While the prime minister greeted some in Papatoetoe with smiles and soft toys on Friday morning, the outlook for many recovering from last weekend's tornado remains grim.

A Christchurch business has been selling a massage gun - promoted by an All Black, a Black Cap, and an international hip-hop star - with non-compliant chargers for more than a year.

After an 18-month-long hiatus due to Covid-19, the stage production of the Lion King opens at Auckland's Spark Arena this weekend.

There are no new community cases or signs of Covid-19 in the wastewater system throughout the Wellington region, a media briefing was told today.

Wellington's inner-city eco-sanctuary, Zealandia, has recorded its first known case of myrtle rust.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has described the vandalism of a memorial for the victims of the Ashburton Work and Income office shooting as senseless.

Some Queenstown Lakes ski fields have been flooded with cancellations as quarantine-free travel remains off the cards during most of New South Wales school holidays.

Raw sewage has been flowing down a central Wellington street.

Police say they are confident they have identified the person behind a daylight robbery this week in New Lynn, west Auckland.

Changes to the adoption law must enable adoptees to have an ongoing relationship with their whānau, a Māori adoption researcher says.

A Hawke's Bay man who assaulted his baby daughter before she was later found dead has been sentenced to over four years in prison.

A female wallaby has been killed in North Otago's Kakanui Range by an Otago Regional Council team tasked with monitoring and destroying the pest.

Deputy Director-General of data and digital Shayne Hunter says people will not receive an invitation to book until it is their turn even if they register their details.

Police and the internet watchdog are working to remove offensive material about the Christchurch mosque attacks from online platforms.

A Northland man has been found guilty of murdering his former partner Bridget Simmonds.

A driving force behind the development of a Christchurch youth hub is welcoming an agreement with neighbours previously opposed to the project.

Although there are no Covid-19 cases in the community today, Ashley Bloomfield says the numbers at the moment suggest about 100 people were in the two bars at the relevant times.

A former lawyer says police and WorkSafe should be more involved when complaints of sexual harassment and misconduct are made in law firms.