New Zealand First leader Winston Peters hopes to stand in Northland again in 2017 if he wins the byelection but will not commit to the seat if he loses.

Natalie Akoorie finds she's a little wobbly on her sea legs but her husband gets to enjoy the rich sealife of the Poor Knights Islands.

Tropical cyclone Pam has been upgraded to category 3 and weather experts fear it could reach supercyclone levels as it slowly moves towards Vanuatu.

A low currently sitting in the Pacific, which is likely to be upgraded to a tropical cyclone, will have some impact on Northland later this week, weather boffins have predicted.

Prime Minister John Key is unapologetic about rolling out multi-million-dollar promises during the Northland byelection.

Labour Party leader Andrew Little has wasted no time running up the white flag in the Northland byelection.

Labour leader Andrew Little has given supporters a hint that they can vote for Winston Peters in Northland, but he rejects any comparisons to National's 'dirty deals' in Epsom.

The mischief in me wants Winston Peters to win Northland. The upset would be huge and National would lose a seat to New Zealand First, writes Rodney Hide.

Guy Body's take on the Northland byelection.

National is scrambling all jets to bolster Northland byelection candidate Mark Osborne as polling shows Winston Peters has a chance of taking the traditionally safe Nats seat.

If elections were won on fast starts and noise, NZ First leader Winston Peters would have Northland sewn up.

Residents in three homes near a forest fire in Northland are on standby to evacuate. The fire is being treated as suspicious.

The Westport man who died while kayaking off Tauranga Bay last month has today been named by police.

Andrew Little is wise to have ignored the pressure that was coming even from Labour quarters.

A convicted drug baron says police illegally intercepted phone calls he had with his lawyer, giving prosecutors unfair insights into his case.

The Tasman District Council has given its consent for the proposed Waimea Community Dam, says Irrigation NZ.

A massive pipi bed in Whangarei harbour is dying and there are fears the change could destabilise the harbour - and Marsden Point itself, Radio NZ reports.

Peter Dunne says he would look at revisiting his post-election concessions from the National Party if New Zealand First leader Winston Peters wins the Northland byelection.

New Zealand First leader announces he'll stand in Northland byelection, saying electorate needs "a real voice" who could "hit the ground running".

A charter school under threat of closure has indicated the school leaders may be sacked after public warnings from the education ministry.

A troubled charter school is under pressure to sack its leadership team or face closure.

A Northland woman had a lucky escape when a furniture truck smashed through the wall of a house, stopping metres short of where she had been relaxing on a couch.

Education Minister Hekia Parata has issued a formal warning to the troubled charter school in Whangaruru which now has a month to show it can rectify its problems or it could face closure.

A troubled charter school in Northland has just 37 students and legal advice on its possible closure has been provided to Education Minister Hekia Parata.