With $1.9bn committed to mental health funding in 2019 and about $350m actually spent so far, Andrew Little says the public is entitled to an assurance progress is being made.

After more than 20 years and 132 games as Ferdie, the beloved mascot of the Taranaki Bulls, the man inside the costume is signing off to widespread applause.

Dairy owners say they risk going out of business if the government pushes ahead with allowing tobacco sales only at pharmacies.

A former worker at the Lake Alice Hospital's child and adolescent unit says he now knows he was probably hoodwinked into believing ECT treatment was being done with the best intentions.

Papatoetoe High School parents have mixed views on whether schools should shoulder the load of vaccinating students.

New data released today on iwi affiliations and other information about Māori is hoped to plug gaps left from the 2018 census.

The company in charge of building Transmission Gully has been convicted and fined $70,000 for unconsented earthworks and discharging sediment into the Belmont Regional Park in early 2019.

Waka Kotahi is warning Dunedin residents to prioritise their safety over a cheap fare, following the rise of unvetted social media-based taxi schemes.

Fishing industry figures, environmentalists and mana whenua have come out largely in support of newly announced plans for expanding marine protections in the Hauraki Gulf.

One person has died and two were seriously injured in a crash in the town of Ngātea of Hauraki District.

People with epilepsy are facing another disruption to the drugs they use, with one manufacturer ceasing to supply New Zealand from October.

The IPCA is considering reopening its inquiry into the police shooting of Rotorua man Shargin Stephens, who was shot and killed after smashing up a police car with a weed slasher.

Wellington's Victoria University is taking over the management of two halls of residence from the company that was in charge when a student lay dead in his Canterbury hostel for weeks unnoticed.

About 1200 Napier residents are being asked to stop flushing toilets this evening because of a suspected broken wastewater pipe.

A large shipment of flu vaccines has been ruined and thousands of Papatoetoe patients are without their medical clinic in another tale of destruction from the weekend's tornado.

Police have arrested a man who was sought in relation to an operation that targeted users of an FBI-run encrypted app.

Police are cracking down on gang activity in Wairoa following multiple firearms-related incidents, including one where a house with two children sleeping in it was shot at.

Police investigating alleged historical sexual offending at Dilworth School have laid more charges against one of the accused.