The Health Minister says Te Whatu Ora will carry out a rapid clinical review after a patient died in the waiting room of the Waikato Hospital emergency department.

The prime minister says there is a long way to go before fuel relief payments will stop, as fuel prices finally drop below the $3 mark for the first time since March.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has promised to scrap the emergency housing target, and "abolish the criminalisation of homelessness" if Labour wins the election.

Italy and the Balkans are feeling the impact of a heatwave that has caused hundreds of excess deaths and disrupted daily life across Europe for more than a week.

Oranga Tamariki took months to respond to an Education Review Office letter raising "serious and immediate concerns" about children at Gloriavale after it was sent to a former staff member whose inbox was no longer monitored.