A tremor measuring 4.3 has rocked the centre of the North Island this morning.The quake, located 10km southwest of Hastings, jolted the region at 6.35am.More than 4000 people have reported feeling the tremor, which was 35 km deep….

A tremor measuring 4.3 has rocked the centre of the North Island this morning.The quake, located 10 km south-west of Hastings, jolted the region at 6.35am.More than 3600 people have reported feeling the tremor which was 35km deep….

By Rowan Quinn for RNZ The Government is being urged to consider vaccinating South Aucklanders first when the community rollout starts.Papatoetoe and its surrounding suburbs are grappling with the current Covid outbreak – and…

The family of a man who died in hospital weeks after having an infected wisdom tooth extracted has laid a formal complaint after concerns with his care.Bryce Don Roy Rangitaawa, 44, died at Middlemore Hospital on January 20, a week…

After resorting to knocking on doors, contact tracers last night had just one Papatoetoe High School student left to track down and test for Covid-19.The 10-day delay to reach the final handful of students has been labelled “frustrating”…

Ei Mon Thinn Kyu’s first memories of her father are prison visits. Born a few months after his arrest, she turned 16 the year he was released. “My mother kept a tiny newspaper clipping saying my father was arrested for his political…

Test your brains with the Herald’s morning quiz. Be sure to check back on nzherald.co.nz at 3pm for the afternoon quiz. To challenge yourself with more quizzes, CLICK HERE.

A decision by independent commissioners on a proposal to build up to 1000 homes and a business area in a rapidly growing Northland seaside town is expected within the next few weeks.Auckland-based Mangawhai Central Ltd has applied…

A Lamborghini driver accused of killing an Adelaide schoolgirl will stand trial.

Alexander Campbell today pleaded not guilty to driving dangerously causing death and harm.

He was charged over the crash which killed 15-year-old Sophia Naismith, and injured her friend, at Glengowrie in June 2019.

The magistrate rejected the 35-year-old's bid to have the charges thrown out of court.

Sophia's parents said they were pleased the case would go to trial.

Mr Campbell will next appear in court in May.

A former Queensland child protection police officer accused of grooming a young girl has taken the stand on day three of his trial.

Matthew Paul Hockley has denied any ill intention, and said he "would never, ever harm a child".

"My role is to protect children, not to harm them," he said.

Mr Hockley has been charged with grooming a 15-year-old girl for sex.

He met the girl while investigating a complaint about a series of nude photos the teen had allegedly sent at school.

Mr Hockley claimed it was the girl's mother who asked him to "mentor" her daughter, as policing was her daughter's "dream job".

He claimed the mother told him "she couldn't control her daughter anymore".

During the next three weeks, Mr Hockley and the girl exchanged more than 1000 messages on Snapchat.

During cross-examination, Mr Hockley claimed his interest was in the girl's mother.

"I saw an opportunity that helping (the girl) would be an opportunity to have further communication with the mum," he said.

Mr Hockley denies all allegations of any sexual intention toward the girl, refuting claims he called her "beautiful" or that he offered to pick her up as part of a "daddy-daughter experience".

He described some of the specific messages he sent to the teen as "highly inappropriate", "ill-timed" or "an overshare", but never with the intention of desensitising the girl to the idea of sex.

The trial continues tomorrow.