Rapid house prices can't continue, says ANZ's New Zealand chairman, and the Reserve Bank governor has unprecedented tools to tackle the problem.

Queenstown Lakes mayor Jim Boult is furious children are still being forced to stand on school buses - and has written to the prime minister about it.

A senior lawyer has been appointed to investigate allegations of bullying and harassment at the New Zealand Broadcasting School.

The man says he left the Auckland facility on his birthday because he was "sick of it" and could get no answers on when he could go home.

But the Crown says a special "humanitarian circumstances" visa did not apply to two Afghans challenging New Zealand immigration rules and their application.

The Ministry of Health responds to speculation that the 40-year-old man's death was vaccine related: “We can confirm it was not.”

The procession travelled through Porirua and along State Highway 1 as part of a tangi for a Mongrel Mob member who died in motorcycle crash.

Christine Fletcher's comments have been called "insensitive and irresponsible".

Thursday's case numbers were announced in a statement by the Ministry of Health.

Former nurse who hugged and kissed a "very unwell" patient on two separate occasions at Nelson Hospital has been found guilty of professional misconduct.

Police were called to a death at the Dixon Street Flats social housing complex on Tuesday, and it appears the woman died some time ago.

Some areas of the district received more than 200mm of rain in 24 hours, but MetService says the heavy rain has eased.

The magnitude 3.3 quake hit the city at 8:55pm on Thursday night.

To get visitors and staff out of their cars, Capital & Coast DHB will spend millions on a carpooling app, bike storage and improving the shuttle to Kenepuru in Porirua. It's also putting up staff parking fees.

Arahoe School in New Lynn will not open on Friday. "It is what it is," says the principal.

West Coast leaders are getting behind a new campaign to boost vaccination rates in the area, which lag behind the rest of the South Island.

Police seized three kilograms of the drug and $40,000 in cash in raids across Christchurch earlier this week.

Strong market conditions saw the South Taranaki District Council’s (STDC) Long Term Investment Fund (LTIF) earn almost $20 million in the 2020/21 financial year.

There are 331 locations linked to the Covid-19 outbreak across Auckland, Christchurch, Waikato and Northland.

One of the last stretches of unsealed state highway in the country is now a step closer to being smothered in tarmac.