Stories by Farah Hancock

It should have been clear 10 to 15 years ago that New Zealand would end up in a difficult diplomatic situation if it traded itself into reliance on China, a foreign policy expert says.

There are only 5 million people in New Zealand but we produce enough food to feed about 40m. Who's gobbling all our goods?

The fate of Pakiri's sand is again at the centre of a fight between sand mining companies who want to ship it to Auckland, and locals who want to keep it on their beach. Farah Hancock reports.

Marlborough's wine industry is booming, but there's no industrial-sized solution to deal with its waste.

Fonterra cleared the cows from 16 farms and is using the land to dispose of wastewater, which could be leaching a colourless, tasteless and odourless pollutant into private drinking water supplies.

New Zealand should reduce drinking water nitrate limits from 11.3mg/L to 1mg/L to curb bowel cancer, the country's second-highest cause of cancer death, a specialist says.

It will cost $3 million to clear 1 million litres of chemicals, including flammable and toxic substances, sitting within metres of electricity lines which power the Marsden Point oil refinery.