Wellington Region

Extremely dry conditions affecting North Island farms are not expected to improve in the short-term, the Minister of Agriculture says.

The cold snap has brought the first snow of the year to Otago's Cardrona ski field. Audio

Lower Hutt residents will be able to have their say on Hutt City Council's long-term plan from next Tuesday.

Fire doors were not up to scratch, smoke detectors didn't work, and alarms weren't monitored, an investigation spurred by the Loafers Lodge blaze has found.

A Porirua high school has raised more than $72,000 towards a trip to Europe - the first time the school has ever planned a trip to the continent.

Precious possessions belonging to former residents of Wellington's Loafers Lodge have been recovered and returned to their owners.

Metlink has confirmed fares for people aged under 25 will return to full price in the Wellington region.

In the meantime Te Whatu Ora was looking at other options including a carpooling app, and working with councils on "alternative parking arrangements".

Smoke could be seen from several kilometres away.

Oranga Tamariki will not say how long it has been involved with the family of two young siblings thought to have been deliberately injured in Lower Hutt.

Firefighters have successfully extinguished a large blaze at a rural workshop in Ōtaki, north of Wellington.

The toddler's uncle told RNZ police had been in touch on Friday for the first time since January, on the five-month anniversary of his death.

The injuries are believed to have been inflicted deliberately over "a long period of time".

Five months on from the boy's death, no one has been charged and his family says the police updates have stopped coming.

A new cohort of police dogs and their handlers have graduated from the Dog Training Centre in Upper Hutt.

Two track workers were nearly hit by a train on Wellington's Johnsonville line last year.

Tickets were quickly purchased by scalpers and up for sale again on social media for three times the price, a disappointed fan says.

A mother of three says she was left humiliated and unable to hold her baby after a simple treatment left "checkerboard" burn marks on her chest.

Newly released documents reveal the threats after a display panel showing the English version of the Treaty of Waitangi was spray painted.

Wellington city and regional councils are considering a plan to build bus priority lanes along main roads near the waterfront.