Tauranga's top prosecutor has explained why they didn't seek a prison term for a convicted teen rapist after a heavy public backlash over his home detention sentence.

Thousands of travellers are waiting for a visa, as figures show only one in five requests were approved in the month after the border reopened.

Hundreds of Marlborough Sounds residents that remain cut off by road after last month's storm are relying on barge transport to get to and from their homes.

Homes have been evacuated in Epsom after reports of an old mortor bomb shell being located there.

Social media platform Snapchat has removed a feature that allowed users to apply traditional Māori tattoos on their faces.

A new University of Canterbury survey shows New Zealand women with endometriosis on average experience a nearly nine-year delay between symptoms and treatment.

Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty is promising Northland cash to fix its flood-damaged roads, but cannot say how much or when he will deliver on the commitment.

Police accept some but not all the findings from an inquiry report of systemic problems and some illegal practices in how they take, store and handle peoples' images and information.

A man whose body was found after a house fire in Levin was a well-known punk rock musician in the town.

An investigation has found police are routinely and illegally photographing and filming young people and adults, the police and privacy watchdogs say.

The exact size of the spill is yet to be determined but there have been no reports of poisonings or injuries in relation to it.

Police have played down fears a $100,000 reward in the cold case murder of Ashburton teenager Kirsty Bentley could result in a wrongful conviction.

A 27-year-old man has been arrested in relation to a shooting in West Auckland last weekend.

Police say they have seriously dented a methamphetamine ring, with 165 charges laid against 18 people, after raids on gang properties in Ashburton.

A month-long occupation of the Mt Messenger bypass site on State Highway 3 in Taranaki has come to an end this afternoon, as police removed protesters and made two arrests.

The unexplained death of a woman in Havelock North has not yet been linked to any missing persons cases in the area, according to police investigators.

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash announced the legislation last November, saying it was to ensure the right vehicles are in the right places.

In the past week there have been an average of five deaths confirmed each day as being attributable to Covid-19, the Ministry of Health says.