Samantha Gee

Emergency services are taking a precautionary approach due to the risk posed by cracks in stopbanks protecting the township from the Wairau River. Audio

Twenty-three properties around Christchurch Men's Prison are unable to drink water from their private bores, a month after a fuel leak was discovered, Corrections has confirmed.

Nelson Hospital is not burning coal this winter for the first time since the late 1800s.

Part of SH6 will remain at 60km/h after a campaign against the government rollback of speed limit reductions.

Nelson Hato Hone St John staff are split across four stations and are unable to properly debrief after sometimes traumatic call-outs.

But Rohan O'Neill-Stevens says he hasn't ruled out a return to local politics in the future.

About 14,000 litres of diesel leached into the ground at the prison in May after the hatch of a fuel tank was left open.

A propulsion fault meant the ferry had to wait at anchor for hours in Queen Charlotte Sound overnight while a specialist electrician fixed the problem.

About 14,000 litres of diesel has leached into the ground at Christchurch Men's Prison, after the hatch of a fuel tank was left open.

A man who snapped during an argument with his mother over dinner and used a crowbar and a knife to kill her before handing himself into police has been sentenced to life in prison.

Nelson City Council amended their contract for the team's Trafalgar Centre venue, enabling them to sell food and drinks at home games.

Four district councils were vying for the coveted title, but there could be only one winner. Audio

Two buildings will be refurbished while a whole new building will be built.

Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po was brought to tears during her first official visit to the top of the South Island.

An independent evaluation of the agency's direct social investment model hailed it as an 'outstanding exemplar of an organisation delivering public services that actually work'.

In the 1830s, the Crown made a promise to Māori in Te Tauihu. The legal battle is still going.

"It's not good enough to say that Te Tauihu can't host, because how we host is really up to us," Kahu PakiPaki says.

Pike River, based on the November 2010 explosion, will debut at the Sydney Film Festival next month.

There are hopes the kiwi will thrive outside a sanctuary similar to what has unfolded in Wellington.

It is the first time a new finfish species has been tested off the New Zealand coastline.

Sea conditions prevented the earthworks from happening before the rain storm hit.

In 1995, 13 Polytechnic students and a DOC worker died after a viewing platform collapsed at Cave Creek, on the West Coast. Audio

Nelson City Council hydrologist Chris Strang says there has been an increase in storms and their unpredictability.

Amanda Field says the staffing shortages, run down buildings and lack of bed space is now the worst she's ever seen it.

"They've been very vocal about how they're going to look after the community, but actually I think they've possibly chosen the worst place they could possibly site their operations."