Taranaki Daily News

Parihaka could go global

Possible recognition of Parihaka as a world heritage site is being seen as an opportunity to share the papakāinga’s history and message with the world. The coastal Taranaki settlement is one of nine of New Zealand’s most internationally significant...

Preserving the past in a digital age

Hold a 130-year-old glass plate negative up to the light, and you are holding a physical fragment of human memory. The 10,000 glass negatives of the Feaver Collection held at Puke Ariki Museum capture rural Ōpunake life from the 1890s to the 1940s – a...

Hoarding vandals run rampant

Wannabe artists armed with permanent markers and spray-paint are on the loose across Taranaki defacing and damaging political hoardings in the lead-up to the November election. National Party signs appeared to have borne the brunt of the vandalism,...

Demand up, donations down

Supporting those struggling in the Waitara community with hundreds of kai parcels a month is putting intense pressure on the town’s food bank, at a time when public donations have dropped off dramatically. In September alone, the Waitara Foodbank gave...

Who lowered the bollard?

A lengthy investigation has failed to find who was responsible for lowering a bollard that contributed to the death of an elderly woman who drowned in the Waitara River more than four years ago. A Coroners Court Recommendations Recap was released on...

Town defends festive title

With around 82 sleeps still to go until Santa’s big night, Christmas preparations are well under way in Stratford. Four Stratford women determined to keep their self-styled crown as the most Christmassy town in New Zealand had already made and...

Gorge not on transport plan

No long-term replacement for State Highway 3 through the vulnerable Awakino Gorge has been identified in a national 10-year transport investment plan. Instead, the country’s roading agency is proposing further resilience work instead. The NZ...

The knock that never comes

In 2026 you can have almost anything delivered to your doorstep – a hot meal, a weeks’ worth of groceries, new shoes. Yet for thousands of New Zealanders, the one thing that never arrives is a knock on the door. For most of us loneliness is an...

Major milestone reached

Jared Proffit once looked at the names of Taranaki’s centurions on the gym wall and thought joining them was impossible. Come Sunday, Proffit will become the 33rd player in Taranaki Rugby history to reach 100 matches when he starts at loosehead prop...

POLITICS

Labour leader Chris Hipkins cut a relaxed figure as he spent the afternoon in New Plymouth yesterday, outpouring confidence his party’s candidate could swing the electorate seat back to the left. After a couple of days of being grilled about...

‘It’s great’ – ‘it’s frustrating’

New Plymouth’s mayor has welcomed the Government’s pause on local government reform while his fellow Taranaki mayors are less enamoured. Max Brough said he was not surprised when Local Government Minister Simon Watts and RMA Reform Minister Chris...

Jones speech ‘vile rhetoric’

First-term district councillor EJ Barrett has taken exception to comments made by Shane Jones during an NZ First meeting in New Plymouth on Friday. Jones, the deputy leader of NZ First, addressed more than 200 people at The Devon Hotel, where energy,...

Undercut and under pressure

Cheap aluminium imports from China are threatening the viability of a long-standing New Plymouth business which employs hundreds of people, its managing director says. Mckechnie Aluminium has operated for 75 years manufacturing and exporting hundreds...

Ailing or failing? Long wait for answers

Ayoung girl’s life ends against the backdrop of a childhood disrupted by abuse – treatment many wouldn’t dish out to a dog. From the age of six, she was kicked, punched, told she was ugly and called terrible names. She often went without food, clean...

LNG project delay welcomed

Opponents of a proposed LNG import terminal at Port Taranaki are celebrating what they are calling “the beginning of the end” of the project. Coalition partners NZ First and ACT have both expressed caution about making any decision about the project...

Agencies ‘failed’ whānau

A young whānau member of a girl who died by suspected suicide has given a “powerful” statement that moved a coroner to tears, about how she felt the family had been let down by agencies which were meant to help. The address was given on day three of...

Trapped, terrified by attack

After being chased and having his bike busted by a group of teenagers, Deontae Gooch no longer feels safe riding across town to visit his grandparents. The 23-year-old Stratford man, who lives with Asperger’s and an intellectual disability, was left...

‘Daughter’s life had value’

The father of a girl who died of a suspected suicide says he “owed it” to his daughter to find out why it happened. The man’s address was delivered yesterday, as the coronial inquest into the 12-year-old girl’s June 27, 2017, death got under way in...

