State Highway 5, north of Rotorua, is open this morning following a bus crash which killed five people. A bus carrying 27 Chinese tourists rolled on the highway, near Waiohotu and Galaxy roads, just before 11.30am on Wednesday. A number of...... Read More

Oropi Road, near the State Highway 29a roundabout, is closed morning after a sinkhole on the bridge has reopened. In a statement released last night, Tauranga City Council says Oropi Road, south of SH29, had been reduced to one lane between Cheyne...... Read More

A hole opening up on Oropi Rd this evening has resulted in traffic being reduced to one lane.  Police report they received a couple of phone calls around 8.30pm on Wednesday from members of the public reporting a hole that had appeared on...... Read More

UPDATE 5.45PM: Police have confirmed that five people have died after a bus carrying 23 Chinese tourists rolled on State Highway 5, just outside of the Bay of Plenty. The accident occurred near Waiohotu Road and Galaxy Road, Mamaku at 11.20am. A number...... Read More

A large tree has come down in Gate Pa this morning as wild weather continues to batter the city. A caller to the 0800 SUNLIVE news hotline says the tree has come down on Cook Street. “I have never seen something this big before.” She...... Read More

A Rotorua taxi driver shot by a man fleeing police is in a stable condition at Rotorua Hospital. The man's condition was confirmed by a Lakes DHB spokesperson.  Police arrested a person after the incident that involved a police...... Read More

Police have arrested one person following an incident in Rotorua on Sunday. "The person was arrested on Te Ngae Road, Owhata, where Police were following a suspected stolen vehicle about 5.35pm," says Acting Rotorua Area Commander Inspector...... Read More

For much of the Bay of Plenty today, this last day of August is mostly sunny. WeatherWatch Analyst Aaron Wilkinson says there are anticyclonic conditions for most of New Zealand today, with a westerly airflow about the lower South Island. A weak front...... Read More

Hundreds of people have taken up the opportunity to hand back their firearms in Tauranga. Today is the first of three days where people will have the opportunity to hand in their prohibited firearm/s and parts for buyback. It’s also a chance...... Read More

  They work in Human Resources, the Airport, and in places around our community. You could pass them in the streets and not even take a second look.   They are volunteer firefighters. People volunteer in their own different way and are...... Read More

The All Blacks stopped off in Mount Maunganui today as they prepare to jet off to Japan for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. It’s less than one month until 20 teams and their fans descend on Japan for the Rugby World Cup 2019. Head coach Steve Hansen,...... Read More

The existing Bayfair Underpass will close in October, says the New Zealand Transport Agency. This is despite pleas and protests from the Tauranga community and the city’s Mayor Greg Brownless. Greg has written to the transport agency demanding...... Read More

Provisional suicide statistics released by the Chief Coroner Judge shows the suicide rate has increased in the last year. In the 2017/18 year the rate was 13.67 deaths per 100,000 people; that has increased to 13.93 in 2018/19. In the year to 30 June,...... Read More

The heat is going on the NZTA from the Mayor’s office in Tauranga. First, Greg Brownless is demanding answers from NZTA over the Bayfair to Baypark project. He’s “extremely disappointed” the congestion on the two-lane flyover...... Read More

Everyone knows someone who’s been affected by mental health and at Snapfitness Papamoa, they are making it their job to remove the stigma and are getting people to open up, talk about it and asking people if they’re okay. They are raising...... Read More

Hundreds of people turned out to a protest on Sunday afternoon at the Bayfair Underpass. The underpass, which runs under State Highway 2, is set to be demolished within the next four weeks and there are no plans for it to be replaced. The Bayfair...... Read More

Tauranga students stood outside council chambers this afternoon to support Wellingtonian Ollie Langridge for his 100th day protesting outside Parliament Ollie is calling on the Government to declare a climate change emergency. “We are on a vigil...... Read More

A vehicle submerged in the Wairoa River is being towed out this morning. A police spokesperson says the vehicle was spotted this morning and “arrangements are being made to remove it from the water”. Police say the vehicle was stolen overnight...... Read More

UPDATED: Wairoa Bridge is now open after a two truck crash earlier this morning. A caller to the 0800 SUNLIVE news hotline says traffic is flowing. "There is sawdust on the road and something to soak up what looks like oil. "Traffic is...... Read More