The Rugby World Cup "party central" will be "a destination second to none" and will be ready in time for the event, Auckland Waterfront Development Agency chairman Bob Harvey says.

Research by the University of Otago found the social cost of injury in the home cost about $13b a year, while estimates by the Ministry of Transport put road injury costs at $3.84b.

Spiro (30-1) stunned punters with a gutsy run down the straight to win the group two Wellington Cup (2400m) at Trentham on Saturday.

Alison Shanks has stood on the dais to receive world championship and Commonwealth Games gold medals. But she remembers just as vividly standing at the helm of the Spirit of New Zealand.

Every year a Navy ship is selected to lead the Auckland Anniversary Regatta. Loaded with VIPs and Navy crew, the vessel becomes the guard ship for the regatta and is the platform from which races are started.

Sir Peter Jackson has undergone surgery after being admitted to Wellington Hospital with acute stomach pains.

A jet aircraft carrying 115 people had to make an emergency landing at Dunedin airport this evening after a bird-strike incident.

Convicted murderer Stephen Hudson has filed private prosecutions against witnesses who gave evidence against him.