Pike River Coal will have to reduce its workforce when it is ready to re-establish operations, but CEO Peter Whittall says reports of possible receivership were "extremely premature".

What a great incentive to stop when the police ask you, because if you don't you might die as a result of your own stupidity.

Police cannot stop chasing offenders or the practice of driving off will become more common, the Police Minister says.

A traffic control worker has said a person had been hit by a bus but did not have anymore information.

An operation has begun to extinguish the fire coming from the vent shaft of the Pike River mine and cool the surrounding concrete pad, using water pumped up from a nearby creek.

A one-year-old baby is in a serious condition in Waikato Hospital after choking on a Twistie on Friday. The baby was brought in to Te Kuiti Hospital in the afternoon with choking and seizures after reportedly eating a "Twistie" snack.

Police are hunting a hit-and-driver who ran into a group of men fighting in central Hamilton overnight.

A Matamata woman has been charged with three counts of careless driving causing death.