical misadventure is calling for better communication between Tauranga Hospital departments.

A message in a Powerade bottle sent by two young friends sought love from exotic shores.

An island hapu off the coast of Tauranga has come out as "not against the possibility" of leaving part of the wrecked container ship Rena on nearby Astrolabe Reef - and has distanced itself from an another island group which wants it gone.

A crash involving a logging truck and car has shut down the northbound lane of Tauranga's Takitimu Drive this morning.

Traffic is backed up after a crash involving a school bus and car this morning at Welcome Bay in the Bay of Plenty.

A motorcyclist is dead after crashing near Tauranga this afternoon.

Police are searching through Gate Pa in Tauranga after a report of an aggravated robbery this morning.

A Tauranga man has admitted causing the fatal head-on crash which killed Tauranga father Greg Woledge after his work van plunged off Maungatapu Bridge and into the river.