By Carmina Blewett of RNZ A century-old pōhutukawa in the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden is at risk after the council left it off its protected tree schedule.Auckland Council admitted human error likely resulted in the pōhutukawa…

A teenager who decapitated two stags while on late-night poaching missions during lockdown has been sentenced to community work.Renata Winiata Paorakingi Sweeney, 19, appeared in the Dunedin District Court on Thursday after pleading…

A green-zone breach at Brisbane Airport, involving mixing with two red-zone passengers, may have affected passengers flying to New Zealand.It has prompted health authorities here to advise passengers arriving in New Zealand to monitor…

The fine for drivers caught using their phones behind the wheel almost doubles from today, but those who have had their lives turned upside down by distracted drivers say it doesn’t go far enough.The fine for anyone caught goes…

Police are investigating the sudden death of a baby in Auckland. Police were called to the scene in Red Hill, southeast of Auckland, at 10.45am on Thursday.”Police are currently making initial inquiries into the circumstances…

Police have charged a man with dangerous driving causing injury over a two-car crash near Clive that ended with one driver trapped in a ditch.Paula Donkin, in her 40s, had broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a lacerated liver after…

A 34-year-old man is accused of all but destroying a country golf course by ploughing it with a tractor.

The man allegedly used a disc plough to tear up most of the fairways and greens of Dunedoo golf course in the NSW Central West on Tuesday evening.

He allegedly drove the tractor away but left the hydraulic disc plough on one of the greens.

READ MORE: Golf course shuts holes after wayward drives risk lives

The 34-year-old man was arrested at a property on Ballinda Road about 9am yesterday.

He has been charged with destroying or damaging property, using an offensive weapon to commit and indictable offence, entering enclosed non-agricultural lands to interfere with a business, using an unregistered Class A motor vehicle on a road and possessing two unregistered firearms.

He appeared before Mudgee Local Court yesterday and was granted conditional bail.

He will reappear at the same court on Wednesday May 5.

Golf Club general manager Ricky Bush said the club was a "vital part of the town".

"People were just staring at the mess and starting to cry. They couldn't believe it," he said.

"We were the only sport in town which had kept going through the pandemic."

It is estimated the damage will put the golf course out of action for at least four months.

Dunedoo is a village of about 700 residents outside of Dubbo.

Whanganui District Council and iwi are looking at partnering in a joint initiative to address the housing crisis recently described as horrific by local iwi.The traditional roles and functions of councils will come under the spotlight…

By RNZ More than $3 billion worth of goods linked to forced or child labour are being imported by New Zealand each year, according to new research by World Vision.The report, Risky Goods New Zealand Imports , outlines which…

Work is underway to combine all of Wellington’s police Adult Sexual Assault units into one response team.The Herald can reveal plans are in motion to join the four Wellington District Adult Sexual Assault (ASA) teams into a centralised…