A search and rescue operation is under way in Queenstown after an Australian tourist failed to return from a day walk on Ben Lomond.

While Karin Ann Ross was being beaten to death with a hammer, her final act ensured her killer's guilt was etched into his face for all to see.

A St Clair, Dunedin, mother, driving with her young twins in the rear of her car, smashed into a parked ute after drinking two bottles of wine.

An online predator posing as a teenage girl lured boys as young as at least 13 into sending nude selfies online.

Three teenagers have been arrested over a spate of attacks on tourists and thefts from campervans on the West Coast.

A jury has unanimously found a Dunedin cleaner guilty of beating his boss to death with a hammer.

A High Court jury has retired to consider its verdict in the case of a Dunedin cleaner accused of murdering his supervisor.

A dog attacked his hens so this man used the closest thing to hand when he took his anger out on the dog owner.

A former Tall Black and Nuggets basketballer's application for a discharge without conviction on an assault charge has been refused.

A 34-year-old who groomed and performed sexual acts on a young boy three times within a nine-month span has been jailed for four years and three months.

Police are warning Canterbury property owners of a spate of burglaries targeting houses under construction.

Passengers faced lengthy delays at Dunedin Airport yesterday, after a crack was discovered in the windscreen of a Virgin Australia flight bound for Brisbane.

WATCH: Footage of police chase that started in Stoke, near Nelson, and ended nearly 800km later.

Cross your fingers and toes that a tentative forecast for a warm Labour Weekend comes true.

A train has derailed in South Otago this evening, blocking the state highway.

'Why don't they shoot the bloody thing?' asks angry Oamaru resident.

The major threat that the South Island's Alpine Fault poses to New Zealand has been front and centre of a Civil Defence conference in Queenstown this week.

Warm air flowing from across the Ditch will push temperatures up over the whole country this weekend.

WATCH: The Station building was hauled 400m by crane and truck from a private Lauder property and placed beside the Otago Central Rail Trail.

While being interviewed by police, a 21-year-old cleaner accused of murder stood by previous comments that he did not care the victim was dead.

Brodie Soster was visiting family in New Zealand when she was forced to deliver her baby at 25 weeks to save both of their lives.

Two people have received burns in a house fire in Christchurch this evening.

A Southland Stags rugby player has been sentenced to 18 months' intensive supervision after admitting three charges of indecency in a public place.

The house has about 10 rooms and residents were told by police to come down to the front yard.

Queenstown novice Dan Ahwa experiences the resort town's extreme, adrenaline-fuelled activities for the first time.

The mother of missing South Island teen Yuri Santana says her heart is "bleeding" for the 17-year-old.

A man who died while docking a container ship at Lyttelton last year was not wearing a life jacket and was harnessed to a faulty wire, a report has found.

The police have called off searches for Yuri Santana, eight days after he was last seen, but his parents haven't given up hope.

Cell-tower data presented to a Dunedin court has raised questions over the location of a 21-year-old cleaner accused at the time of an alleged murder.

Heavy snow has fallen across parts of the South Island cutting power and bringing down trees.