Stories by Ruth Hill

Nearly one in five 15-year-olds are not meeting the lowest benchmark for reading, and a further 20 percent are only achieving at the most basic level.

International visitors could soon be pouring across the border in similar numbers to pre-pandemic times - but that might not be a good thing, according to one tourism expert.

Most non-urgent operations in the Wellington region have been cancelled this week due to high numbers of hospital staff falling sick with Covid-19 or being forced to isolate.

Up to one in three patients coming through Hutt Hospital's emergency department have Covid-19, as the region's three hospitals suffer staff shortages. .

They are known as "bunker babies" - children born during the pandemic who have spent their short lives in and out of lockdown.

New Zealanders are putting their hands up to take on the job of settling refugees, through a new programme that is on top of the annual quota.

Airline passengers fear the ad hoc approach to vaccine pass checks and inconsistent policing of mask wearing are undermining the government protection framework.

While families who have travelled to Starship Hospital for their children's specialist treatment deal with an added stress, doctors worry about the kids missing out.

Orthopaedic surgeons say it may be impossible to ever "catch up" on all the operations delayed due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

New guidelines from the WHO calling for an end to compulsory treatment for mental illness should be a wake-up call for New Zealand, mental health experts say.

Te Papa is hosting New Zealand's first major exhibition of surrealist art in nearly half a century, with 180 masterpieces from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen on show from Saturday.

Police are appealing a High Court ruling that may call into question the legal basis for more than 20,000 formal written warnings issued over the last decade.

Capital and Coast District Health Board is on a charm offensive to combat any vaccine reluctance among the Pacific community.

Former members of the Exclusive Brethren allege the secretive sect is breaking up families, putting members in isolation and attacking their livelihoods in order to maintain control.

Political pundits and media experts are warning that artificial grassroots organisations - nicknamed "astroturfs" - are being used to manipulate and mobilise public opinion for political gain.

Weeding out fake news and misinformation is becoming increasingly difficult in the new media environment where social media rules, an academic says.

The country's biggest health sector union is facing a shake-up following an external review of the board's performance and the resignation of several senior board members within a year.

An internal stoush at Pharmac has blocked funding for a life-extending drug for bowel cancer patients that's available in 52 other countries.

About 30 percent of drinking water assets and 20 percent of wastewater networks have passed their use-by dates, and up to 60 percent of pipelines need replacing within 30 years, the report says.

Real estate agents are being accused of fuelling the red-hot property market by manipulating so-called "estimated prices" on websites.

Schools around the country are paying tens of thousands of dollars to private consultants to change the way they teach reading.

Poverty, household stress, busy parents and digital dependence are among the complex factors blamed for a rise in the number of children starting school with a toddler's vocabulary.

Alarming numbers of children are starting school with very poor language skills, with some only speaking like two year olds.

The Solicitor-General's bid to challenge five district court decisions throwing out drink-driving charges could be itself open to challenges, claims one defence lawyer.

Leaving for overseas has been a rite of passage for young New Zealanders for decades, but Covid-19 has prompted thousands of migratory Kiwis to return. Audio