Northland has been given to go-ahead to enter level 3 from midnight, meanwhile a man with Covid-19 escaped MIQ and an epidemiologist fears Australia will soon experience "absolute chaos".

A man with Covid-19 who allegedly escaped an Auckland MIQ facility this morning has been charged with breaking lockdown rules and has been bailed to return to a managed quarantine facility.

The number of people 65 years and older getting superannuation payments while on salaries of more than $200,000 has more than tripled in a decade.

People in quarantine at Wellington's Grand Mercure hotel are under less strict rules than people at facilities in Auckland.

About 200 residents on West Auckland's coast are settling into a lockdown within a lockdown, as impassable roads caused by severe flooding earlier this week cuts them off from the outside world.

A consultant radiologist says recruiting and retaining staff in areas of critical shortages is hard while there is inertia on migration policy.

A food directory has been set up to highlight Wellington businesses doing takeaway at Covid-19 alert level 3.

The Auditor General has told National Party MPs there was nothing wrong with two government payments made to gang members.

Essential workers commuting across Auckland's border will be asked to get regular tests from tomorrow, while there are now 42 people with Covid-19 in hospitals. See how the day unfolded...

The Greyhound Racing industry has unnecessarily obfuscated information, the government's reviewer says, and the minister has warned it is being put "formally on notice".

The second mass vaccination event for Tāmaki Makaurau will provide a second dose for those who attended the first mass event.

The number of new community cases of Covid-19 connected to the Delta outbreak has dropped to 49 today.

The prime minister has confirmed that Northland will move to alert level 3 at midnight tonight as planned. Watch the government's latest update here.

The former head of Auckland's water services says ratepayers face hikes in charges that are wrong and unnecessary.

Lockdown means the return of online fitness classes and workouts in the comfort of your lounge.

Wellington City councillors today received an update on the 'Pōneke Promise', detailing steps to make the CBD safer, including more information on moving a problematic toilet block in Te Aro Park.

The pod of orca that were in Pāuatahanui inlet north of Wellington for several days appear to have left overnight.

Some university students feel frustrated they weren't told what would happen to their accommodation payments before the 72-hour travel window shut two weeks ago, and are now feeling stuck in their halls.