After almost a century uniting Taranaki's eight iwi, the Taranaki Māori Trust Board is handing the reins to a new body set up under the region's Maunga Treaty agreement. The Trust Board began in 1930, after the Sim Commission found confiscation of half a million hectares of Māori land in the Taranaki wars was unjust and excessive. Its mantle will be picked up by Te Tōpuni Ngārahu, a body founded by the 2025 Taranaki Maunga Redress Act. Te Tōpuni Ngārahu kaiwhakahaere Wharehok

Struggling, stagnant and facing an uncertain future - that’s the forecast for South Taranaki as it begins a ten-year plan review. By law South Taranaki District Council must renew its long-term plan next year, despite not knowing its fate in the Government’s nationwide council revamp. The council’s proposal to merge with Stratford District Council in 2028 as part of the local government shake-up is in the hands of local government minister Simon Watts. But South Taranaki Dist

The Māori councillors’ organisation has called for the Government to cancel its cull of council-iwi resource management agreements. The Beehive plans to scrap Mana Whakahono ā Rohe deals in Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms currently before Parliament – a move opposed by Local Government New Zealand’s Māori councillors network, Te Maruata. Te Maruata co-chair Dinnie Moeahu said Mana the deals between councils and iwi had been widely misunderstood. "We want to be very clea

New Plymouth is to spend $660,000 to try and influence local council reform, despite not meeting the Beehive’s criteria to take part. The Government has ordered councils to amalgamate to make local government simpler and cheaper. It offered councils a ‘Head Start’ pathway to come up with reform proposals – but demanded bids be backed by at least two district councils. South Taranaki and Stratford councils have agreed on a Head Start merger proposal but rejected the invitation

Two Taranaki councils wanting to merge have set out early details of how they’d work with mana whenua after the Government’s local body reforms. South Taranaki and Stratford district councils unanimously approved a proposal to cabinet to join as one unitary authority, under Wellington’s Head Start process, this week. Taranaki iwi representatives have objected to limited mana whenua input into the rapid reform, especially after a Government reversal decreed Mana Whakahono ā Ro

A South Taranaki hapū has set up an arts, construction and horticulture training centre on land that took a decade to get back, even after a Treaty settlement. Ōkahu-Inuāwai opened Tokaora Te Tapuae Pae Pātūtū on Friday on the site of the former Tokaora School, just outside Hāwera. The new centre has a retail art gallery and training studio, with a conference room for hapū and community use. The site already hosts a house-building course and Ōkahu-Inuāwai plans an expanding h

A call is out for people with a heart for Taranaki Maunga to share their ideas about the future of the mountain and surrounding national park. A new management plan is being written for the protection, access and use of Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki – formerly Egmont National Park. People are asked to contribute what they value most about Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki, including important places and experiences, future opportunities, and any concerns that need consideration. Last year’s

South Taranaki and Stratford councils will ask the Government to bless their union – but have spurned neighbouring New Plymouth. Councillors almost unanimously backed a proposal to become one unitary authority, combining district and regional council functions for southern and central Taranaki. Early in May the Government ordered councils to amalgamate, aiming for simpler and cheaper local government. Councils have until August 9 to come up with reform proposals under its Hea

The iwi that last week signed an environmental deal with Taranaki Regional Council is “deeply disappointed” the agreement won’t survive Government law changes. Ngāti Maru and the council spent years negotiating a Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreement under the Resource Management Act (RMA). The Government’s draft laws to replace the RMA had said Mana Whakahono would transfer into the new resource management system. But RMA reform minister Chris Bishop announced on Monday the Govern

Taiaroa from the Te Kai o Te Ata Breakfast Show speaks with Carol Raukawa, the National Party candidate for Te Tai Hauāuru. Carol discusses her upbringing, background, skills, and experience, and explains why she is standing as the National Party candidate for the electorate.

