A grassroots community effort to clean up a polluted South Auckland waterway has been hailed with a national award naming the Puhinui Stream the country's "most improved river".

Neighbours kicked in the door and broke windows of a burning house to check if anyone was inside.

It was a busy Wednesday night for Auckland fire crews, who were called to at least four fires in the region.

First users of advice "toolkit" report more exercise, smaller meals.

A person has serious injuries following a police pursuit which ended in a crash on an on-ramp to a South Auckland motorway, police say.

A south Auckland home was set alight by a lightning bolt during yesterday's violent thunderstorms.

A man caught with an arsenal of military-style guns during a raid on a meth lab has been handed a jail sentence of more than 12 years.

More than 80 rubbish collectors have been seriously injured on the job by dangerous items thrown away by Auckland residents in the past two years.

Police are still puzzled by an alleged kidnapping from Sylvia Park in September.

Paramedics and police have been called to a crash in South Auckland tonight.

A truck has rolled and is blocking a motorway on-ramp in south Auckland, police say.

Would-be millionaires are flocking to Lotto stores around the country for tonight's big draw.

There were ducks dressed as superheroes, princesses and even Donald Trump - complete with comb-overs and navy suits - in a race for charity today.

If you're keen on winning tonight's big Powerball prize, you might want to buy your ticket here.

A man has appeared in court for stealing more than $27,600 from 29 people over a course of three months.

Two investigations are under way into the suspected suicide of a mental health patient who had fled a psychiatric hospital and was missing for weeks.

A 15-year-old Auckland girl has been referred to youth aid following dawn police raids this morning.

Brazen thieves who robbed a couple as they slept began taking photos of themselves flaunting their stolen property just a few hours later.

The man charged after the fatal shooting of a South Auckland toddler was her father, it can be revealed.

A group contesting the rezoning of land at Ihumātao in South Auckland, says a new archaeological discovery casts doubt on the accuracy of Fletchers' report.

Budgeting agencies are "in shock" after a radical shakeup which has ended state funding for a third of all previously funded budget

The Prime Minister has visited more than three times as many high decile schools this year, than low decile.

Seema Prasad says she felt scared and intimidated after her vehicle was clamped in what she feels was a hard-line approach by a clamping company.

Life sentence for man who kicked and stomped his friend to death.

A man charged in relation to the fatal shooting of a South Auckland toddler has lost a bid for name suppression.

Amber-Lee Lawrie, who dedicated her life to helping others, has died after a long battle with cancer.

The deputy head girl of Waiuku College in South Auckland dedicated her life to helping others "fought harder than anyone".

A South Auckland teenager is being charged with common assault after a 19-year-old man died during a fight early on Saturday.

A driver is seriously injured after a car and milk truck carrying more than 100 crates collided near Middlemore Hospital in South Auckland this morning.

A 19-year-old man died after a fight at a South Auckland party early this morning.