A US transport and defence contractor that has won a big public deal to supply a national transport ticketing system in New Zealand says it takes privacy very seriously.

A drug linked to a number of deaths overseas has been found in New Zealand for the first time.

Wellington's City Missioner says there is unprecedented demand for its emergency and transitional housing right now, as the government said it is seeing results tackling homelessness.

A formal review of Christchurch Hospital's care is under way after a patient died having left the emergency department last Sunday, then returned, during a very busy period.

A bus driver is in hospital after a man punched him in the head when he was told he couldn't get on to the bus with a lit cigarette.

The Meningitis Foundation is urging university students in Dunedin to be extremely cautious after a potential outbreak.

Two people have died on the roads so far this long weekend.

The international premiere of THAW features in this year's Nelson Arts Festival line-up, on show at Port Nelson on Labour Day.

The United Fire Brigades Association is reminding New Zealanders that 85 percent of the country's frontline firefighters will remain on deck during November's strike action.

A resident says Rotorua has become a "ghost town" because of the rise on motels serving as emergency housing.

American universities increasingly see New Zealand as a good place to send students to study diversity and indigenous issues, Education New Zealand says.

An elderly mother feels unsafe in her own home because of problems with the Kāinga Ora tenants next door, which began about three years ago.

A survivor of abuse in care has warned organisations, which housed abusers in the past, times have changed and it will not be allowed to happen again.

A fire that broke out at Auckland's City Mission in the central city has now been contained.

One person has been critically injured following a serious crash in Christchurch this morning.

Two new Covid-19 variants have crept into Aotearoa, and although they have not overtaken the current dominant strain, experts are keeping a close eye on their evolution.

A crash caused a two-hour delay in Northland as people head north for the holiday weekend.

The warning comes from an independent evaluation of a trial-run of online tests in reading, writing and maths involving 16,000 mostly Year 10 students in July.