The newly elected National leader used his first speech to make a direct pitch to the voters who abandoned the party at the last election.

Of the 134 new cases, 116 are in Auckland. Others have been reported in Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Nelson/Marlborough regions.

Scott Watson told the parole board he would "eat, sleep, work and repeat" if he was to be released from prison, but the board said he remained an undue risk to the public.

An Otago cafe once voted the most popular in the region will close its doors because the owners and most of the staff are not vaccinated.

A car burst into flames after colliding with a truck at the scene on State Highway 2 near Matatā and police have confirmed the driver of the car died at the scene.

The unvaccinated can add dine-in Big Macs to the list of freedoms they will be denied under the new traffic light system.

After a seven-hour road closure, the tanker has been removed from State Highway 1 and its contents washed away.

The long-abandoned Wellington Prison site, where four men were executed in the 1930s, has become a boy-racer hangout, car graveyard and tip.

Chris Luxon is the National Party's new leader, with Nicola Willis his deputy.

On Monday morning a man was shot dead by police after opening fire on officers, injuring three.

Margaret Sewell, a leading light among Christchurch barristers, is being mourned after her unexpected death in a spa pool.

Staff feared they would not receive promised pay rises until February. Now they will get their money before Christmas.

Richard Hinkley disappeared from his Christchurch home on Christmas Day 2015. He has not been heard from since.

“This afternoon New Zealand received a formal request for assistance ... and we are urgently looking at options to respond to this request."

From Friday, only people who are double vaccinated and have a certificate will be allowed to use many council facilities.

New National deputy leader Nicola Willis says she will work to stop the party focusing on itself and leaking.

Ben O’Carroll​ says "he's over the moon" after putting his body through hell for 13 hours, all in the name of raising money and awareness for men's mental health.

With petered out pads, Merlin has finally ended a 20-month stint on the run and quit the bad boy vagabond life – much to the delight of his owners.

Harbourview Care Home in Porirua will close down in 2022, the rest home's owner Bupa Villages & Aged Care confirmed on Tuesday.

Police have arrested one person after a robbery on Lambton Quay.