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

A kaumātua of Puketapu hapū has blown the whistle on New Plymouth's council after new football goals sprouted on a contested land block. The land, Mangati E, was taken under the Public Works Act in 1968 for a sewerage works but that use ended when a new wastewater plant was built elsewhere in the mid-80s. Kaumātua Peter Moeahu began pushing four years ago for New Plymouth District Council to return the Māori Reserve land. The 33-hectare block in the suburb of Bell Block is mo

Public support is growing for a council covering southern Taranaki to prevent dominance by New Plymouth. Taranaki’s three district councils and regional council are drawing up plans for amalgamation, to avoid a Government-imposed change after the 2028 local elections. South Taranaki and Stratford districts are wary of joining New Plymouth in a unitary authority, fearing the city’s voting power will overwhelm their interests. South Taranaki District Council mayor Phil Nixon th

Iwi representatives say they won’t let South Taranaki council’s liaison committee be disrupted by the Government’s axing of their voting rights. Local government minister Simon Watts two weeks ago announced he would remove voting rights from iwi representatives and other specialist appointees on council committees. Watts pointed to a Far North Māori relationships committee with six councillors, eight hapū representatives, and two from the Northland iwi chairs collective Te Ka

The fate of two deals between Ngāti Maru and Taranaki Regional Council lies with the leaders who'll take over when regional councils are axed in two years. Ngāti Maru is close to securing a pair of agreements setting out how the iwi and Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) will collaborate in future – but the Government has ordered the abolition of regional councils after 2028, as part of sweeping local body changes. TRC policy lead Finbar Kiddle advised councillors they couldn’t

Ngāti Maru hopes two pending agreements with Taranaki Regional Council will survive the local body shake-up and keep the council and iwi working together. The iwi is close to confirming a pair of draft agreements setting out how Ngāti Maru and the council will collaborate in future. But the fate of the agreements is uncertain as the Government has ordered councils to join together to shrink their numbers – including the abolition of regional councils after 2028. Te Kāhui Maru

South Taranaki and Stratford councils have spurned a suggested plan to work on local government reform, saying it’d hand too much power to the regional council and New Plymouth. Both district councils on Tuesday voted to keep working across the region to reshape local democracy, as required by the Government. But they unanimously rejected a Heads of Agreement setting out rules for how Taranaki’s four councils would collaborate on the revamp. The sticking point was how much sa

Hapū of Taranaki iwi say they’ll join with the wider community to manage kaimoana reserves planned for the region’s depleted western coast. A four-year official ban on collecting shellfish from New Plymouth to Ōpunakē expires in December. The hapū want to replace the temporary prohibition with mātaitai reserves – specific areas legally regulated by mana whenua to protect particular reefs, spawning grounds and the like. Although hapū are leading the push to protect ravaged kai

Land taken for a sewerage works that’s been out of action for decades should be returned to Puketapu hapū, says New Plymouth’s iwi liaison committee Te Huinga Taumatua. The committee has declared support for the return of the Mangati E block, asking staff to report how to make that happen – including by creating a working party with Puketapu. And council staff say the potential return of Mangati E will be a model for dealing with other Māori land controlled by New Plymouth Di

Cut rates too far and biosecurity risks will become real, Taranaki Regional Councillors have been warned. TRC’s chief executive Steve Ruru has cautioned councillors they’d need to choose which biosecurity risks to relax their guard over, if funding shrinks. “There are some trade-off decisions that need to be made,” he said. “We are at a point where we need to let some biosecurity risk be realised within the funding constraints we have.” “Particularly if you want to reduce rat

Safer drinks are on the way for Pātea with a rebuild of the town’s water treatment plant about half-way complete. The $6 million upgrade will ensure the South Taranaki town’s drinking water meets rising standards set by Taumata Arowai, the national water regulator. Last spring Pātea was under a boil-water notice for six weeks after Taumata Arowai declared disinfection treatment was at risk of contamination. South Taranaki District Council fitted an ultraviolet filter as a tem

Despite fears infrastructure delays are “kicking the can down the road” there’s no coordinated opposition to New Plymouth’s new mayor as he keeps his promise to haul in rates rises. New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) considered its 2026-27 budget on Wednesday, with cuts across the Annual Plan including almost a fifth of capital works spending. Mayor Max Brough campaigned on holding rates rises below five percent and staff have drafted a budget with an increase of 4.9 percen

New Plymouth and South Taranaki councils are looking to cut rates increases, largely by delaying spending on basic infrastructure. Both councils will set Annual Plan budgets soon, and staff have set out options to meet councillors’ expectations of more frugal plans. New Plymouth District Council meets on Wednesday to consider a 2026-27 budget that trims a further $10.8 million from capital spending on infrastructure and community facilities. Already in February New Plymouth c

Two South Taranaki iwi have indicated they’d prefer the region ends up with two councils under the Government’s local government shake-up. South Taranaki’s mayor called for separate councils – on a north-south or town-country split – at an iwi liaison meeting on Wednesday. His preference drew early support from Ngāti Ruanui and Taranaki iwi. Peter Moeahu is confident Taranaki iwi would favour two councils rather than one The Beehive wants to revamp local government to cut cos

Danger signs aren’t working to keep people out of polluted Taranaki rivers say some regional councillors. ‘Can I Swim Here?’ water testing at 16 popular river spots through summer found six ‘unsuitable for swimming’ most of the time. The testing by Taranaki Regional Council found another six were ‘unsuitable’ or needed a ‘caution advised’ warning most of the time. Bacterial testing of popular Taranaki swimming holes has found most were risky most of the summer (supplied) Just

Parihaka is looking to welcome more whānau home after almost two years of infrastructure construction at the Taranaki village. Roads, drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems have been replaced in a $28 million project nine years in the making. There are also new electricity lines, lighting, internet fibre and fire hydrants. Parihaka is famous for non-violent resistance to land confiscation before the Armed Constabulary invaded in 1881, when troops occupied the papak

Two more iwi have sparked negotiations for long-term agreements with Taranaki Regional Council, before Government reforms cut off the opportunity. Last week three iwi authorities had kicked off talks for Mana Whakahono ā Rohe (MWAR) agreements, according to an agenda for TRC’s Policy and Planning Committee. But by the time the committee met on Tuesday another two iwi had formally initiated the process for a Mana Whakahono deal – and remaining iwi are considering doing the sam

Taranaki Base Hospital’s new wing has been named Te Rau Mātāpuna o Taranaki at a dawn blessing to mark the building being ready for action. Te Rau Mātāpuna references the many pools and sources of water on Taranaki Maunga. Te Poihi Campbell led Wednesday morning’s blessing of the $460 million six-storey building, which is now completed for staff and equipment to move in. Te Poihi Campbell says the name Te Rau Mātāpuna o Taranaki is about water as a source of wellbeing from th