A New Zealand couple have produced the first vanilla crop outside the tropics.

Residents are concerned one of NZ's most popular beach spots may become a concrete jungle under plans which could allow for higher development.

Winston Peters is back with all guns blazing today in a speech slamming immigration, foreign ownership and the Government.

Wayne Grattan pleads guilty over the Hamilton coolstore explosion which killed one firefighter and injured seven.

An orchid grower driven to desperation after losing his entire crop and income to a new spray dumped thousands of his flowers in a public protest.

Greenpeace is trying to keep up pressure on Fonterra to limit its use of palm kernel feed with a public rally outside the Ports of Tauranga.

Farmers have described Greenpeace's occupation of an inbound cargo vessel as 'economic treason.'

Police make second arrest while expressing serious safety concerns for activists aboard a cargo ship off the Tauranga coast.

A Bay of Plenty man turned himself into police for assaulting his wife and son after seeing an anti-domestic violence ad.