A combined statement from groups of protesters at Parliament grounds says they are "disappointed" that a letter sent to the government on Monday asking for talks has been "ignored".

A Palmerston North woman says a relative in her 80s waited almost a day in the city hospital's overcrowded emergency department until she was moved to a ward.

Mannequin sizes and shapes have stayed relatively the same for hundreds of years. Despite some calling for more diversity, New Zealand's last mannequin maker says stores are reluctant to change.

The Department of Conservation will fly in a four-person team to assess the damage caused to a Great Walk during recent flooding on the West Coast.

There are 1160 new community cases of Covid-19 being reported today.

Stories from survivors of abuse at Marylands School are heartbreaking, says Catholic Archbishop Paul Martin.

One of the protesters occupying a Picton park says they will not leave by 5pm today as requested by Marlborough District Council.

Up to 1500 individuals will be able to apply each day from 21 February in the order of the date the individual submitted their EOI. They will receive an email from INZ on the day they are able to apply from.

Some cars have been moved but despite police claiming they are making "good progress", hundreds of protesters' vehicles are still clogging the roads around Parliament.

Maritime police say a fishing boat crew managed to get the four adults off the 12-metre launch and they are now being transferred to the police launch, the Lady Elizabeth.

A worker based at a lodge on the Milford Track has tested positive for Covid-19.

An Otago schoolgirl ended up in hospital with a concussion after three other pupils ripped her hijab off and beat her.

People with Covid-19 are set to become their own contact tracers, and some details of an online system due to go live soon have been revealed.

The Police Commissioner admits some tow companies are reluctant to help with the removal of vehicles near Parliament but says some towing will begin today.

Principals are isolating themselves and making teachers work in separate bubbles in an attempt to slow the spread of omicron in their schools.

The head of the St John of God Order in Oceania has denied that a lack of documents relating to historical allegations of abuse at Marylands School was a cover-up.

Police have launched a homicide investigation following the death of a 57-year-old man in Waikato Hospital yesterday.

A tow truck operator says the reason towies won't move the vehicles illegally blocking streets outside Parliament is not due to safety concerns - it's because they sympathise with the protesters.