Two teenagers have told how they leapt into a river and saved an unconscious motorist whose head was underwater in his semi-submerged ute.

The New Zealand dollar fell by more than half a US cent today after labour data showed that the employment rate fell to its lowest point in 10 years.

New Zealand's unemployment rate fell from a 13-year high in the last three months of 2012 as people stopped looking for work and the participation rate shrank.

A three-year-old boy is in critical condition following a hit-and-run in South Auckland this morning.

New Zealand labour costs rose in the final three months of 2012 as the gathering pace of Canterbury's reconstruction effort saw the building and construction sector underpin gains.

Police are investigating a series of rural mail thefts in North Canterbury after a $100 cheque intended as a donation to a charity was cashed for more than $10,000.

Police have released the name of the man killed in a crash near Kaiapoi on Friday.

Justine Tyerman finds one of the only flattish walks in the Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park - even Japanese ladies in high heels and Aussies in jandals can manage the Hooker Valley track.

Photos of the aftermath as scrub fires destroyed cars, farms and properties near Prebbleton in Christchurch.

The building sector has taken off and Canterbury earthquake repairs are one of its biggest drivers.

The number of consents issued for new homes continued a 20-month growth trend by rising again in November, show figures out today.

A twenty-year-old who was missing for 24 hours on a mountain battered by severe storms has been found "walking, talking and cold", police say.

The aftershocks have all but stopped, but few in Christchurch dare mention the easing of the earth's fury.

Brian Fallow writes: "The economy has a soggier soft patch to pull out of next year after September quarter gross domestic product came in below market expectations and the statisticians revised down growth in the first half of the year."

Fletcher Construction was fined $45,000 today for a health and safety breach while workers pulled down Christchurch's quake-battered Hotel Grand Chancellor.