Roberta Kaio News Today

The soaring cost of living is playing out in the Far North with people sleeping in cars, begging for food, and seeking support in 'astronomical' numbers. When it comes to poverty and crime, Kaitaia has felt it for years, but locals say it's getting worse. They desperately want some sort of reprieve from the price of petrol, food and rent in tomorrow's Budget. Our reporter Katie Todd and camera operator Marika Khabazi are in Kaitaia.

Recovering meth addicts in the Far North are begging the government to boost local resources to help kick the drug. Former users from across the motu have been visiting Kaitaia in a push to support the community, where locals say it is easier to get P than it is to get pot. Nita Blake-Persen reports.