Public Interest Journalism Fund

A quarry worker found himself between a rock and a hard place when he didn’t properly communicate with his boss that his absence from work was because he was in prison.

A woman seen on CCTV kissing a man before he allegedly raped her said it was not "the password that unlocks access to my whole body".

A judge has found a Wānaka man guilty of drink-driving and careless driving, despite the man’s claim his cousin was behind the wheel when they crashed in Queenstown.

A Queenstown man who gave a bar manager a "dead leg" after being refused more drinks has dodged a conviction.

A man who knocked out a stranger’s teeth with knuckle-dusters had a cache of illegal firearms in his closet, a court has heard.

A man who held his previous partner hostage for 15 hours, strangling her twice and forcing her to take MDMA, has failed to have his sentence reduced.

A Cromwell man says bystanders cheered him on as he did a "long and sustained" burnout in central Queenstown.

An Arrowtown couple whose Staffordshire bull terriers allegedly attacked a Siberian husky have successfully appealed their dogs’ menacing classification.

A prominent Dunedin businessman has been charged with rape, but denies the allegation.

A man who went on a thieving spree in Invercargill, stealing from his previous partner, her son and a local primary school, had a criminal record spanning 10 pages, a court has heard.

A Queenstown mechanic who defrauded a Christchurch couple says he will move to Australia after completing his court sentence.

A man who held his previous partner hostage for 15 hours, strangling her twice and forcing her to take MDMA, has failed to have his sentence reduced.

A Charleston man was "rocked to the core" when his pants were pulled down at a public event, a court has heard.

A middle-aged boy racer who did a wheelspin the "length of a rugby field" in Mataura has blamed his driving on the breakup of his marriage.

A Southland man who held his previous partner hostage for 15 hours, strangling her twice and forcing her to take MDMA, has failed to have his sentence reduced.