Gardeners prepare for El Niño

Veteran gardeners in Taranaki are gearing up for a dry and windy summer as a recordstrength El Niño weather pattern takes hold. El Niño brings stronger and more frequent westerly winds over New Zealand, drier conditions to the upper North Island and...

Taranaki’s street food evolution

It started a year ago with a folding table, a chilly bin and a “baby” smoker outside a little coffee shop in Waitara. A year later, The Flying Pig Barbecue made 120 smash burgers at the pop-up food festival in New Plymouth’s CBD, and sold out an hour...

Contractors told to fix ramp

Contractors will be sent back to fix a $1.4 million beach access ramp after its workmanship failed to meet the expectations of the New Plymouth District Council. The council confirmed yesterday that work on fixing “defects” of the recently completed...

Fear, finances shape mood

The looming closure of Methanex, rising costs and pressure on healthcare were fuelling anxiety in Waitara, with one business worker saying residents were worried about what was to come. Lisa Mcholm, of Waitara Post and Lotto, said conversations with...

New Plymouth mood muted

Ashortage of jobs, tighter spending and uncertainty over whether things would get any easier were the issues a New Plymouth business owner was hearing from customers in the months leading up to the election. “Just the spending and the jobs, I think,...

Driving Stratford’s voters

Pensioner and business owner Arnold Cox has seen plenty of governments come and go, but his concerns ahead of this year’s election are firmly focused on the pressures facing businesses and retirees. Cox’s Stratford Knit and Sew business on Broadway...

What shapes Hāwera’s vote

Small-business owner John Fullerton has been in business only a matter of weeks, but has already found out how difficult it is to get started. From accessing start-up funding to dealing with banks, the Help Me IT owner said the process had been...

Don’t let AI ruin your dream garden

In six weeks the Centuria Taranaki Garden Festival opens, and thousands of visitors and locals alike will happily spend hours wandering through pristine, living works of art, convincing themselves that with enough enthusiasm, their own gardens could...

Climate debate draws crowds

Any thoughts the general election might fail to ignite interest in the New Plymouth electorate were dispelled on the night of the first meaningful debate on Wednesday. Voters arrived at the former Tasman Bowling Club well before the start time, with...

Students crack pest puzzle

Monitoring tunnels set in a New Plymouth reserve to count rats and weasels shocked a group of conservation students, who found them full of inky cat footprints. The students from the level 4 New Zealand Certificate in Conservation (Operations)...

El Niño has farmers wary

While winter-weary people throughout Taranaki look forward to spring sunshine, farmers wary of the developing El Niño weather pattern are hoping for lots of rain. Among them is South Taranaki mayor and dairy farmer Phil Nixon, who is concerned with...

Family seek killing review

The family of Kaoss Price is seeking a judicial review of the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s (IPCA) investigation into his fatal shooting in April 2022. The unarmed 22-year-old died on State Highway 3, between New Plymouth and Waitara, after...

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More than gumboots and rugby

After a lifetime embedded in the local art scene, Wayne Morris is convinced the region punches above its weight when it comes to creativity. And the New Plymouth man would know. His first exhibition was in 1981, he was a founding member of the...

Photos from space help cows

Satellite images beamed down from space are helping a Taranaki farmer keep his cows well fed. When Logan Haynes wants to see where his herd of 355 will be going next he opens his laptop and a colourful patchwork map. Blue squares are paddocks ready...

Methanex closure to hit hard

Methanex’s decision to indefinitely close its Taranaki plant is expected to have a wide ripple effect across businesses and households throughout the region. About 150 people work at the plant, which is expected to close by the end of March next...

Cleanup cost now over $12m

More spent Highway than cleaning 3 through $12 million up Awakino and has repairing already Gorge State been after heavy rain caused extensive damage in April. New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi asset and operations group general manager Andrew...

Better brushing

Who doesn’t love the mischievous Stitch from Disney’s cheeky alien will inspire children aged 6 and up to get brushing with the cool blue Oral-b io Kids electric toothbrush. It’s designed with dentists to be gentle on kids’ teeth and gums, and to...

Way to beat cancer, at home

If Hilary Harrison hadn’t kept her dark sense of humour front and centre, she would have spent the last year curled in the foetal position under her kitchen table. So, as she told her story to a group of people the room was filled with laughter, not...

Time bomb faced in race to cap rates

Two Taranaki mayors have warned the Government’s much-vaunted council rates cap is a ticking time bomb that could see vital infrastructure neglected and treasured community services lost. South Taranaki mayor Phil Nixon and Stratford mayor Neil Volzke...

