Stuart Challenger News Today

The West Coast Regional Council is taking formal steps to remove Allan Birchfield as chairman.

Members for the West Coast Regional Council have been rolled in preliminary election results. One loser says it's a move towards "Trumpism" - the other side says they "got rid of the greenies".

The $2.8 million Hokitika seawall extension is being reviewed by council to justify the funding it has already received from the government - amidst calls to abandon the scheme.

A meeting for the Waiho (Waiau) River rating district at Franz Josef Glacier should be convened before the end of this current term of the West Coast Regional Council, a councillor says.

West Coast iwi will be opposing extension of national parks in the region through the stewardship land review process, the West Coast Regional Council has heard.

Expected legal appeals of the proposed West Coast 'one district plan' and the cost of defending them is worrying West Coast regional councillors.

The West Coast Regional Council made the decision after a warning about the government's plans to change laws affecting councils.

The West Coast Regional Council has been warned it risks losing government 'shovel ready' money for urgent infrastructure projects - including new floodwalls at Franz Josef Glacier and Westport - unless it acts now.

A proposal in the Te Tai o Poutini Plan for a land instability hazard area - cutting a swathe along the coastal hills behind Greymouth - has come under fire at the West Coast Regional Council.

A planned coup against West Coast Regional Council chairman Allan Birchfield has been called off, after iwi leaders stepped in to defuse the row.