Our forests and other land areas may be sucking up to 60 per cent more carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere than previously thought and we can likely thank our native trees for much of it.

New research showing how efforts to keep pests out of countries are failing to keep up with the pace of globalisation means New Zealand must be more vigilant than ever, a biosecurity expert says.

Bernard Gendron remains in an induced coma in Dunedin Hospital, but his family, who have arrived from Canada, have seen encouraging signs.

As fire spread down the hills above his beloved historic Ohinetahi homestead and gardens, Sir Miles Warren wasn't going anywhere.

It's been a long night for Christchurch residents. Here's what you need to know first thing this morning.

Christchurch braces for a hot and windy day as wildfires continue to wreak havoc.

Paul Askin has spent years fearing terrible news about his son Steve. On Tuesday, that moment came when the chopper pilot died fighting Christchurch's fires.

Evacuated family reveal the panicked scene of scared, fleeing families.

Hundreds of people are offering beds, blankets and home baking to those who have been displaced by the fires.

Find out the latest details on the Christchurch wildfires.

Inexperience and errors in judgement caused the death of 12-year-old Jack Martin after a boating accident on the Blue Lake at St Bathans

Pike River families are meeting with Prime Minister Bill English for the first time this afternoon.

Spending 48 hours in a scenic town with a head cold isn't so bad, Susan Strongman reports.

There are reports of shots being fired in the Christchurch suburb of Addington this morning.

A campervan driver will appear in court next week accused of causing a severe brain injury to a Canadian tourist.

Police are investigating the ''moronic'' actions of a person who tied fishing line at head height across a Queenstown track.

The South Brighton Residents' Association wants to know what happened to earthquake donations for the eastern suburbs.

Regional climate variability caused an unusual period in which some of NZ's glaciers grew bigger, while glaciers worldwide were shrinking, a new study shows.

He carried the All Blacks to two world titles, now Richie McCaw is flying people around two huge Port Hills fires.

Photos from inside the cordon captured by The Christchurch Star photographers.

With a fire scarred home behind them, a Christchurch couple contemplate how close they were to losing their home.

A Canadian cruise ship passenger and "self-made man'' was in Dunedin for the day when he was knocked from his bicycle in front of his shocked wife and began a battle for his life.

The woman killed in a head-on crash near Queenstown yesterday was a 49-year-old Australian, police say.

DoC staff were tonight monitoring a pod of about 200 pilot whales milling around in the sea off Golden Bay.

One person had died and three are seriously injured after a crash at Arrow Junction near the Crown Range turnoff.

Heavy rain and hail hit Dunedin this afternoon, causing the evacuation of the public library and flooding to some buildings.

It's a question summer-deprived Wellingtonians couldn't be blamed for asking: Why is Australia sweltering in a heat wave while their own city hasn't broken 25C all season?

A body has been discovered in North Hagley Park in Christchurch this morning.

Christchurch and Japanese academics are developing new drone technologies that would be able to locate people buried in wreckage following natural disasters.

In the past year this health board has agonised over its finances and where budgets should be boosted or cut - all behind closed doors.