Stories by Katie Todd

An Auckland recruitment company has been fined $3600, and its director $1500, after a Chilean couple seeking work in the horticulture industry were found working illegally at a construction site.

A lengthy queue for new passports is catching out some New Zealanders trying to make the most of eased border restrictions.

Hundreds of Aucklanders are grappling with soggy, smelly and expensive repair work after heavy rain this week, with one store left vunerable after robbers ram-raided it hours before the deluge.

Officials trying to revamp the country's mental health services are accused of being a "sloth at the helm of the Titanic" - but they argue it is a long-term project.

Omicron has put the brakes on booster vaccine rates and communities lagging behind could stay there for some time, but health officials still have to tell some people who have had Covid-19 to wait.

Twenty-three hotels and thousands of managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) rooms are now sitting empty across the country, as the system winds down.

The proposed development has already met fierce opposition from a group of locals, who want it relocated, redesigned or downsized.

Three of the people accused of electoral fraud in relation to the Labour Party are also defending charges in relation to the National Party.

The Reserve Bank unveiled another 25 basis points increase in the OCR, and while it might have been the prudent thing to do, struggling businesses might be in for a cooling in consumer spending.

A man in MIQ has gone on hunger strike over the restrictions on smoking and drinking.

A Pasifika health expert says the number of Covid-19 cases and contacts isolating at home is already more than what health providers could keep up with in places like South Auckland.

With the amount owed in unpaid MIQ bills climbing to $38.7 million, one academic says it could be time to start charging interest.

Workers who have been running managed isolation facilities for two years fear their wages could be about to drop, if their hotels return to regular operations.

Some New Zealanders have jumped at the chance to reunite with loved ones and travel overseas, after learning the country's borders will slowly creak open this year. Audio

Some families are enduring five-week managed isolation and quarantine stays after testing positive to Covid-19, and purposely trying to speed up infecting each other.

One of New Zealand's key performances at the World Trade Expo has been unable to go ahead after members of Parris Goebel's Royal Family Dance Crew tested positive for Covid-19.

Hobson Bay residents fearing their health is at peril are frustrated it might take more than a decade to fix the issues that are causing wastewater and sewerage to leach into the environment.

Less than 48 hours into the red setting, a shift in work habits and daily routines is playing out on central city streets around New Zealand, causing stress for business owners.

The arrival of Omicron has spurred on the country's Covid-19 vaccine rollout, with the total number of administered booster doses ticking over to one million today, and 100,000 paediatric doses now… Audio

The new infection was reported after 75 isolating close contacts already tested negative - and it comes with people surging to vaccination sites to make the most of paediatric and booster doses.

It has been a milestone day on the country's Covid-19 vaccine calendar with four-month booster bookings open and the first primary school children receiving a paediatric dose.

Doctors and nurses are stocked up and bracing for an influx now that close to half a million tamariki can get a special paediatric dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

As authorities tweak MIQ rules allowing some desperate New Zealanders the chance to come home, fresh IT issues are stopping people in some visa categories from accessing the country.

A Covid-19 modeller warns the red traffic light would do little to stop the rampant spread of Omicron in New Zealand, after case numbers quadrupled in one week in New South Wales.

The Ministry of Health has sent 250,000 tests to sites across the country, yet some in Auckland have told RNZ they've received only a small number or none at all and may have to turn people away.