As the country prepares for its first Covid jabs, quarantine free trans-Tasman travel remains a possibility by March as long as Australia doesn't pull the plug over small outbreaks, Chris Hipkins says.

Wellingtonians are expecting to feel a pinch in their pockets, after it was revealed the council is looking at introducing a rates rise of up to 17 percent.

While Dunedin City Council hunts for the source of the lead contamination spikes in drinking water, Checkpoint contacted other districts to find out if the scare has pushed them to test water supply more frequently.

Dead animals found in a Banks Peninsula reservoir may mean residents in Akaroa and Takamatua may have to boil their water for weeks.

The Cancer Control Agency has kicked off a series of nationwide hui today designed to address the appalling cancer statistics for Māori in New Zealand.

A Crown witness says sexual abuse and drug use was so common at a former Child, Youth and Family home that the boys there talked about who was going to be the next to be molested by their caregiver.

The Ministry of Education has reacted swiftly after a senior teacher sent Covid-19 conspiracy theories to at least 40 principals and teachers.

A scathing review into Wellington's $6.4 billion transport programme has found it's at risk of failure, has a detrimental culture and was under-resourced from the outset.

Independent experts have been appointed to the government's rapid review into lead contamination in east Otago's drinking water.

About 100 eels have been found dead after a chemical compound spilled into a stormwater drain and subsequently into Manukau Harbour.

A euthanasia advocate who failed to disclose three overseas murder convictions has been censured and had his registration cancelled.

The first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in New Zealand next week and 12,000 border workers are to receive it within three weeks, the Prime Minister says.

There have been two new cases of Covid-19 reported in managed isolation in New Zealand today, with no new cases in the community.

Auckland's ongoing shortage of secondary teachers is forcing some schools into compromises or to abandon some subjects altogether, principals say.

Wellington Mayor Andy Foster says a proposed rates hike will be enough to cover the $2.7b needed to be spent in the next decade on the city's crumbling water pipes.

The government is considering making it a criminal offence to livestream objectionable content as part of a wider government programme to address violent extremism.

Police investigating the death of Auckland businesswoman Elizabeth Zhong in November have charged a man with murder.

Almost 5000 athletes, many grey at temple and even more tight of muscle, have been competing at the New Zealand Masters Games in Whanganui this week.