Part of a major coastal highway on the Kāpiti Coast has closed to traffic after a serious crash, with drivers advised to take an alternative route.

Jim Hopkins was a regular on NZ screens before first being elected to the council in the Oamaru Ward in 2007.

"We don't want something that is taking massive resources out of our community without putting anything back in ... where everybody finds out after the paperwork's signed and sealed, it's just not good enough," local says.

Wanted posters have sprung up around Christchurch for celebrity city explorer Chase - the cat. Chase has approval to roam, and has been charming his fans, with a gallery of photos of his adventures online.

Police say the livestream was seen by a concerned member of the public who then reported it.

More financial mentorship clients are asking for help with hardship withdrawals than first home withdrawals.

A large hole has opened up on a street in Auckland's St Mary's Bay.

After nearly a week on the run, a New Zealander who escaped jail in Tonga last week with two others, has been caught, the last of the three to be returned to custody.

A round-up of news from around the region, including a landslide at Gold Ridge Mine in the Solomon Islands reportedly claiming ten lives.

"There is absolutely no place in New Zealand for employers seeking payment in exchange for jobs," the Labour Inspectorate says.

Three new slips have occurred, months after a deadly landslide claimed six lives.

Zhane O'Neill-Harvey was last seen two weeks ago at Ōpua Marina.

The recognition of "kaitiakitanga" as the world's most beautiful word has sparked renewed calls to better value te reo Māori at home.

"There is absolutely no place in New Zealand for employers seeking payment in exchange for jobs," the Labour Inspectorate says.

As extreme weather becomes more frequent and severe, how can communities adapt and who will pay?

Santana Minerals had given itself till 11 September to get the fast-track approvals panel more information about its proposed Bendigo-Ophir mine but now says it will by 28 August.

Knowing the implications of what a loss to Jamaica in pool play at the Commonwealth Games could have meant, the Silver Ferns' coach didn't mind going a little off-script.

Michael Tuatagaloa Alisa, one of Moana's undoubtable breakthrough stars, says it was "pure luck" he landed a role in the live-action film.

People in Nelson are being asked where a new multi-million-dollar community hub, library and civic space should be built in the city centre.

And the trend is worse for Kiwis than their international counterparts.

You might see fifty or sixty when it's dark in the same place where during the day you see none," one hunter who works on farm land says.

Publicly naming the man would heavily impact his "business interests", says his lawyer.

Papua New Guinea weightlifter Morea Baru is the first Pacific Island athlete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow to win a medal.

There is hope that the Pacific Island contingent at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will be able to win medals in bowling and boxing.

The Papua New Guinea Chiefs have signed Zac Lomax on a three-year deal from 2028 until the end of the 2030 National Rugby League season.

Tuvalu partnered with the conservation charity Sea Shepherd to arrest a Chinese tuna longliner suspected of illegal fishing in its waters.

The Greens say a new data centre planned for the South Island risks destroying jobs in other industries by pushing up power prices, but a major investor says the opposite is true.

The New Zealand Defence Force disposed of the item, police say.

The immigration minister has refused to release a document that Winston Peters claims would show the government is "covertly" changing migration settings for Indians.

Former All Blacks assistant coach Brad Mooar has been appointed as the new head coach of the Fijian Drua, the Nadi-basd franchise announced the on Monday.

Some are quicker to pass on official cash rate movements to borrowers and savers than others.

Regulator says about a third of councils have at least one drinking water network with "very high" leakage levels.

The large bronze bell was stolen earlier this month from a wooden bellcote in front of St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church.

An Australasian clinical trial found a new training programme was linked to a small rise in infection risk but learnt important lessons on how such training should be delivered.

Forest & Bird have set the date for Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau - Bird of the Year 2026 voting from 4-20 September.

Auckland Council will address iwi opposition to its new cemetery as it develops the site, the council's general manager of parks said.

House prices have fallen and interest rates are rising again but mortgagee sales are well down on 2009.

The frosty start to the week is set to continue for a few more days.

Separate crashes in Dunedin and Canterbury have become fatal, with the death of two people in hospital.

Green MPs, candidates and members gathered in south Auckland over the weekend for the party's annual general meeting

Tauranga council's Charlie Rahiri says it's fortunate the area below January's deadly slip remains closed following more over the weekend.

Chinese scripted role-playing games are drawing a following in Auckland as participants look to build social connections.

Student Job Search says in the past financial year it had 434,000 applications for just 53,000 positions.

The patient needed an MRI after she slipped while trying to stomp on cockroaches in shower - one of a growing number of complaints about insects in hospital wards, nurses say.