Epidemiologist Michael Baker says he is not surprised new Omicron subvariants have been found in the community.

State Highway 1 south of Whangārei is blocked following a serious crash.

Residents of the Auckland suburb owere woken this morning by gunshots. Local MP Shanan Halbert says the area has old ties to gangs, but the shooting is a shock.

Another 11 people have died with Covid-19 and another 6291 community cases have been reported, the Ministry of Health says.

Escalating construction costs are a fact of life as the $1.47 billion budget for Dunedin's new hospital comes under pressure, Andrew Little has warned.

A woman who died in a crash near Rotorua yesterday was an off-duty police officer.

A search for a man reportedly missing in the water off the South Taranaki coast has been suspended for the night.

Lotto has plans for a third weekly draw and a significant ramping up of its online gaming options, the Otago Daily Times has revealed.

Firefighters have used a helicopter to help put out a scrub fire on the outskirts of Oamaru in North Otago.

Multiple waves of winter illness are washing over a health system already under strain, and now the fight is on to keep clinicians' heads above water.

Maritime New Zealand is encouraging people to check their boating gear this long weekend, in preparation for the months ahead.

A large amount of cannabis, a gun and ammunition have been seized from a Whangārei house by police, and two people have been charged with drug dealing.

Advance voting in the Tauranga by-election opens today, with seven sites voters can visit to have their say.

Preparations have begun for Matariki celebrations around the country, with Auckland today announcing a schedule of more than 80 events across the region.

It is too early to know whether this afternoon's shooting in Papakura's town centre is linked to ongoing gang tensions in Auckland, police say.

The Ministry of Health is edging closer to giving much needed support for people who have alopecia.

Auckland businesses say a 'perfect storm' of wage pressures, skill shortages and increasing overheads is putting a strain on them.

Ashburton is being made to "look scruffy" by KiwiRail, a district councillor says, and she wants it to do better.