Toi to go ahead with TSB sale

The trustees of the Toi Foundation have voted to move ahead with its proposed $620 million sale of TSB to Heartland Bank. The decision was released yesterday and came after the High Court overwhelmingly rejected an application by the Taranaki...

High Court rejects TSB ruling

The High Court has wholly rejected an application by a concerned Taranaki community group for an injunction to stop the proposed $620 million sale of TSB to Heartland Bank. The Taranaki Community Accountability Society had sought the injunction on the...

Case sent to Appeal Court

A 14-year-old girl who bludgeoned a Taranaki grandfather to death with a hammer has had her case sent back to the Court of Appeal to be reconsidered. On Friday, the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which investigates potential wrongful convictions,...

Loss inspires a pet project

When grieving pet owners call Steph Korff they are usually in tears. But for the founder of Sweet Farewell, providing a gentle goodbye for beloved dogs, cats, and birds was a deeply personal mission, one that was already resonating across the region...

Fire and ice

When I first heard about Elemental – Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa’s new adults-only wellness experience featuring New Zealand’s first snow room – I was not sold on the idea. It didn’t sound relaxing. Stepping into falling snow in the name of...

Envisaging a geothermal future

Taranaki geologist Evelien Wallace remembers her surprise the first time she was on a drilling rig and saw the heat in slurry from deep underground pouring from a mud pump. “The mud and water went over the shakers to remove the shards of rock, before...

Calls for alternative route

A national transport advocacy group argues major Taranaki developments are strengthening the case for an alternative northern outlet. The call came as the National Road Carriers Association launched its election manifesto, which included establishing...

Butcher hangs up his apron

After nearly three years behind the counter in Ōakura, butcher Vaughan Coveny is hanging up his meat cleaver and apron as he calls time on his first business venture. Coveny and his wife Stacey announced on social media that Ōakura Meat Co and Fine...

Lower Len Lye cost wanted

New Plymouth mayor Max Brough is actively seeking ratepayers’ help to slash the operating expenditure of the city’s renowned Len Lye Centre. Describing it as the “eternal gift that keeps on giving”, Brough used his regular online question-and-answer...

Hunters helping families

A weekend in South Taranaki back country turned into hundreds of meals for Taranaki families struggling to put meat on the table. A group of hunters from the North Taranaki branch of the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association took 20 deer from Rimunui...

Neighbours at odds over fumes

A Hāwera woman with chronic illness is terrified fumes from her neighbour’s business could trigger an extreme allergic reaction. Maree Mulholland fears she could have an anaphylactic reaction to a burning rubber smell coming from neighbouring business...

Candidates on cost-of-living crisis

It should not come as a surprise to anyone the most significant issue on voters’ minds heading into the election is the cost of living. It’s the issue voters are reminded of daily, each time a power or rates bill arrives, a petrol bowser is slotted...

Costs down, opening delayed

Taranaki Cathedral has been closed since January 2016 for renovations to do with earthquake strengthening. In 2024, the estimated cost for the work was $20 million with a completion date of 2028. After being unable to meet its $20m budget, the...

Local National MPS back Luxon after leadership vote

Taranaki’s three National MPS have expressed confidence in Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and say they don’t expect any further leadership questions in the run up to November’s election. Taranaki-king Country MP Barbara Kuriger, New Plymouth MP...

Holding report ‘untenable’

Puketapu hapū kaumātua Peter Moeahu has been refused a copy of a report commissioned by the New Plymouth District Council into his complaint about how details surrounding a confidential agreement were leaked to media. The decision to deny Moeahu...

Data centre ‘a catalyst’

A proposal to build a large-scale data centre at Stratford has been described as “game changing” by the district’s mayor, Neil Volzke. Contact Energy and Australian firm CDC Data Centres announced yesterday that they were exploring plans for a 250...

The man with a bold plan

In a re-purposed New Plymouth condom factory biotechnology entrepreneur Iain Hosie is championing an ambitious vision for Taranaki as a thriving innovation hub that has reclaimed its “energy centre of New Zealand” crown. But instead of relying on oil...

The farm succession crunch

Belinda Price isn’t afraid of the topics most people spend a lifetime avoiding. As an end-of-life doula, she has built a career around a simple, uncomfortable truth: The conversations people run from are usually the ones most needed. Through her...

Govt urged to honour Ara Ake commitment

A Christchurch-based energy company says the Government has undermined trust in its support for emerging energy businesses after the decision to scrap funding for New Plymouth energy innovation centre Aka Ake left his company waiting on...

