Murders, suicides, medical negligence, and deaths that should trigger public health warnings could be missed if proposed law changes go ahead, experts say.

Tainui raped and murdered his ex-girlfriend Kimberley Schroder in 1994, before doing the same with Nicole Tuxford in her Christchurch home.

Mayor Wayne Brown is stamping his authority on Auckland Council, axing some committees and limiting the numbers on others.

The number of babies born to unmarried parents in New Zealand has surpassed the number born to married parents for the first time.

The number of people who smoke cigarettes daily has dropped to an all-time low of 8 percent, down from 9.4 percent this time last year.

Insulin-dependent diabetics say Pharmac's decision to delay funding a potentially life-saving device appears to be based on flawed assessments.

Police investigating the death of Craig McKelvie in Lower Hutt say they have identified two vehicles of interest.

The 59-year-old has been arrested over a tobacco smuggling operation from Tonga, which Customs says has dodged almost $2 million in taxes.

Police are appealing for information after a woman was assaulted in her Ngaruawahia home in Waitako during a burglary.

An Ōtepoti museum has returned cultural artefacts first taken from Indigenous Australians more than a century ago.

Police have revealed the names of a missing boy and his mother who died after a boat capsized in Manukau Harbour earlier this month.

The amount the country's hospitals owe to more than a quarter of a million people has exploded to almost $2 billion.

The government has appointed an investigator to work with the Christchurch City Council on housing intensification.

Opinion - There has been some resistance to proposals on reducing urban speed limits right across the country but evidence suggests it's the right move, writes Simon Kingham.

Consumers are frequenting central business districts less and changing when they shop and take part in leisure activities, a Mastercard chief economist says .

Emergency response staff are responding to what appears to be a large diesel spill in the lower reaches of the Whanganui River.

Malia Li had been jailed after her husband developed sepsis and died in a filthy room containing maggots, mice and urine.

Much of the North Island can expect thunderstorms on Thursday afternoon, with some becoming severe, MetService says.