The children's commissioner says a spike in young people behind the wheel in ram raids is created by families living in a "total state of hopelessness".

Agriculture is a major winner in the government's plan to cut emissions, despite farmers having yet to pay a cent into the pot of money set aside for climate spending.

Southland Hospital has abruptly closed three of its wards to all visitors because of what it is describing as multiple Covid-19 exposures.

The livestream video of the latest fatal mass shooting in the United States has been banned in New Zealand.

A couple charged in relation to the violent final day of anti-mandate protests at Parliament have chosen to take their case back to Wellington.

Five people have died with Covid-19 and another 7061 cases are confirmed in the community, the Ministry of Health says.

Striking health workers have begun picketing around the country, saying they're fed up with being under paid and under valued.

Low-income families who scrap their old car will get funding to buy a low-emitting vehicle in a $569 million scheme, one of the big-ticket items in the government's first Emissions Reductions Plan.

An investigation into the high performance programme at Cycling New Zealand suggests the high performance model is broken and needs to be "reimagined".

A seal that was stranded on Wellington's Oriental Bay has been put down.

Based on what has been seen overseas and on the modelling, about half of the population will have been infected with Covid-19, says Te Pūnaha Matatini contagion modeller Dion O'Neale.

Former members of Arise Church allege a naked pastor chased a churchgoer and that interns were mistreated on tour.

A stolen excavator was used to smash into a service station in Lower Hutt, causing significant damage to the building.

A man accused of child abuse says it is a "lottery" whether a family gets a proper investigation by Oranga Tamariki (OT) or not.

Dunedin has more GPs than many areas but Covid-19 is putting already stretched services under more pressure, and many practices are turning away new patients.

Spending on sexual violence services by Oranga Tamariki is on track this year, following major underspending last year.

For the first time there has been a mass bleaching of native sea sponges in Aotearoa, raising alarm about the impact climate change is having on marine ecosystems.

Three teenagers and a 20-year-old have been arrested after fleeing the scene of a burglary, ramming police cars and drving on the wrong side of the road on the motorway.