Aucklanders spent their first day in level 3 travelling to local cafes, businesses and fast food joints, causing an 88.6 per cent per cent increase in light traffic.When comparing last Wednesday to Auckland’s first day in level…

As dog walkers and locals enjoyed the last of today’s sunlight at the summit of Mt Albert, detectives worked studiously on a small footpath nearby – a much more sobering scene – trying to determine how a woman’s body came to rest…

As New Zealand pushes for vaccination coverage of at least 90 per cent to protect against the spread of the Delta variant, the Herald’s daily vaccination tracker has become a vital tool for understanding our progress. Data specialist…

A teenager accused of threatening to kill non-Muslims has been granted name suppression after a lawyer argued the young man had a chance of being deradicalised.The 19-year-old Auckland man first appeared in the North Shore District…

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has lashed out at her critics, saying she is "sick of Queenslanders being attacked for doing the right thing".

Ms Palaszczuk was this morning asked whether the state's reopening strategy at 80 per cent COVID-19 vaccination would be in line with the national plan.

The state is predicted to reach the milestone by early December, but the government has so far refused to make any promises about what that will mean for the hard border restrictions and whether Queenslanders will be able to see their interstate relatives and friends at Christmas.

READ MORE: Queensland premier eyes relaunch of local cruise industry

Ms Palaszczuk today accused journalists of not being "across the issues" and said there was a lot of agitation "coming from Canberra".

"I'm just frankly sick of it," she said.

"I'm sick of Queenslanders being attacked for doing the right thing, for getting vaccinated and the fact… Queenslanders have done everything (Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young) has asked them to do to keep this state safe."

She said NSW and Victoria were going through a "horrendous time" dealing with massive outbreaks.

"Families can't see each other, kids aren't going to school, and people aren't working and that's taking a toll on people's mental health," she said.

"I don't want that for Queensland and I think everyone needs to take a really deep breath here."

She said the freedoms allowed in some states at 80 per cent vaccination would take Queensland "backwards", noting when Victoria reached its 80 per cent vaccination target, people would be allowed to have 30 people to their house for dinner.

"At the moment everyone in Queensland can have 100 people over," she said.

Tourism operators have pleaded for the government to release a clear roadmap out of the pandemic so they can plan their relaunch.

As of yesterday, 61.53 per cent of eligible Queenslanders had received one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 42.78 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Queensland today recorded one new local case of COVID-19 – a student linked to the St Thomas Moore College cluster at Sunnybank who tested positive on day nine of home quarantine.

The student was in quarantine for their entire infectious period.

A fellow modeller has hit out at new Covid-19 modelling, calling it “overcooked” and “rushed” as it suggests nearly 7000 deaths with a 75 per cent vaccination rate.A new modelling report has indicated it’s possible to vaccinate…

An Auckland bus driver is in hospital after a passenger dragged him from his seat and struck him repeatedly in an 11-minute “violent and unprovoked” attack during a late-night suburban run.And police today revealed it was the second…

A student stuck on the edge of the Auckland region has been repeatedly denied an exemption to get to her school in Hamilton – and her mother fears her education is suffering.Sophie Stening, 14, has been isolating at home in rural…

Former MP Taito Phillip Field, who has died in Auckland, was a source of both pride and shame for the Labour Party.First elected in 1993, he was New Zealand’s First Pacific Island MP but was later the first MP jailed for corruption…

The Labour Party’s governing council is moving to change the way it elects the party’s leader, giving more power to the party caucus.If the changes go ahead, it would mean the next Labour leader could be elected by the party’s caucus…