Police say they are "devastated" by the Labour Weekend road toll, which closed at eight - the same number as last year.

A widow wants pilots to stay away from a helicopter involved in 30 crashes in six years in which nine people have died, including two this month.

All the crashes which caused seven fatalities this Labour weekend were avoidable, say police.

Fellow hunters have expressed "disgust" at the actions of a man who shot dead a woman after he mistook her for a animal.

The principal of a tiny school in the Hutt Valley faces the heart-breaking task of telling pupils a popular teacher was shot dead at the weekend by a hunter stalking deer at night.

Six people have died in five separate Labour Weekend accidents in Wanganui, Southland, Canterbury, Hawke's Bay and the Waikato.

A midday crash in Southland has resulted in one fatality, bringing the holiday road toll to two after a fatal crash in Hawkes Bay.

As holiday-makers head out of Auckland for the long weekend, traffic has already begun to pile up following a crash north of the city.

A 17-year-old has returned to motor racing two years after a crash that paralysed his legs.