Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says that the Omicron variant is "not a cause for panic" as NZ experts track its impact overseas. Video / Pool

December 1 2021 Aucklanders are being offered 100,000 vouchers this summer for a range of activities in a bid to "reactivate" the city as it shakes off the shackles of nearly four months in lockdown.

November 30 2021 Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis are the "reset" the National Party and New Zealand needs. This was the message during Luxon's first press conference as National leader.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is in Hamilton supporting vaccination efforts and meeting with the business community.

November 29 2021 Most of the upper North Island - including Auckland - will go straight into the red level under the new traffic light system from Friday, while the whole of the South Island will go to the less restrictive orange.

November 29 2021 Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said police had to deal with "very unpleasant events" today in Auckland. Coster said three police officers were injured and police shot a man dead after he shot at officers.

Max Carter (Scots College, Wellington) wins the 2021 Aotearoa New Zealand Spelling Bee.

November 26 2021. There are 173 new cases of Covid-19 in the community today. Of those cases, 154 are in Auckland, 15 are in the Waikato, one is in Northland, two are in the Bay of Plenty and one is in Lakes DHB. There is also a case in Canterbury, who was already in isolation.

Former leader Simon Bridges has revealed he is considering seeking a return to the role - saying National under Collins "haven't done a good enough job".

November 24 2021 The Reserve Bank has today hiked the official cash rate by 0.25 per cent to 0.75 per cent. That 25-basis-point hike was the first for the RBNZ in seven years.

November 24 2021 The managed isolation system at NZ's border is being dismantled for fully vaccinated Kiwis and travellers will be able to bypass it from early next year. It comes as officials announced there are 215 Covid-19 cases today.

November 23 2021 The Government has unveiled a tool to be used to help businesses and employers decide when workers need to be vaccinated.

Newstalk ZB political editor Barry Soper questions Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during a post-Cabinet media conference. Video / NZ Herald

November 22 2021 The whole of NZ will move into the traffic light framework at 11.59pm on Thursday, December 2. Cabinet has also allowed for hairdressers and barbers in Auckland to open from Thursday to vaccinated people.

PM Jacinda Ardern urges Aucklanders to prepare for the traffic light system after meeting with business leaders in Christchurch. Video / George Heard

November 18 2021 Deputy PM Grant Robertson spent the day speaking with Auckland businesses about the next steps for the region and the country. There has been frustration but he has not heard much anger, Robertson said.

PM Jacinda Ardern and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare speak to media in Tairāwhiti. Video / Supplied

Although Pike River Recovery Minister Andrew Little said Wednesday’s discovery was ‘significant’ he said there is no consideration to unseal the mine. Video / Mark Mitchell

November 15 2021 Cabinet has agreed to move Waikato to alert level 2 from midnight tomorrow - and the rollout of booster vaccination shots will start from November 29.

Funerals, tangihanga and burials have a 25-person limit under level 3, step 2.

November 12 2021 There are 201 new Covid-19 community cases today on a day the virus was confirmed to have been found in Taranaki. Of these 181 are in Auckland, 15 in Waikato, four are in Northland and one is in Taranaki.

November 11 2021 Alleged drug smugglers accused of bringing millions of dollars' worth of cocaine from Colombia into New Zealand allegedly have direct links to the feared Medellin cartel, it's understood.

November 10 2021 There are 147 new community cases today and a man isolating at home with Covid-19 in Auckland has died suddenly, the Ministry of Health says. Of today's cases, 131 are in Auckland, 14 in Waikato and two are in Northland.

November 10 2021 As the Delta outbreak's total case numbers approached 4000, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made her first visit to Auckland after three months into lockdown.

November 9 2021 Connor Whitehead's father James said they were shocked and heartbroken at the loss of Connor in such a senseless manner. Connor loved music and planned to study law - and those dreams had been cruelly taken away.

November 9 2021 Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the messages from anti-vaxxers or protesters marching to parliament today did not represent the majority of New Zealanders.

November 8 2021 Auckland will move to step 2 of alert level 3 at 11:59pm tomorrow. On Northland, the upper region will move alert level 2 at 11:59pm on Thursday.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a boost in Working for Families payments for those on low incomes, and a top-up to the Best Start payment for parents of new babies.

November 5 2021 There are a record 163 new cases of Covid-19 today. 159 are in Auckland and four are in Waikato. A second person isolating at home with Covid has died. Paramedics were called to a Mt Eden address.

Cleo Smith, who had been missing for 18 days after disappearing from the family tent at the Quobba Blowholes campground, was found "alive and well" in the early hours of Wednesday morning at a residential address.