New Plymouth has postponed making a choice on reshaping councils in Taranaki and will instead go to the Government with a range of options by the deadline next month. The Government has ordered councils to amalgamate, aiming to make local government simpler and cheaper. It offered councils a Head Start pathway to come up with ideas for reform by August 9. On Wednesday New Plymouth District Councillors instead voted to “identify multiple draft options” in what they called a “p

Ngāti Maru and Taranaki Regional Council have signed two agreements to improve the health of Waitara River and the wider environment. The Joint Management Agreement (JMA) signed on Tuesday commits the iwi and council to cooperate on managing the Waitara River and its catchment. The two parties also signed a Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreement (MWAR) under the Resource Management Act, setting out how they’ll collaborate on things like planning and consenting rules. Ngāti Maru's Sa

Stratford councillors have been cautioned not to dismiss the idea of a single council for Taranaki, despite the district leaning towards two councils to cover the region. The Government has ordered councils to amalgamate, aiming for simpler and cheaper local government. It has given councils until August 9 to come up with reform proposals. Stratford District Council is looking to combine with neighbouring South Taranaki in a unitary authority, excluding New Plymouth District

Ngāti Ruanui wants two councils for Taranaki, along with a huge majority of South Taranaki residents who answered an online council questionnaire. Ninety-four percent of 1200 respondents to a South Taranaki District Council (STDC) survey opposed merging with New Plymouth in the nationwide shake-up of councils. The Government has ordered councils to amalgamate, saying it will bring simpler and cheaper local government. It’s given councils until August 9 to come up with reform

Iwi say they’ve been shut out of moves to revamp Taranaki’s local government and should’ve been involved as partners from the start. New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) and Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) on Thursday presented five possible future council structures for the region, in response to Government reforms. Papers for a joint council workshop stressed that under the Local Government Act any future arrangement must include Māori in decision-making. Implications for i

Stratford and Hāwera will be at the centre of Puanga celebrations in Taranaki this weekend as the region marks the Māori new year. On Thursday evening Puanganui-o-te-Rangi returns with performances and activitiesin Stratford War Memorial Hall, thanks to a joint effort by Ngāruahine Iwi Health Services and Stratford District Council. On Friday morning Ngāti Ruanui host another free whānau event at Te Whare o Ruapūtahanga in Hāwera, and there’s a star-viewing at dawn. New Plymo

New solar panels have cut over $1000 a month from New Plymouth council’s power bill – about a third of the cost of electricity in the building they’re installed on. The 100 solar panels were mounted on the roof of New Plymouth District Council’s climate-controlled archives building in March. They’re expected to generate 80,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year – about the same as 10 households and a third of the building’s power demand. A smaller solar array was installed

Taranaki Regional Council has approved two agreements with Ngāti Maru in a bid to continue cooperation beyond the looming local government shake-up. The council is legally required to negotiate a Joint Management Agreement (JMA) with Ngāti Maru by the iwi’s 2022 Treaty of Waitangi settlement. The agreed JMA covers the Waitara River and catchment, committing Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) and the iwi to cooperate over rivers, wetlands, farm freshwater plans, water qallocatio

The Government is to pay $8.6 million to complete the construction of the first marae in Ngāmotu New Plymouth for 194 years. Māori development minister Tama Potaka announced the funding in Waitara on Saturday at the annual Te Rā o Tā Māui Pōmare (Sir Māui Pōmare Day) at Ōwae marae. Potaka said the grant to Ngāti Te Whiti hapū would come from the Regional Development Fund. “To support Ngāmotu Marae is something that I've been pretty dedicated to [since] I first visited and hea

Taranaki’s Māori health services say the region is ready to make the most of trainee doctors from the new medical school being set up at Waikato University. The Government last week announced Taranaki will be one of five areas hosting students from the New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine from 2028. Students will study for a year on the University of Waikato campus, followed by three years of clinical training across Taranaki and Whanganui, Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, Nels