A float carrying two horses has crashed in the Waitaki District this afternoon. Emergency crews were called to an area near Hampden-Palmerston

An endangered penguin has been returned to the wild after being treated for abdominal wounds at Wellington Zoo.

A Dunedin cleaner beat his boss to death with a hammer because she had complained about his conduct at work, the Crown says.

A woman student died at the university's halls of residence on Saturday night.

Gabrielle Stuart looked at what five years of belt-tightening for the CDHB could look like for the community.

Community services are worried about the effect five years of district health board shortfalls could have on them.

Official documents have revealed for the first time what contributed to the convention centre deal between the Government and Plenary Conventions NZ.

As consultation opens on an oil and gas drilling plan, some city councillors are now questioning if the Government will listen to what they say.

A family escaped a blaze in their two-storey Greymouth home.

Police are investigating after a milk tanker ran off the road in North Otago, killing the driver.

The woman died at Rochester and Rutherford Hall on Ilam Rd in Christchurch.

This will be a good weekend to check out the museum or cuddle up with a book as heavy showers and thunderstorms are forecast for parts of the country.

What was described as ''a colossal electrical storm'' has hit Millers Flat, Ettrrick and Roxburgh in Central Otago.

Too much screen use is taking its toll on young people's eyes, with children as young as five having to get treatment, Canterbury optometrists say.

A miscount from Hockey New Zealand means the Ramesh Patel Shield will head to Midlands after spending just a week with Canterbury Hockey.

It's not only the little guy who struggles with EQC and insurance companies over earthquake repairs. Former mayor Garry Moore battles on too.

Queenstown's bar community is in mourning after one of its own died in an eerie car crash.

Shareholders have approved the second stage of a major South Canterbury irrigation scheme.

A Picton businessman is fighting to put the picturesque Marlborough township - quite literally - on the map.

We will find you and we will kill you - that is the message the Otago Regional Council is set to issue today to Bennett's wallabies that enter Otago.

A knife-wielding man who paraded around in public with his shirt off, challenging people to fight him, has been jailed for nearly two years.

The Granity bus shelter reported missing last week was never stolen.

Civil Aviation has given grounded South Westland helicopter company Alpine Adventures the green light to fly again.

Almost 700 Christchurch drivers have been given warnings for illegally driving or planning to drive for Uber.

Drug detection dogs patrolling domestic terminals are a step closer to becoming a reality.

An exodus of workers is becoming a problem for major infrastructure projects in Christchurch, with less than 3 months until SCIRT wraps up.

Orana Wildlife Park at McLeans Island turned 40 on Sunday. Bridget Rutherford looks back on the park's history.

WATCH: Dashcam footage shows a Coromandel road turn into a river after rain lashed much of the country over the weekend closing roads.

Firefighters have been unable to get through a flooded ford to reach cars stranded in Kauaeranga Valley, Thames, leaving the matter in police hands.

A tramper has been rescued from the bush after spending a cold and wet night high on Mt Stanley in the outer Marlborough Sounds.