Three days after Queenstown’s cops warned hospitality workers to be vigilant over a rising number of sexual assaults, they were dealing with reports of yet another.A male was the victim of the latest alleged attack, with detective…

By Ben Plummer Auckland’s new-look CBD gateway to the harbour has been opened to the public.Auckland mayor Phil Goff and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled the long-awaited Te Wānanga public space on the waterfront on…

A 59-year-old dental hygienist originally from Chile who was recruited by her son to serve in what authorities said was one of New Zealand’s largest illegal drug syndicates has been ordered to serve 11 years and six months in prison….

Thousands of kids are criss-crossing our big cities to get into the wealthier schools of their choice – and continuing a long trend of abandoning the lower-decile schools in their own neighbourhoods, a new NZHerald interactive tool…

An Australian woman has made it in time to see her dying father after red tape, quarantine rules and a demand for her to spend $8000 on a private plane left her in fear she wouldn't make it.

Anna Coffey, 32, shared a photo of herself with her dad, who is in a palliative care ward in Melbourne.

Ms Coffey, who lives in New York City where she is studying, rushed home to Australia see her father one last time after he had a stroke.

READ MORE: Woman watched dad die on Skype after being banned from leaving quarantine

"Yeah, it was amazing. Just pure relief actually. Really, really special moment," she said on Today this morning.

"It was a bit surreal actually just thinking back to a few days ago when I was completely hopeless that that moment would happen, to actually be there was very overwhelming, very amazing.

"It was a bit heartbreaking, obviously to see him in the way that he is. But I was just so, so happy to be there and hold his hand. Even though he was sleeping for most of the time, it was special to be able to sit with him."

Ms Coffey flew into Sydney where she was put straight into hotel quarantine, despite being vaccinated.

READ MORE: National Cabinet set to slash the number of Australians allowed home

She was initially told she needed exemptions from NSW and Victoria before she was allowed to reach Melbourne.

And she feared by the time her 14 days of quarantine were up it would be too late.

As well as needing a rare exemption to leave quarantine, she was told she would need to pay up to $8000 for a charter flight so she could travel alone, despite testing negative for coronavirus.

Authorities eventually gave her permission, and charity Angel Flight flew her there to save her the money.

"I tried to explain with words but I don't think there are any words that kind of capture how thankful I was to Angel Flight…the kindness, just unbelievable," she said.

"I think this whole experience should make a change to the process so other people don't have to go through what I've been through."

While Ms Coffey has been able to say goodbye, many other Australians who have rushed home to see dying relatives have not been given permission to leave hotel quarantine early, even if vaccinated and test negative.

"I just really hope that the governments take that into consideration when they're looking through this process. At the moment, it's untenable, this is going to keep happening, unfortunately, so something big has to change because these moments are just so, so important," she said.

In her photo shared of the eventual reunion, Ms Coffey is dressed in full PPE at the bedside of her father.

She will have to go back into quarantine to complete her 14 days.

James Turbitt flew from Belgium and was denied an exemption to travel from Melbourne to Perth to visit his sick mother before she died.

Even if he was allowed out, he had been told he'd need to charter a plane to WA.

Maria O'Dea, who lives in the UK, watched her father John die via a Skype call from hotel quarantine in Queensland, after being refused permission to get out to visit, despite also being vaccinated.

However Mark Killan and his partner did manage to get to see his father in Queensland, after paying tens of thousands for a private plane from Sydney, where they were in quarantine. They were also fully vaccinated.

The US has hit out at New Zealand, officially downgrading us for our weak prison sentences for child sex traffickers and lack of prosecution for labour trafficking. The Biden administration on Thursday designated 17 countries as…

Auckland motorists heading into the city centre are being told to expect delays as emergency services respond to two crashes on the north-western motorway. Road authorities have reported a crash on Lincoln Rd, Henderson, just after…

Lawyers for Donald Trump's company have pleaded not guilty to tax crime charges, along with the Trump Organisation's longtime finance chief.

It is the first criminal case arising from a two-year investigation into the former president's company.

Trump Organisation CFO Allen Weisselberg was arraigned a day after a grand jury returned an indictment charging him and Trump's company with tax crimes.

