Stories by Bill Hickman

Festival-goers are being urged to get their drugs checked before they head to gigs, as a dangerous drug being sold as MDMA is doing the rounds in Christchurch.

An unsung design hero has his legacy honoured in an unlikely way after a Wellington funeral home named their flagship hearse in his honour.

Wellington International Airport is fighting a constant battle to prevent online scams using their branding from reeling in unsuspecting people.

A jury has been told the question of consent stands at the heart of a rape trial in Wellington District Court today.

In a rare moment of agreement, both sides of the country's gun debate are questioning why police included a picture of what appears to be a pistol-shaped cigarette lighter in a press release on…

A Palmerston North window installation company has shut its doors, leaving multiple customers tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket. Audio

The move will ensure permanent place for Māori voices to be 'heard, embedded and carried forward' in decision-making, the council says.

The Restaurant Association is looking forward to the National-led government scrapping fair pay legislation and reinstating 90-day trials, but Unite Union sees the potential move as dismal.

Restaurateurs are saying scrapping fair pay legislation should be among the top priorities of the new government.

Iona Pannett's comments come after a Wellington heritage building was gutted by fire after more than 20 years of wrangling over the owner's earthquake strengthening responsibilities.

The owner of a central Wellington store says a fire may have broken the stalemate that saw a nearby heritage protected building gradually swamped by tagging, temporary earthquake protection and vines.

Five police officers have received awards for putting their lives on the line to save others in Hastings during Cyclone Gabrielle.

Police Minister Ginny Andersen says it is unacceptable officers are expected to attend mental health callouts - turning up "simply because no-one else will".

Lawyers representing the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care have argued Jehovah's Witness Elders exercised a level of control over the congregation that allowed them access to children.

The church said it was beyond the scope of the inquiry as it did not take children, young persons or vulnerable adults into care.

New Zealand Jehovah's Witnesses are going to court in an attempt to have the church made exempt from the Abuse in Care inquiry.

The costs of strengthening and redeveloping Wellington Town Hall could nearly double as Wellington City Council announced a massive budget blow-out on the project.

Police preparing to supervise protests planned for Wellington central this week are asking bystanders to film it if any law breaking takes place, and to submit the images.

Watch: A police officer has been caught on camera breathalysing the passenger of a left-hand drive car before waving them through a checkpoint this weekend.

An external review of Oranga Tamariki secure residences was begun in June after six staff were stood down over allegations of serious misconduct.

A city councillor has called the bike lobby "greedy" as a proposal to link Wellington's popular cycleway network along the waterfront quays threatens to divide the capital's transport factions…

A lack of staffing and beds is overflowing into emergency departments with dangerous consequences, a new report says. Audio

Climate protesters blocking the southbound lane of Wellington's urban motorway are lucky to have escaped without injury this morning.

Getting things wrong at the start of a mental health crisis makes everything worse for patients, mental health workers and emergency services staff, an expert says.

Wellington songwriter Darren Watson is taking aim at Parliament again with a new song released just in time for the upcoming election.