Stories by Amy Williams

The retro neon sign that lit up Auckland's beloved Asian food hall Mercury Plaza has been redeployed for a worthy cause - a lockdown game of scrabble.

Residents from one Auckland street have collaborated to create a special momento of life in their neighbourhood during lockdown.

An almost overnight slump in advertising has given artists an opportunity of a lifetime - to have their work displayed on illuminated billboards around the country.

About 800,000 students have gone back to school virtually - and different families have their own approaches.

Chalk, toilet rolls and rubbish destined for recycling are providing people with a creative license and a distraction from the startling statistics of a pandemic.

Retail NZ says the expansion of essential goods will provide a little respite for businesses that have had to close entirely, while giving consumers options.

A sports management expert says some local sports clubs may not survive if the coronavirus pandemic continues to decimate the sporting calendar.

Almost a year on from the Christchurch terror attacks, a high school in South Auckland has a special gift for the city's Muslim community. Video

Despite rain today, farmers continue to struggle with water shortages, and the agriculture minister says it's likely further drought conditions will be declared.

Water restrictions have been extended to communities along Northland's east coast whose water supplies are at risk of being contaminated, making it undrinkable.

A woman convicted of smuggling in Asiatic black bear bile from China was already on her third warning for bringing in specimens of other threatened and endangered species.

Australia's domestic spy agency has given a frank and unprecedented account of foreign interference within its borders that national security experts say applies here too.

Politicians who have appeared on Dancing with the Stars over the past 15 years say the publicity could backfire for would-be politician Hannah Tamaki if she puts on her dancing shoes.

A passenger who was on board the Cambodian cruise cut short by the cornavirus outbreak has arrived back in the country to find she did not need her temperature checked.

For the first time a woman will appear today in a New Zealand court accused of smuggling in Asiatic black bear bile from China.

A chronic shortage of family doctors in Northland means some patients turning up at Whangarei Hospital's emergency department are sent away with a voucher for the city's private emergency clinic.

Friends of a cancer patient have rallied to rent billboards in Auckland to help fundraise for a cancer treatment he needs that's not funded in New Zealand.

It is costing some property owners $700 to truck in 10,000 litres of water - $300 more than last season and holidaymakers have been affected.

Whakatāne hospital doctors, nurses and specialists are taking stress leave after the horror of last week's deadly eruption at Whakaari / White Island. Audio

The bus company at the centre of Auckland's industrial disputes has brought in 28 drivers from the Philippines so far this year.

Thousands of commuters in Auckland will be affected again tomorrow, with the latest negotiations between the bus drivers' union and their employer failing to reach an agreement.

Auckland teenagers who campaigned to save a bus route four years ago have re-grouped as young men to save it again.

Speed limits around the country's schools will be reduced to make streets safer for students, and more speed cameras are planned to enforce the change.

Secondary school principals around the country are increasingly worried by delays to regulate the vaping industry.

A long-running community festival in the Prime Minister's electorate has had the plug pulled to make way for traffic to events in other parts of Auckland on the same day - including a cruise ship's…