READ MORE: Criminal charges expected for Trump's company, finance chief

The lawyers for the Trump Organisation pleaded not guilty to scheme to defraud and other charges, including conspiracy, grand larceny and tax fraud.

Trump himself was not charged.

The case against Weisselberg and the Trump Organisation involves fringe benefits given to employees, like the use of apartments, cars and school tuition.

Weisselberg, 73, has worked for the Trump Organisation for decades and has intimate knowledge of its business dealings that could be useful to prosecutors looking to dig deeper into the company.

However, his lawyers say he will fight the charges, and there's no indication he is willing to cooperate.

From RNZ For most New Zealanders in their 70s, homelessness is not something that crosses the mind.But one Papatoetoe woman is facing exactly that, with her uninhabitable tornado-hit rental now up for sale, and her possessions…

Hundreds are urgently being told to isolate after being linked to a student nurse who worked at two Sydney hospitals while infectious with COVID-19.

A total of 400 people have been identified as close contacts of the case, causing staffing chaos at Sydney's Royal North Shore and Fairfield hospitals.

The staggering number of people linked to the unvaccinated student nurse comes as the coronavirus continues to spread throughout Sydney despite the strict lockdown.

NSW reported 24 new locally acquired cases on Thursday, 17 of which are linked to previously confirmed cases.

https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1410403253435523075

There have now been 175 cases linked to the Bondi cluster, traced back to a limousine driver who transported an international flight crew.

The total number of cases reported since June 16 is now at 195.

Health authorities on Thursday night also confirmed a person who attended the mass vaccination hub in Sydney's west has tested positive to COVID-19.

Anyone who visited the centre at Sydney Olympic Park on June 29 between 3.30-5pm is now considered a casual contact.

The centre has been thoroughly cleaned but hundreds have been seen queuing there in recent days as authorities pushed for more people to be vaccinated.

Testing is continuing for the large number of contacts with the 24-year-old student nurse who tested positive for the virus.

"The wards that that staff member worked at have been locked down," Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.

"NSW Health is contacting patients' families who may have visited these wards and identified close contacts of this case to advise them of any action they need to take."

READ MORE: Minister re-enters quarantine after contact classification error

One of the student nurse's close contacts – who is an aged care worker – has now also tested positive for COVID-19.

Like the student nurse, the aged care worker also works at Royal North Shore Hospital, Fairfield Hospital and Royal Ryde Rehabilitation Hospital.

It is believed that worker had not worked while infectious.

"We are undertaking further investigations to understand the direction of transmission," Dr Chant said.

"One of her household contacts is positive and then also a close friend … is also positive."

READ MORE: Woman to visit dying dad after leaving quarantine limbo

NSW Health is investigating why the student nurse was not vaccinated.

Student nurses should be, regardless of age.

The state is currently the epicentre of Australia's latest outbreak with 195 locally acquired cases reported since the beginning of the outbreak on June 16.

Overnight almost 60,000 NSW residents came forward to be tested.

READ MORE: Bunnings among new venues in Bondi Junction, Rose Bay and Strathfield added to exposure sites list

Three new vaccination hubs to be opened in NSW

The NSW government will open three new mass vaccination hubs, two in Sydney and one in Wollongong.

One will open in Macquarie Fields in the southwest of Sydney, and another will be opened in the CBD.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian described the Homebush hub as a "great success".

READ MORE: Queensland lockdown hangs on tomorrow's COVID-19 cases

"We envisage that once these centres are up and running that NSW Health will be able to administer up to 200,000 vaccines a week," she said.

"Once the supplies arrive, the challenge will be having all hands on deck.

"So we are doing our part."

A fourth new vaccination hub in the Hunter was announced earlier.

Another Virgin flight named as exposure site

Two passengers on a flight from the Gold Coast to Sydney have tested positive to coronavirus.

The passengers were on VA524 on June 26.

"We understand that both were isolating, but this is just still being confirmed from the second passenger," Dr Chant said.

"This highlights the importance of us being able to find people very quickly, get them tested and then we can be confident if they are negative that they are not a risk to the community."

You can find out more details about how to book your vaccine through the Federal Government health site here.