Road toll now equal to last summer's following death of motorcyclist.

A weak cold front will bring cloud, drizzle and showers to the country over the next few days but should clear in time for New Year celebrations.

The man got separated from his three hunting companions yesterday evening.

Don't let the morning cloud fool you - it is set to be a fine Boxing Day for New Zealanders, with Central Otago tipped as the best place to be.

Three people have been arrested thanks to a group of brave Colac Bay residents who helped police foil a bid to burgle a holiday home.

MP fought off challenge to gain reselection and contest the Clutha-Southland seat.

Christmas Day should be fine but be ready for thunderstorms in the coming days.

The owner of the mysterious object found washed up on a Southland beach has come forward.

There was a record downpour in Auckland, a tornado in Taranaki and "quake lights" above Wellington. Oh, and 2016 was likely also New Zealand's hottest year on record.

It's going to be a sunny one this weekend for most of the country.

Three boys were playing in the school grounds when they were approached by an unknown man.

The day after his Christmas party, driver was still three times over the drink-drive limit.

A former Canterbury primary school principal who groomed a young boy before sexually assaulting him over half a decade was today jailed for more than nine years.

New Zealand's new Prime Minister is a former farmer and literature student from smalltown Southland who once described himself as "specialising in being boring".

COMMENT: We've recently been supported by a Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund grant for a project called: What is the Southland accent?

15 year old Palmerston North girl, Sarah Ridsdale wins her first film award. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

One person has died and another has been airlifted to hospital with critical injuries.

At least two more schools have been investigated after complaints about seclusion rooms - including one that was eventually closed.

Police believed someone damaged the windows between 5pm and 8pm and were appealing for help from the community.

Gore's art gallery is the magnet, but other delights abound too, writes Eleanor Ainge Roy.

Government's plan to sell hundreds of state houses to NGOs has hit another hurdle.

Firefighters from across Southland who were called to an explosion at Dongwha New Zealand's plant in Mataura at 4.30pm are preparing to leave the scene.

New Zealand is in for a relatively dry day today with areas of morning cloud and isolated showers in the north, clearing around midday and becoming mostly sunny.

A teen who killed a man with one punch unsuccessfully attempted to have his sentence of two years' in prison lessened. But the Court

Scientists investigating the mechanics of the earthquake say it faulted in the same way the February 22, 2011, Christchurch Earthquake did.

The United States and Canada were New Zealand's biggest foreign investors over the last three years.

Thirty patients suffered partial sight loss because of eye clinic delays at two hospitals

Young people living in regional New Zealand have a better chance of owning their own home, according to new figures.

One person was transported to hospital after an Invercargill house was engulfed by fire this evening.

Officials are yet to release the final road statistics for the weekend, but as the holiday period came to a close at 6am this morning the toll stood at three.