Petrified young teenage boys digging their own graves and a mock execution has been outlined to the inquiry into abuse in care on Friday.

A Canterbury woman is still waiting to find out if she can get mental injury cover from ACC following a traumatic injury suffered more than two years ago.

One person has been moved to a managed isolation facility in Christchurch after being identified by Australian health authorities as a contact of one of two Covid-19 cases in Sydney.

A man wanting to visit New Zealand for his mum's funeral is among hundreds of travellers in limbo either side of the Tasman sea, during a partial 48-hour pause of the travel bubble.

The trustees of Christchurch's Linwood mosque say they have been sidelined in a secret deal to build a new $10m masjid on the site.

Chris Bush's family have been patient as they waited 33 years for the men responsible for his murder to be held to account, Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Hayward says.

Iwi leaders say they're "hōhā" (fed up) with the Māori Health Authority being used as "a political football".

A 25-year-old man has been charged over death threats made to National Party MP Simeon Brown.

New Zealand citizens stranded in India should be urgently evacuated by the government because their lives are in serious danger, according to an NGO.

Four days of interviews at Gloriavale by police and Oranga Tamariki have concluded, but there are further enquiries to come.

Police have released photos of two men in a bid to track down the duck shooters who shot two women near Alexandra.

A Dunedin man who bludgeoned his friend to death with a cricket bat will spend 17 years behind bars.

A boost in funding for youth mental health is being welcomed in the north, but Health Minister Andrew Little concedes that for some people it will feel overdue.

A long-awaited report on how one of the country's most visited tourist destinations will be managed is due to be released next month and may define its community and the tourism industry.

Not long before three-year-old Axle's amazing survival after a night alone in the bush, his family had no home and lived in tents when emergency accommodation felt unsafe.

Auckland's $4.4 billion City Rail Link is one step closer, with a tunnel boring machine set to start work at the project's Mt Eden site.

One new case of Covid-19 has been reported in managed isolation, with no cases in the community, the Ministry of Health says.

More than 30 years after publican Chris Bush was gunned down at the Red Fox Tavern in Maramarua, two men found guilty of his murder have been sentenced today.