A Wellington coroner has recommended a local church overhaul its carpark layout after a second child was killed in the L-shaped lot.

Chris Martin knocked off two milestones last week and he is keen to make it a trifecta in the second test starting tomorrow.

Police have charged missing diver Colin Smithies with wasting police time after a $50,000 two-day search for him near Porirua turned out to be pointless - as he had hitchhiked to Hawkes Bay.

The diver missing for two days near Titahi Bay has been found - after walking into a police station in Hawke's Bay.

The search for a paua diver missing at Titahi Bay in Porirua resumed at first light today.

'Oh my God, I'm being swept away, come and get me,' was the last thing a NZ woman heard from her son, phoning from floodwaters.

Police have named the paua diver missing in Titahi Bay in Porirua, who they believe may still be alive.

Police say a paua diver missing in Titahi Bay in Porirua may still be alive.

More than 40 people are searching for a diver missing near Titahi Bay, Porirua, since last night.

A 10-year-old Hamilton girl has died after cycling down a flight of stairs. The girl had been cycling to the dairy with her aunty and cousin when the accident happened.

Three boaties who spent the night in Cook Strait could have been rescued much sooner.

Both of the men missing after their small boat capsized off Wellington's south coast last night have been found alive.

A would-be robber fled empty-handed after an attempted aggravated robbery at a Wellington Post Shop today.

Christchurch's Boxing Day aftershocks and the recent wet weather have seen more than 1000 claims lodged with the Earthquake Commission.