David Carter has declared a drought in the Waikato and Ruapehu District, saying recent rainfalls appear to have had little effect on dry pastures.

The driver of a car that collided with a group of cyclists, killing three, has admitted causing their deaths.

Hamilton's new mayor is "horrified" by the $27.4 million paid by the previous council for staging the city's V8 Supercar race over the past three years.

A boy, 14, had to be restrained with handcuffs after he was caught allegedly drink driving.

An injured man broke a police officer's nose as the officer tried to help restrain him in an ambulance.

King Tuheitia first told Waikato-Tainui people he was firing a leading tribal figure during a heated verbal exchange.

US talk show queen Oprah Winfrey has arrived on Hamilton Island for the first leg of her whirlwind Australian adventure.

Good choices were rife at a Hamilton restaurant, especially the one to eat there.

Waikato-Tainui could be headed for the courts after a woman King Tuheitia fired claimed the move was unconstitutional.

A one-year-old baby is in a serious condition in Waikato Hospital after choking on a Twistie on Friday. The baby was brought in to Te Kuiti Hospital in the afternoon with choking and seizures after reportedly eating a "Twistie" snack.

The beef processing plant badly damaged by fire at Te Aroha, near Hamilton, overnight may be rebuilt into a world-class plant, owner Silver Fern Farms says.

Police are hunting a hit-and-driver who ran into a group of men fighting in central Hamilton overnight.

A Hamilton teenager led police on a high speed chase reaching speeds of 120km/h before he was caught early this morning.