Advance voting kicks off in the Mt Albert by-election today, but one of the main candidates is worried no one will turn up.

He stayed clear of the stage, unlike his predecessor John Key who was booed off last year's event.

The rainbow flags are out in force - and so are the politicians - as hundreds of people gather in Auckland for this year's Big Gay Out.

Police have found an autistic 15-year-old boy who has been missing since the early hours of this morning.

Barefoot and with his belongings in a bag, Miller was brought to tears by the kindness of a couple on their wedding day. Can you help us find him?

Monique Poirier, who is running for the Albert-Eden-Roskill local board, was walking past the local Countdown with former mayor Christine Fletcher when they saw a fight taking place around 6pm on Tuesday.

Auckland police are worried about the safety of a 70-year-old woman missing from the central Auckland suburb of Pt Chevalier since yesterday afternoon.

A person is in a serious condition after being hit by a car in Pt Chevalier, Auckland, tonight.

Auckland motorists can expect traffic delays on the State Highway 16 this afternoon after a car crashed near the Rosebank Rd exit, Point Chevalier.

Almost a month after The Block's finale, new owners are yet to move into the four houses featured on the hit TV3 reality series.

Real estate industry experts have labelled the latest residential property revaluations dangerous, with calls for the mass appraisal system to be overhauled or scrapped.

A professional couple in their late 20s splurged $1.472 million on their first home at the auction of four properties from the reality home-building TV show The Block.

The circus is over and life is returning to normal in Newell St, Pt Chevalier.

An exclusive seaside mansion at the centre of a bitter family feud will be auctioned next month.

The winning house from the first series of The Block is up for grabs again.

Production company Eyeworks this week applied for resource consent for the four houses in Newell St, in the Central Auckland suburb of Pt Chevalier.

Residents of a central Auckland street chosen for the new season of The Block NZ have formed a group to stop production of the top-rating TV show.

An explosion has rattled Pt Chevalier residents and alerted police to a suspected P-lab 300m from the set of the latest series of hit TV show The Block.

Pt Chevalier has something of a split personality.

My friend wanted to go for a walk but stipulated it had to be near her house and somewhere her large pup Mo could run off-lead for a while.

Bells and whistles have their place but hearty, good value food served up with some Italian warmth is more this Pt Chev staple's style.

Department of Conservation (DOC) officials have seized two nets and about 80 fish following reports of commercial fishing in a marine reserve in Auckland.

Natasha Francois and light sculptor Peter Roche live in Pt Chevalier in the distinctive building that used to house the Ambassador Theatre. Natasha tells Peta Stavelli what they love about the area.