Police are searching for a US tourist whose passport and other items have been found at a Marlborough marina.

A large vegetation fire that came within five metres of a new Blenheim subdivision and forced the evacuation of 60 homes was deliberately lit, authorities have confirmed.

Crews battling a suspicious vegetation fire near Blenheim are facing challenging conditions.

A bush fire which threatened homes near Blenheim this afternoon is being treated as suspicious.

Central New Zealand has been rocked by a strong magnitude 4.5 quake.

Residents on Gascoyne, Budge, Henderson and Gardiner streets should stay inside, police say.

Missing sailor found after failing to meet a friend on New Year's Eve.

A severe quake measuring 5.3 rocked central New Zealand just after midnight.

Blenheim Police are appealing to the public for help finding a sailor who has been reported missing in the Marlborough Sounds area.

The MetService is forecasting rain for much of New Zealand today, perhaps ruining plans for post-party barbecues and sunbathing.

A weak cold front will bring cloud, drizzle and showers to the country over the next few days but should clear in time for New Year celebrations.

The Marlborough Sounds double murderer has been denied parole, with a report stating Watson's risk of violent recidivism was very high.

When Kaikoura locals told visiting PM Bill English the Govt effort was "piss poor" in the quake-strewn region, Gerry Brownlee let them have it.

The father of convicted double murderer Scott Watson responds after Gerald Hope's letter following a prison meeting with the man sent away for killing his daughter.

Olivia Hope's father says he felt convicted killer Scott Watson had rehearsed his responses to many of the questions when they met.

The details of the first conversation between the father of Olivia Hope and the man convicted of her murder are revealed in a magazine article today.

Gerald Hope and Scott Watson believe they are both victims who are yet to get the truth about what happened to Olivia Hope and Ben Smart in the Marlborough Sounds.

Convicted Marlborough Sounds double murderer Scott Watson is set to learn before Christmas if he will be paroled.

Motorists travelling the alternative route between Christchurch and Picton have been caught up in heavy congestion today, as traffic pressure mounts on the post-quake thoroughfare.

Eighteen per cent of GP clinics closed their books to new patients

The 7.8 earthquake damaged around 20 per cent of Marlborough's storage tanks, but 2016 still promises to be a good year for wine.

The signs of summer are among us with pohutakawa trees flowering already and forecasters say the official first day of the season on Thursday will be calm and dry.

A shaky night puts residents across central New Zealand on edge.

A growing number of New Zealanders believe convicted double murderer Scott Watson may be an innocent man.

Wellingtonians and people living on the top of the South Island were shaken awake as a strong quake rattled the centre of the country.

Emergency supplies have finally landed in a cut-off community just 22km north of Kaikoura.

It's time to reach for the sunblock and head to the beach with the country set to swelter in 30C temperatures.

New Zealand is in for a relatively dry day today with areas of morning cloud and isolated showers in the north, clearing around midday and becoming mostly sunny.

Some of the earthquake relief efforts are wrapping up in Kaikoura.

Hundreds of home checks have been carried out in the worst-hit areas by Red Cross personnel since Monday's 7.8 quake.