Stories by Jake McKee

Some immigrants are applying for refugee status because they've tested positive for HIV in New Zealand and are worried the government will kick them out.

Kāpiti Coast community leaders are concerned social media platform TikTok has a role in vehicle thefts around Wellington, averaging about 10 per day.

Health researchers are hoping an ambitious new study will change what they say are unfair blood donation rules for gay and bisexual men.

Safe sex advocates want the HIV prevention drug PrEP made more accessible after Pharmac announced it will drop its price by almost 75 percent.

Kāinga Ora is positive about its First Home Partner scheme, despite taking more than three months for a single property to be settled.

Transmission Gully is getting a thumbs up from motorists who put it to the test, and from people in coastal communities the traffic bypasses.

Transmission Gully finally opening to traffic also means a stop to heavy fines that have been mounting for the road's builder because of delays.

A heavy rain watch remains in place for the North Island's East Coast as the sodden district recovers from last week's flooding.

Central Hawke's Bay District Council is anticipating an expensive bill as it prepares to clean up from heavy rain that has hit the area over the past two days.

Doctors flagrantly broke rules for prescribing a safe-sex drug during 2021 Covid-19 lockdowns and say the requirements are "out of date" and require patients to detail their sexual history.

Ukrainians and their supporters at a Wellington protest say it's agonising not being able to help those at home, but are unimpressed at a request to merge with the anti-Covid mandate protest.

Misinformation researchers are concerned the protest at Parliament is becoming a "free-for-all" as the idea of any leadership within the blockade area slips away.

There is concern New Zealand's pandemic-driven brain gain of skilled workers is turning into a "brain drain" as young people head overseas.

Aspiring homeowners are locking up their lives - including possibly cutting health costs - to try increase their chances of getting loans approved by banks under stricter rules.

Swimming New Zealand chief executive Steve Johns and Drowning Prevention Auckland chief executive Nicola Keen-Biggelaar want to see water safety made compulsory in the New Zealand Curriculum.

The grass at Kaimaumau, in the Far North, is no longer green as a major fire enters its 20th day of burning.

The Department of Conservation has made moves to fix "organisational deficiencies" highlighted by a near-fatal jet boat crash with a kayaker.

Tania Sharkey, who is the lead counsel assisting the hearing, says Pacific survivors are over-represented in abuse in care, but under-represented in the data.

People can already get Covid-19 vaccine boosters four months after their second dose instead of waiting until next month, the Ministry of Health has clarified.

The longest Covid-19 hospitalisation in Auckland and Northland during the first three months of the current outbreak was 61 days, and an overwhelming majority of patients were Māori or Pacific.

Grounded Kiwis are hoping their calls for changes to managed isolation are heard and that the threat of Omicron does not cause delays.

Renting a home is getting more expensive, particularly in Hawke's Bay, where rent prices have increased 20.4 percent, according to a Massey University report.

The clock is ticking for the government to get children aged five to 11 vaccinated against Covid-19. Audio

Fire and Emergency is urging double-vaccinated people to train up as new volunteer firefighters to help fill a void created by the unvaccinated.

The potential spread of Covid-19 in apartments, particularly ones without windows that open, is raising alarm.