A seven-hour siege at a Melbourne restaurant has ended with the release of a woman who had been held hostage through the night.

A tense atmosphere has settled over the fanzone in central Auckland as early wickets fell for the Black Caps in the Cricket World Cup final today.

Aucklander Paddy Singe and his wife, Anne, will be among the 100,000-strong crowd at the MCG for today's Cup final - a last-minute present for the couple's 34th wedding anniversary.

A thief has left “genital selfies” on a victim’s mobile phone after stealing cash from a staff locker at a Melbourne hospital.

Two young children, aged under 10, are being tested for Ebola after being admitted to a hospital in Melbourne.

Melbourne turns on the bling for its annual dusk till dawn party, writes Rachel Bache.

A family in the Australian state of Victoria are 'devastated' after a mother accidentally left her 22-month-old in a car in the summer heat.

If it involves bats or balls or both the Australians are bound to want to be involved -- and so is Nicholas Jones, who joins the crowds for a fiesta of sport at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Christian Bonetto spends a weekend in Melbourne.

A hot air balloon with 10 people on board has crashed in suburban Melbourne, brushing power lines as it came down.

From fun parks to family safaris, Danielle Wright introduces her children to Melbourne.

In Melbourne, Bonnie Sumner takes time out from tots, toys and tantrums and gets her life back.

A driver for ride-hailing service Uber is alleged to have indecently assaulted a 19-year-old woman in Melbourne.

A security alert is over at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport after a threat was directed at Tigerair Australia, forcing the evacuation of passengers from a terminal and the cancellation of flights.

A woman in Melbourne hanging washing in her garden suddenly found herself in a 9ft hole, swimming for her life for half an hour as she shouted for help.

It was impressively hot when my friends and I arrived in Melbourne. We were picked up by Anthony from Melbourne Sports Tours for a look at some stadiums and tracks.

As a Melburnian born in NZ, I cannot leave readers misinformed after Dita de Boni's article "The yawning rich-poor Oz divide" (Nov 13).

Cameron McMillan spends a tiring but fascinating day walking the fairways with golf legends in Melbourne.

Twenty-three buildings taller than 200 metres are currently being planned or built in Melbourne, many by Asian developers.

Kiwi Bella Katz is a Melbourne-based brand and marketing consultant who advises New Zealand companies going into the Australian market.

Secreted around every Melbourne corner is a hip and happening surprise, finds Sam Boyer.

Hop across the ditch and catch some world-class theatre.

A man who appeared to have a bomb strapped to his head led police on a chase down a Melbourne motorway before stripping naked and surrendering.

Rachel Bache battles aching feet to take in as much of Melbourne's White Night Festival as she can before sunrise.

An estranged father who killed his 11-year-old son in front of shocked children and parents after cricket practice has died after he was shot by Victoria police.

The family of a former New Zealand woman had pleaded with her repeatedly to leave the man who allegedly killed her in Australia.

A young mum who grew up in New Zealand was allegedly killed by her Kiwi partner in a domestic dispute in Melbourne over the weekend.