International scientists have claimed the 7.8 Kaikoura quake has raised the potential threat of another large NZ event - but a Kiwi scientist says that's unlikely.

Kaikoura quake damage to businesses has topped $900 million, according to insurance figures.

Most of the country can expect another warm, dry holiday weekend, but the West Coast is in for a wet one.

Two people arrested after a self-styled "cannabis club" in Whangarei was bust by police have elected trial by jury. Brian Thomas

The truck fire blocking part of SH1 south of Warkworth has been cleared, but traffic is still heavy.

Tinder dry conditions are thought to have contributed to two large grass fires which ravaged rural areas of Hawke's Bay yesterday

While the eastern region swelters in one of the most rain-deprived Januaries in more than a century, some western areas have been drenched.

A project to bring more Coromandel brown kiwi to Motutapu Island is among nine Auckland community-led conservation projects awarded funding.

The body of a man who was found at Paekakariki rocks on the Kapiti Coast on Saturday was the second of two men who drowned after a boat capsized last week.

Toys, food, vouchers and newly-knitted blankets are just some of the items that have been donated to help a family of six who lost

Holiday traffic is set to build from 9am as Aucklanders make a break for the regions.

What's in store weatherwise for the upcoming long weekend?

The man accused of driving the car that smashed into a bench seat in Kaitaia's main street on January 12, killing 54-year-old Edward

Some frustrated beekeepers have now declared our dismal summer the worst in two decades for honey-making - but it's still too early to say whether consumers will also feel a sting.

The army bomb squad has dealt with a mystery object found by road workers in South Auckland this morning.

Havelock North High School teacher Matthew McGovern is one of only two people in the region to receive a prestigious award for their

Mangawhai residents' empty water tanks are being filled, thanks in part to the milk of corporate kindness. Last weekend's rain eased

A couple have just bought their first home in Whanganui outright using an alternative banking system. Jayne and Paul Dew moved to

"Lowest of the low" - that's how former MP Dover Samuels describes the thieves who ransacked a friend's home within days his death

An early morning fishing trip ended in disaster when a boat in Bay of Islands started taking on water after its hull was pierced by

When Megan Burns plays the trumpet it blows her great dane dog Ash away - he even provides some vocals to go with the sweet tunes. But

When John and Judy McCaffery brought their family to Matapouri Bay for a summer holiday they were horrified to find part of the estuary

The CHB SPCA is investigating the death of 14 puppies, found dumped along riverbanks in the district. The dead pups were from two

A Far North woman with three young children in her car - one of them a four-week-old baby - was allegedly more than four times over

A logging truck and car has crashed on one of Tauranga's busiest arterial routes. Police are responding to the collision near 15th

The Hawke's Bay public are being urged to keep an eye on the proximity of vegetation to powerlines after a large fire in Bridge Pa

Traffic was slowed but lanes were not blocked after a large truck rolled on the roundabout at the junction of State Highway 1 and

Power remains out in pockets across Auckland, from Orere Point in the east to Papakura in the south, according to Vector's website.

Police have closed a section of Vivian St in Wellington after a piece of glass fell from a building and landed on a parked car.

Vector says more than 15,000 Auckland households were without power this morning. As of 5pm, that number was now 3000.