Coroner finds boat’s skipper not to blame

A coroner has found a 6-year-old-boy was not wearing the correct-sized lifejacket when he drowned along with his stepmother after their boat capsized on the Pātea River bar in June 2025. Coroner Rachael Schmidt-mccleave released her findings on...

Society’s issues highlighted

A New Plymouth judge has told a defendant he feels embarrassed by the way homeless and mentally ill patients are sometimes treated in New Zealand. Judge Tony Greig’s comments came during the sentencing of a young woman who was convicted of seriously...

Small-screen highlights

Make a date with Colin, Ted Lasso and Reacher

Callout changes spur warning

New Plymouth’s firefighters have slammed a cost-cutting proposal that could see volunteers called in for emergency cover instead of off-duty professionals. Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) has proposed changing its Management to Callouts Policy...

Pilot lands his last plane

When Brent Hancock was a child, he spent countless hours flying kites and model aircraft. Nearly five decades later, after logging almost 24,000 flying hours and 36 years with Air New Zealand, the New Plymouthbased pilot and captain has landed his...

No comment on Hāwera course

The president of the Egmont Racing Club has shed no light on how it would tackle the prospect of the Hāwera racecourse being closed under the national body’s future venues plan. Dennis Hurcomb gave a quick “no comment” to any questions about the plan...

COMMONWEALTH GAMES

Record-breaking Commonwealth Games gold medallist Zoe Hobbs’ achievement on the track at Glasgow was celebrated up and down the country yesterday as the Taranaki sprinter broke new ground for a New Zealand athlete. Hobbs won New Zealand’s first-ever...

Mead in Eltham in a kitchen

A Taranaki couple discovered they had set the launch day for their bespoke mead-brewing business on day one of Dry July. Viv Neilson and Kylie Fletcher of Eltham were excited to launch their new Neilson Meadery website after spending 18 months doing...

Clear skies, cold temps, sparse slopes

The sky was clear, the air crisp, and the snow relatively thick – and yet those who made it to the Manganui Ski Area on Taranaki Maunga had the slopes largely to themselves. Taranaki was treated to frigidly crisp, stunning winter morning yesterday,...

Dispute costs near $300k

A long-running dispute between the New Plymouth Pistol Club and its neighbour has left ratepayers picking up costs edging towards $300,000. Devon Rd resident Bryan Phillips has been battling the club for the best part of five years over excessive...

Unicyclist’s 8000km odyssey

After spending five-and-a-half months pedalling around New Zealand on one wheel, New Plymouth’s George Harrison could not stop smiling when the Wind Wand finally came into view. His father and sister joined him for his final leg along the Coastal...

Leaders give voters opportunity to act

You know it’s election time when the politicians start dropping into town midweek. First it was The Opportunity Party spreading the word in New Plymouth, then Act leader David Seymour rallied the party faithful at the New Plymouth Club.

Youth programme robbed

A family-run New Plymouth carving business that supports vulnerable young people has been forced to cancel a much-loved course after thousands of dollars’ worth of specialist tools were stolen. Melody and Darrin Vedder, owners of 10 Hearts 1 Soul in...

Missing boy finds way back

When a 10-year-old boy vanished outside New Plymouth’s Len Lye Centre, his parents feared the worst. One moment, their son was pulling faces in the shiny mirrors of the Len Lye Centre, and the next, he was gone. Three hours, a police search, and an...

Housing future eyed for empty city offices

The downturn in Taranaki’s oil and gas sector is reshaping New Plymouth’s commercial property market, with real estate agents reporting record levels of vacant office and industrial space. As more “for lease” signs appear across the city, particularly...

Biggest beach cleanup yet

Sam Judd is from Wellington but he is doing everything he can to make sure Taranaki goes as big as it can on International Coastal Cleanup Day in September. The keen surfer, who is co-founder and chief executive of Sustainable Coastlines, has been...

Toi Foundation faces legal battle

A protracted legal battle is looming large for the Toi Foundation as it continues to progress its proposed $620 million sale and merger of TSB to Heartland Bank. The threat of legal action, including the prospect of an injunction to stop the...

Region vigilant as bird flu hits

A Taranaki poultry breeder and a conservation manager say New Zealand’s first case of bird flu should serve as a reminder for bird owners to strengthen biosecurity, with both saying the arrival of the virus had been expected. The case, confirmed in...