There was nothing unusual about the late-night 5.1 quake that shook Marlborough and the lower North Island on Wednesday, says a scientist.

After Julian Bowlin pushed his partner to the ground, he phoned the police and told them to come and arrest him. Bowlin pleaded guilty

Volunteer firefighters used the jaws of life to free a horse suffocating under its own weight after it tried to escape from the float

Four young women have been arrested for the aggravated robbery of a Paihia dairy thanks to an alert local who noticed a suspicious

A 20-year-old student from Rotorua has come up with a novel way to get from Cape Reinga to Bluff.

A dog couldn't do it, neither could an extensive search, but a tin of tuna has caught a cat that was loose on a Bay of Islands wildlife

Police said injured woman was pinned for "a few seconds'' by a car driven by a 40-year-old man trying to angle park.

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.

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.

A couple has had to move to a motel at public expense after their home was "destroyed" by armed police hunting a wanted man in Napier.

The search for a missing young Auckland woman is now focused on an area of forest near Muriwai Beach.

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.

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

A Hastings mother has been spared jail after causing a car crash that killed her 8-year-old son. Kim Crous has been sentenced in

The family of a man killed alongside his young son in a truck crash this week have spoken of their utter devastation at the double tragedy.

"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