Photographer Sarah Ivey, who grew up in the Mackenzie Country, uses her camera to introduce the rugged beauty of a place few New Zealanders have visited.

A judge this afternoon ruled that name suppression should continue for a 28-year-old woman accused of murdering her newborn baby.

The first ANZ Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence survey of the new year has recorded a rise in consumer confidence, particularly in earthquake-hit Canterbury, but the survey's authors say households are still cautious.

A 24-year-old Christchurch fisherman broke into the home of a woman he met months earlier on an internet dating site and sexually assaulted her, a court was told today.

The aftershocks keep coming for Canterbury, with another 3.9 magnitude quake near Christchurch this afternoon following this morning's 5.1 tremor.

Tony Stuart awoke today wondering how much more damage his house could absorb after the latest aftershock in Canterbury.

A French tourist was dragged from his car and beaten, kicked and robbed by a gang of drunken youths in a Christchurch park.

Some lucky tourists in Mt Cook National Park were in the right place at the right time.