West Coast

Drowning highlights need for ‘urgency’ in sourcing boat

Serious questions are being asked after the Coastguard was unable to mobilise when a whitebaiter drowned after being swept into the sea at Rapahoe on Wednesday.

West Coast whitebaiter dies after being swept to sea

Police and onlookers watch as a rescue helicopter flies over Rapahoe Beach, where a man drowned...

West Coast whitebaiter dies after being swept to sea

A West Coast whitebaiter drowned this morning when he was swept to sea by a rogue wave at Rapahoe as he was setting his net.

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Questions over access to telehealth

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Questions over access to telehealth

Several hundred West Coast households have neither phone nor internet, raising questions about access to a doctor after hours, with the impending move to telehealth.

Conflict of interest alleged in meeting

Beleaguered West Coast regional councillor Allan Birchfield is calling for council chairman Peter Haddock to stand down from any involvement with the multimillion-dollar Franz Josef flood...

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Horse ready to hang up his shoes

Bobbie Kincaid with retired West Coast RDA horse Cruze. PHOTO: HOKITIKA GUARDIAN

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Horse ready to hang up his shoes

A beloved one-eyed Hokitika horse has been retired from the West Coast RDA — a year on from being named the organisation’s horse of the year.

Reopening delays hurting economy: councillor

Reopening delays hurting economy: councillor

West Coast regional councillors are unhappy with the time it is taking the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) to sort out its rockfall problems near Arthurs Pass, and fully reopen State Highway...

Local government reform discussed

It has been the elephant in the room for months.

Objection to exclusion from committees

Objection to exclusion from committees

West Coast regional councillor Allan Birchfield has been given the cold shoulder in a restructure of council committees.

Baby winched free from trapped tractor

A tractor, with six occupants, was stuck in the middle of a surging river on the West Coast at...

Police question decision to cross flooded river

A newborn baby and three adults were winched one by one from a tractor stuck in a flooded West Coast river in a dramatic rescue led by police.

Warning from mayor

Buller Mayor Jamie Cleine. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Warning from mayor

Dumping the "nice to haves" from council budgets could mean cutting things that keep a community together in hard times, Buller Mayor Jamie Cleine is warning.

Mayors hopeful water rules will be relaxed

Mayors hopeful water rules will be relaxed

West Coast mayors are optimistic that some of the more stringent rules proposed for their water services might be relaxed, after a meeting in Greymouth with the government’s water regulator.

Barge refloated after West Coast stranding

Barge refloated after stranding on West Coast beach

A stranded barge has been dragged off a West Coast beach with the help of a tug and a helicopter, six days after it ran aground in stormy weather.

Mayors air Three Waters woes with Taumata Arowai boss

Mayors air Three Waters woes with Taumata Arowai boss

West Coast mayors are optimistic that some of the more stringent rules proposed for their water services might be relaxed, after a meeting in Greymouth with the government’s water regulator.

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Hopes stricken barge will be floated soon

The Manahau may be stuck in the sand for days. Photo: Damer Farrell, Greymouth Star

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Hopes stricken barge will be floated soon

The cavalry has arrived in Westport, boosting hopes that a powerful tug now offshore can pull the stricken barge off Carters Beach around midday tomorrow.

Pensioner on strike over rates hike

Pensioner on strike over rates hike

A Hokitika pensioner is staging a one-woman rate strike in protest at the amount she is being asked to pay to the West Coast Regional Council.

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Barge could remain stranded for days

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Barge could remain stranded for days

Hopes of refloating the mineral sands barge Manahau stuck on a Westport beach after a weekend storm, rest with a tug expected from the North Island later this week.