Stories by Laura Dooney

Former Wellington mayor Justin Lester has applied for a recount of the local election results after losing by 62 votes.

Wellington's deputy mayor-elect Sarah Free says she will provide balance in the council's leadership.

Sophie Handford, one of the country's youngest new councillors, hadn't expected to get elected and was at a barn dance when she found out the results.

Wellington's mayoralty still hangs in the balance - with Andy Foster in front of incumbent Justin Lester by 715 votes, with more than 5000 special votes yet to be counted.

Bruce Smith is warning new layers of regulation is a death knell for his community.

The Wellington Mayor's main rival in the upcoming local elections, Andy Foster, won't say how much Sir Peter Jackson has stumped up in a bid to get him elected. Video

Te Papa told the government it risked losing relevance as a national museum when it asked it for money to help move into South Auckland.

Young people running for councils in the Wellington region say they're influencing others their age to get out and vote.

Justin Lester has challenged other mayoral candidates to commit to continue paying the living wage to council staff.

Leaked emails show Weta Digital staff in Wellington expressed concern about being asked to go and support the campaign launch of a mayoral candidate financially backed by Sir Peter Jackson.

Candidates for Wellington's regional council agree bus drivers need to be given more pay, and better conditions.

Earthquake-prone building notices were taken down from Wellington's central railway station without council signoff as KiwiRail and the city council disputed the issue.

Claims have been made that Sir Peter Jackson is throwing more money at opposing a controversial Shelly Bay housing development on Wellington's coast.

Wellington city councillors have voted against a move to dig deeper into the details around the controversial Shelly Bay project.

Details of a council-led review of the Shelly Bay project in Wellington have been released.

Residents in a Wellington suburb say a bottle store is not in keeping with the village and its presence would increase alcohol consumption in the neighbourhood.

Plans to build a branch of Te Papa in South Auckland have been shut down by lack of funding.

Artists says the police should have commissioned an artist to decorate walls near holding cells in a Wellington police station, instead of opening it up to a competition.

A Māori lawyer who is at the front-line of the justice system in New Zealand is supporting calls to overhaul it.

Netball New Zealand is keen to pay its players better, but says there needs to be proper global recognition and increased sponsorship of women's sport. Audio

Unvaccinated children in Auckland should still return to school today despite the measles outbreak continuing, health authorities say.

Wellington's regional council chair Chris Laidlaw has confirmed he won't run in the local body elections this October.

Te Papa Museum says building a new museum and storage space in south Auckland is no longer a priority, after being denied funding for the project in this year's Budget.

Wellington apartment owners could be forced to spend more to make their buildings earthquake safe, than the value of their home.