Today's announcement of loosening of Covid-19 measures has not been met with all-round approval from experts, with some split over the removal of vaccine pass requirements.

A Wellington hip-hop musician accused on social media of sexual assault has won his defamation case against another musician after no defence was offered.

Explainer - The country's public health restrictions are being adjusted with scanning, vaccine passes and mandates on the way out.

More rain is expected tonight in the Gisborne region, which is already in a state of emergency after torrential rain caused flooding, rescues and evacuations in East Cape overnight.

Hundreds of Aucklanders are grappling with soggy, smelly and expensive repair work after heavy rain this week, with one store left vunerable after robbers ram-raided it hours before the deluge.

Wellington City Councillors spent much of the day grilling Wellington Water on its shortcomings, but the company says it does not have adequate resources.

When the government announced public transport fares would be half price for three months, it was unclear whether ferry services would be covered.

New Zealand's total death toll of people with Covid-19 has now grown to more than 200, with 11 new deaths announced today, as well as 20,087 new community cases.

A climate scientist says climate change and long-term weather systems are behind the recent extreme flooding in the country - including the ravaged Tairāwhiti Gisborne.

All outdoor gathering limits will be removed from the traffic light system, indoor gathering limits will increase and vaccine passes will no longer be required, Jacinda Ardern has announced.

Isolation may need to return to 10 days and vaccine passes may need to be expanded to include the booster shot, a modeller says.

The speed limit through Motueka's town centre on High Street will be reduced to 30 kilometres per hour.

The Omicron outbreak is like a Mexican wave moving away from Auckland through the rest of the country, a leading rural GP says.

An investigation into how a fishing boat capsized off North Cape, killing five people, is about safety not apportioning blame, the chief investigator says.

Covid-19 deaths and hospitalisations remain low in Te Waipounamu as the Omicron wave washes through the south.

Health authorities are hoping to apply lessons learned during the Covid-19 vaccination rollout to boost the country's faltering childhood immunisation programme.

Officials trying to revamp the country's mental health services are accused of being a "sloth at the helm of the Titanic" - but they argue it is a long-term project.

A group of public health experts are calling on the government to pump the brakes on loosening Covid-19 restrictions.