Waihi, New Zealand News

Highs and lows is how searchers describe their efforts to locate a missing West Coast man last seen in Te Kuiti on Monday.

Waikato Police say the area where a West Coast man missing for three days could have possibly gone to are so vast it is presenting huge challenges for the staff tasked with finding him.

Other Side Up and Rhythms of the Restless could be the hottest new sounds on the Kiwi music scene if they hit the big time via the time-honoured pathway of Smokefreerockquest.

The independent commissioners returned their decision late Monday afternoon saying consent is only for the Correnso part of the application, not for the entire Golden Link area which Newmont Waihi Gold had applied for.

"New Zealanders should be concerned that the National Government and local councils are allowing mining under residential homes, against the will of the homeowners," said Green Party mining spokesperson Catherine Delahunty.

Tauranga party pill king Gary Read has admitted smuggling hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of precursor drugs from Thailand - enough to cook up millions of dollars worth of P. Gary John Read, 45, was set to defend multiple drug importation and dealing charges in the High Court at Rotorua yesterday, but pleaded guilty to 74 charges.

Mining company Newmont Waihi Gold has been granted consent for the Correnso Underground Mine, New Zealand's first mine directly below a residential area.

A known crash blackspot is set to become safer for road users, with the NZ Transport Agency beginning work to improve road safety along State Highway 2 from Waihi Road to Bethlehem.

Finalists: the Australian-owned banks collectively), BAT , IAG , King Salmon, Newmont Waihi Gold, Rio Tinto, Taejin Fisheries Co.

A Waihi man who molested a teenage girl has been given his final "three-strikes" warning - the first offender living in the Bay to receive one.

A fire communications spokesperson confirmed a crash between a van and a car off Waihi road near the Otumoetai Rd intersection.

The 2013 kiwifruit harvest is under way in the greater Waikato with the summer drought lifting the spirits of Psa disease-hit growers by producing what is expected to be a top tasting crop.

We had a lovely few days away. On the drive to Rotorua we stopped at Waihi and rode the old railway up to Waikino in an open carriage.

Hundreds of Western Bay defendants have escaped criminal convictions by way of diversion or discharges in the last year.

Productivity and increased scrutiny of cash costs will be crucial to New Zealand's two largest gold miners - who collectively deliver up to 400,000oz per year - following the recent global gold price plunge.

Will White and Sergio Schuler receive the RSA ANZAC of the Year award from His Excellency Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mataparae in Waihi.

Scottsdale operates fully escorted bus holidays at a more gentle pace than other tours.

The Fire Service received about 100 calls during a three to four hour period as torrential rain swept Tauranga early today.