The Latest Breaking News from North Island

Since launching as a private island resort 20 years ago, this barefoot luxe Seychelles stay has hosted everyone from Will and Kate to the Beckhams. So does it redefine luxury? Alicia Miller finds out

Ministers face new calls to push pause on the hasty sale of the North Island's ski fields to private investors, says mayor. Jonathan Milne and Andrew Bevin report.

Energy Minister Megan Woods met with iwi in Ruapehu to discuss the potential of a massive pumped hydroelectric scheme affecting their rohe.

The final months of New Zealand’s summer carried a massive sting, bringing “unprecedented” rainfalls several times over, from widespread flooding in Auckland at the end of January to ex-tropical Cyclone Gabrielle dumping record rains and causing devastating floods across the east coast of the North Island.

When Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand in February, it left a trail of destruction across the North Island. At least 11 people died, and more than 10,000 were displaced. Bridges were washed out (35 in the Hastings district alone), roads closed and communications cut.

Just over a month after the Auckland flood, and three weeks on from Cyclone Gabrielle hitting the North Island, the scale of the disasters and the rebuild is clear – as is a sense of being in limbo for those worst affected.

Central North Island councils hated the idea of a Te Tiriti-founded co-governance model when it was mooted for the Waikato River. They saw a power-grab by Māori – even an asset grab. In practice, it wasn’t that at all.

As the North Island reels from last month’s floods, a South Island council and hotel owner are at loggerheads over a deluge seven years ago.

An international fundraising appeal is being launched to help pay for the massive reconstruction work needed after Cyclone Gabrielle tore across the country's North Island earlier this month.