John Douglas Willis, also known as John Damon Exley, fled from his job at the prison's horticulture nursery on Friday afternoon.

Goalkeeper Brianna Edwards gave team-mate Zoe McMeeken the death stare after watching her wild pass sail into the back of the Phoenix goal.

A Timaru financial advisor believes the worst is yet to come in relation to the escalating cost of living, and is urging anyone struggling to get by to seek help sooner rather than later.

Nelson-Tasman businesses need wider access to rapid antigen testing to keep operating during the Covid outbreak, says Chamber of Commerce.

The Omicron outbreak has spread throughout the Auckland prison since the first inmate tested positive a week ago.

Bill Nighy was at his brilliant best as an ageing civil servant, while Emma Thompson shone as a retired schoolteacher who hires a sex worker.

It takes a “special kind of idiot” to set out and swim the entirety of the 6C Milford Sound for a bit of fun, but Rob Hutchings wants the title.

There are 60 more Covid-19 cases in Nelson and Marlborough on Friday, with nine schools in the region now understood to be dealing with the virus.

One of four fires in the Far North now covers a larger area, but is still under control, four days after it began.

A total of $16,000 in fines have been handed out to Taranaki businesses for breaching Covid-19 regulations.

We have all the latest updates for traffic and weather related incidents in Auckland.

Flights between Whangārei, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown are also locations of interest.

A scintillating century from Ross Taylor helps Central Stags score a staggering 310 in just 29 overs.

Disabled people make up nine of the 10 members in the Community Steering Group set up to support and guide the establishment of the Ministry for Disabled People.

Owners of vacant land in the central city may be in for a rates hike – but not if they have a consented activity on them, such as a car park.

Aucklanders should avoid getting a Covid-19 test until they are symptomatic or required to for work, as health boards process a backlog of swabs.

The Christchurch restaurant fined $44,000 for continued Covid-19 rule breaches has set up a private society in an attempt to avoid any further punishment.

Covid-19 cases the Southern region have grown to an all-time high of 222 with 77 new cases reported by the Ministry of Health on Friday.

REVIEW: Four women amongst the six contestants resulted in a different atmosphere, although not everything was appropriate for the earlier timeslot.

Owners of a Reefton farm carved in two by a river worry how much more land they will lose to floodwater, as the already flood-ravaged region prepares for more rain.