Labour is increasingly being held prisoner by the Greens as leader Phil Goff "cuddles up'' to its potential coalition partner and its policies, Finance Minister Bill English says.
A mostly trouble-free Guy Fawkes night was marred by a handful of child injuries and a spike in terrified pets going missing.
An oil spill response team remains on standby as salvors continue the slow process of pumping oil off the Rena one month after it ran aground.
A survey showing nearly half of all New Zealanders are just scraping by indicates all is not well for the country's poorest families, an economist says.
A man has been arrested after a patron was bashed unconscious outside a Nelson hotel.
A Reefton teenager is fighting for his life after a single vehicle crash on the West Coast last night.
The All Blacks have performed an impromptu haka on the steps of Parliament as their official World Cup victory celebrations neared their end.
A father who disregarded a Family Court order by failing to return one of his children to his former partner has had his conviction upheld on appeal.
A former business manager sacked from an upmarket Auckland BMW dealership over allegations he falsely documented car finance deals has failed in his bid for compensation.
Maritime New Zealand has ordered the owners of the cargo ship grounded off Tauranga to start a salvage operation.
A Tui beer billboard that apparently pokes fun at the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs is an unfortunate coincidence, the brewery says - but it won't be coming down until Monday.
A notorious escape artist has become the first person to break out of the new Mt Eden Corrections Facility, having famously escaped from the old Mt Eden Prison in 2008.
Firefighters struggled with limited water supplies as they battled in vain to save a rural Canterbury homestead from a massive fire.
A planned shake-up of the Defence Force could end up putting under-equipped and under-trained personnel at risk, a defence expert says.
Two frenzied cow attacks have sparked calls to take care around the hormonal beasts during calving season.
Fuel is being pumped away from cracks in the hull of container ship that ran aground off the coast of Tauranga as a precaution while authorities monitor the risk of an oil spill.
Tongan rugby fans formed a sea of red and white as they flocked to a team training session in Wellington today with hopes of getting a signature or even a kiss from the players.
Rescuers' frantic efforts were unable to revive a 35-year-old Palmerston North man who drowned after getting caught up in metre-high swells on a west coast surf beach.
Christchurch residents were shaken awake by a magnitude 4.0 quake this morning but there have been no reports of damage.
A victims' rights group is decrying the lack of real consequences for killers after four of the six men convicted of a Timaru man's death were granted parole.
