West Coast

Heavy rain has continued to pelt central New Zealand, as the holiday weekend comes to a close.

Greymouth and the wider district remains under a boil water notice.

Some schools and businesses in the West Coast town have been forced to shut due to the notice. Audio

Authorities are trying to determine exactly how the town's water supply became contaminated. Audio

The mayor admits some feel "forgotten" but the plan is needed to provide a "glimmer of hope" in the face of increasingly damaging flooding.

On Wednesday, councillors would decide whether to endorse the plan or not.

The party's comments are a cheap shot at councils trying to make ends meet against near-impossible odds, Tania Gibson says.

Downpours may hit Westland and Fiordland, while Central Otago and Canterbury are in for a hot day. Audio

Police say they have been told of new sightings of David Robinson shortly before his body was found.

The West Coast Regional Council's core debt has risen to $24 million, as it embarks on the largest infrastructure programme in its history.

The mother of a man who was murdered 27 years ago says she is still hopeful investigators can find out more about what happened to him.

Helen Lash raised questions about Peter Haddock's family connection with one of the council's main contractors.

Freedom campers are welcome on the West Coast, but too many are leaving unwanted deposits behind, and a local mayor wants government help to clean up the problem.

As the price of gold soars to a record NZ$5000 an ounce, the West Coast is bracing for an influx of miners new to the industry - and its environmental rules.

The council this week appointed surveyor Chris Coll to fill the seat left vacant by the sudden death of Buller councillor Frank Dooley.

The council employs the equivalent of about 92 full-time staff.

The burned, skeletal remains of an elderly artist who lived alone in a house bus in a remote corner of the South Island were found beside his favourite rocking chair.

Three people have been taken to hospital, one with critical injuries, after a crash between a bus and a vehicle on the West Coast.

They were found dead at the scene.