Companies grappling with labour shortages and discerning job seekers are turning to hefty cash incentives to recruit staff - offering several-thousand dollar sign on bonuses or finders fees.

The man made several threats to police and tried to barricade himself in a property with a woman, police say.

NSW has put up $4.5 billion to recruit 10,000 nurses, leading to fears it will worsen ongoing shortages here, while the Health Minister says a pay deal was snubbed.

The Crown has opened its case against two people charged in the New Zealand First Foundation fraud case.

Family and friends of 25-year-old Tom Coombes, who was killed in a Mount Albert homicide last month, remember him as "a young man who followed his dreams".

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her deputy Grant Robertson will meet their Australian counterparts this week and Samoa's prime minister will visit Aotearoa next week.

Police have confirmed the woman who died suddenly at a Wellington address was Joanne Ingham, one of the twins who stowed away on a container ship 25 years ago.

A little blue penguin expert is concerned kororā made homeless by a marina development on Waiheke Island are trying to nest amid the construction.

The new organisation replacing DHBs is urging authorities to think carefully before closing Hutt Hospital's main block.

A motorcyclist has died after a crash in Palmerston North and police want to hear from anyone who was travelling in the area.

A man and a woman have been charged after an assault in Hawke's Bay which resulted in a child getting injured.

There are 10,191 new community cases of Covid-19 recorded in the past two days and 14 further deaths of people with the illness, the Ministry of Health has announced.

A man who has battled for 37 years to clear his name is expected to finally have his murder conviction quashed tomorrow.

It will cost more than $80 million to repair storm-damaged roads across the Marlborough district.

The body was found this afternoon in Odell Reserve on Punjab Street.

A 31-year-old man and a 40-year-old man are facing murder charges following the death of Ryan Woodford in March.

Some restrictions on visitors to Dunedin Hospital will be lifted tomorrow afternoon.

The death of a 77-year-old Auckland woman has been upgraded to a homicide investigation.