News
Government seeks info on rescue helicopter deployment after complaints
Fire and Emergency lines rescue teams are upset they must go through police to get a chopper and are sometimes being turned down.
Lessons from the Covid inquiry
The 500-plus-page report looks at what it calls some of the "most difficult and divisive responses around vaccines and mandates".
NZTA picks cheaper but less effective option to fix highway
A newly released business case shows the recommended option would cut closures by 53 percent while a full fix would cut them by 70 percent.
IT project behind overhaul of firearms regulations put on hold
Police said "nothing has gone wrong" and that the project was on pause because of regulatory uncertainty.
Riverlink project affecting Hutt River water quality
Monitors in the water upstream and downstream from the epicentre at Melling Bridge have shown some changes in quality.
New hospital's 'approved budget' higher than government claimed
The approved budget for the new Dunedin Hospital is just over $2b, though the government continues to use a figure millions less than that.
Second OT boot camp will see teens stay longer
Oranga Tamariki's second boot camp, which starts next week, will be longer in the lock-up phase and have more staff.
NZ's cybersecurity barely up to scratch, agency warns
Threats are spiralling, but security remains very patchy, the Government Communications Security Bureau has told MPs.
US far-right Proud Boys put on NZ terrorist list despite not meeting threshold
The NZ Security Intelligence Service was ambivalent about the group being dropped from the list in 2025.
NZ spy agency providing Iran war threat intelligence
The GCSB Director-General told MPs it was a very volatile geopolitical environment.
Government pushes back deadline for agencies' plans for Budget bids
A newly-released Treasury report said significant trade-offs were still required.
Exemption from keeping war records sent back to the drawing board
A select committee has sent the exemption back to officials to look at again.
Engineers say NZTA's bridge update will have only 'minor positive' impact
It comes as trucking groups express worry about missed opportunity to make more highway bridges able to carry heavier vehicles in future.
Transpower needs 'fit for purpose' Public Works Act to expand electricity transmission system
A select committee is hearing submissions on the Public Works Amendment Bill that aims to streamline land acquisition powers and compensation.
Truckers surprised by update of NZ's 50-year-old manual on bridges
Bridges built recently in Auckland Waikato are off limits to the heaviest haulers. Audio
Transpower questions early warning system gap in Civil Defence Act overhaul
An overhaul of the legislation has reached the crucial stage of select committee submissions, after a years-long effort to replace the 24-year-old Civil Defence Act.
Who can order a rescue chopper? Tensions rising on front line
Fire crews aren't supposed to call in helicopters without police authorisation, but some say it's taking too long.
How to catch and move the country's tiniest bird
If you want to catch a tiny bird and move it to a new home, you need expert help and your car's aircon. Audio
'Not a first responder': Lake Taupō harbourmaster speak on rescue of boy
The harbourmaster helped search for a 14-year-old who had jumped off a burning boat he had been left in charge of.
'Happily give it back': Builder offers infamous mayoral desk to the city
Raymond Morgan bought it for $200 last year then found over 200 documents in it, dated between 1988 and 2004, in a locked side cupboard.
'Sort it out': Minister's frustration with flooded cycleway
Commuting cyclists are choosing to avoid the tunnel and go through a pedestrian tunnel on bikes.
More than half of police force considering quitting - union survey
But police bosses say 57 percent of officers having considered quitting in the last year is not a pressure point for pay negotiations.
AI and deep fakes becoming problematic for courts
It might take law changes to keep them out of trials, the government's chief legal advisers say.
Cyclists thigh-deep in water days after rain
The Petone railway underpass on a nearly-new $70 million cycleway is thigh-deep in water more than two days after the storm and heavy rain in Wellington.