Bay of Plenty and northern Gisborne are next in line to feel the effects of a storm that's already flooded streets and washed muddy water through parts of the country.

A man in his 20s is dead after a tree rolled onto him near Nelson this morning.

A sawmilling company "completely misused" their drug and alcohol policy to drug test 190 staff after cannabis plants were found on company grounds, a union says.

Matt Philp meets some of the creative talent behind Nelson's upcoming winter festival season.

Pellets laced with 1080 poison will be fed to trout to assess potential risks from the planned massive dump of the pesticide in native forests.

The Employment Court has awarded a salad bar worker who was unjustifiably dismissed when she was sacked by text message on her second day on the job more than $2000 towards legal costs.

Darryl Rolton wouldn't hesitate to help a mate in trouble. That instinctive nature cost the Christchurch man his life on Saturday when he leapt 11 metres off the Maruia Falls.

New Zealand's most religious regions have been revealed in the latest Census data. Click here for an interactive graphic looking at the various districts.

Kayakers who rescued a man who fell over a waterfall near Nelson Lakes National Park today have been praised by police for their bravery.

A 5-year-old girl killed when the motorbike she was riding hit a fence may have panicked while on the machine, a coroner says.

The husband of a woman who died when their car plunged into a creek fought to control the car as she became unresponsive at the wheel moments before the fatal crash.

A captain of a fishing vessel in Nelson was making more than $100,000 a year and living in a state house, Housing Minister Nick Smith said last night.

A truck driver was trapped in his cab for more than an hour after crashing into a rock wall north of Nelson overnight.

A sleeping household had a lucky escape when a stolen car nearly ploughed into their Nelson bedroom.

A 7-year-old Nelson boy is in a critical condition after being hit by a school bus he walked in front of this morning, police say.