A couple who were aided by a police escort in their baby birth dash have been reunited with the officer who helped bring their new daughter into the world.

In the last three months, offenders committed six ram-raid burglaries at commercial premises which sold high-end electrical equipment.

The investment of $53.5m in schools in Tauranga, Hamilton and Hawkes Bay is part of the Budget 2016.

Five councils - Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Queenstown and Christchurch - will be affected by new policy released by the Government this afternoon.

Firefighters have brought a large blaze at a recyling plant in Hamilton's industrial district under control.

A Hamilton taxi driver jailed for sexually assaulting two female passengers has had his appeal against his conviction and sentencing dismissed.

Sonny Bill Williams has made the only fair and sensible decision, rejecting the Chiefs and joining the Blues, writes Chris Rattue.

State house tenant with two disabled adult children will be able to stay in her house after Work and Income paid her rent arrears this morning.

Housing NZ is evicting several tenants in Hamilton, just as Aucklanders are being offered $5000 to move into state homes there and in other provincial cities.

Hamilton mental health patient went on to drown himself in Waikato River.

Police say the outcome of their investigation should reassure the public about the popular hang out.

The Hamilton City Council has postponed its first court appearance in relation to its prosecution after of one of its zoo keepers was mauled by a tiger.

Hamilton Zoo's newest baby chimpanzee has been given a name befitting of a "chatty little animal".

A Whanganui woman was so ensconced in her gambling addiction that she faked paternity documentation to get Working for Families benefits.

A Hamilton man says he must have fallen asleep after celebrating his birthday before veering off the road and crashing head-on into a car, killing its passenger.

Morrinsville and Fairfield colleges closed for a week, and Nelson school students monitored after teenager who recently visited Hamilton contracted the disease.

Hamilton Police are appealing to the public for any sightings of Hamilton woman Helen Seffert who is missing after going for an early morning walk.

A man accused of attacking a Hamilton police officer which left him nursing multiple injuries is alleged to have jumped the station's front counter.

The officer tried to help with a query but ended up with a fractured cheek, cuts and bruises, and had to be taken to hospital for treatment.

Two teenagers and one man have been arrested following an incident during which a police dog was kicked and an officer assaulted.

Police warning over man's actions when he talked to 10-year-old girl in Hamilton.

A blaze which severely damaged a Hamilton bakery was caused by a deep fryer being left on.

Fire fighters took 30 minutes to battle a fire which appears to have started in the Flagstaff Bakehouse kitchen and spread to the neighbouring roast shop.

Just seven months after new valuations were set for Hamilton homes, some are already fetching up to $205,000 above those figures.

Police are asking for the public's help in tracing the movements of a Hamilton man before his body was discovered in a car found crashed in a stream.

The sister of the man who died after his car crashed into a Waikato stream overnight has posted a moving tribute to her brother.

Eric Gerritsen was fined $115,000 for impeding the WorkSafe's investigation into the collapse of the "Mammoth Slide", which left a number of children injured.

Up to one in four property sales in parts of provincial NZ are now to Aucklanders, with many buyers forced from city as prices spiral beyond their means.