Lisa Owen

And it wasn't just teachers and students feeling the first day nerves.

Parents of some of the children returning today felt a little anxious about jumping back into the school routine.

Anan Zaki… Audio

Hundreds of thousands of children returned to school and early learning today, squirting litres of hand sanitiser and putting carefully-developed hygiene plans to the test.

After eight weeks out of… Audio

In the first political poll since we went into lockdown, National has plummeted 12 points to just 30.6 with Labour up 14 points to 56.5 percent.

A new Newshub-Reid Research poll has revealed Labour's… Video, Audio

The government has signalled it will reconsider rules that cap the number of people at religious services at 10, as hundreds of mall shoppers are free to arguably worship at the altar of consumerism.

There have been more suspicious fires over the weekend at cell tower sites, with more than a dozen hit in a matter of weeks.

The telecommunications sector is warning the suspected arsonists are… Audio

As the country threw itself into lockdown in the fight against Covid-19, our population quietly passed five million people. Figures released by Stats NZ show New Zealand's population passed the… Audio

News from the business sector, including a market report. Video, Audio

Air New Zealand has had a change of heart on refunding passengers who would have transited through the United States, in the face of a complaint to the Commerce Commission.

People who would have… Audio

New Zealand is being urged to tread carefully, as it backs an international inquiry into the Covid-19 outbreak.

The World Health Assembly is meeting virtually to discuss the next steps in tackling… Audio

What does the funding boost mean for kindergartens and those who work there?

The chief executive of He Whānau Manaaki Kindergarten Association in Wellington is Mandy Coulson. She talks to Lisa Owen.

Meanwhile the government has restored a top pay band for fully trained early childhood teachers, committing $278 million over the next four years.

The 100 percent funding band for teacher-led ECE… Audio

Hundreds of thousands of children returned to very different classrooms and early learning settings today after an historic eight week break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But things were a lot… Video, Audio

The harsh reality of the ongoing drought in Hawke's Bay has been captured on camera by a young budding photographer.

Twelve-year-old Selby Jowsey lives on his family farm in Kereru -- 45 kilometres… Audio, Gallery

Humphrey Hanley has not let a lack of fingers hold him back from becoming a semi-professional gamer with a world-wide following.

The Wellington man suffers from the extremely rare and debilitating… Audio

The Dunedin City Council has voted through a controversial suite of measures designed to entice people back to the central city after the Covid-19 lockdown. The speed limit of the city's main street… Audio

The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, has reached out to Christchurch's Muslim community again - this time speaking to them via video chat on Thursday night.

Prince William visited Christchurch as… Audio

New Zealand has recorded one new confirmed case of Covid-19, after three days in a row of no cases.

The new case is linked to the Marist College cluster in Auckland and was identified through… Video, Audio

As New Zealand eased back into level 2 this week and we plan our first weekend in seven weeks out of lockdown, Australians are preparing to move into what they're calling Stage One. But whilst… Video, Audio

After weeks in full lockdown the move to level two was supposed get people moving freely around the country, catching up with friends and whānau and maybe spending a little money.

But with Air New… Audio

During the lockdown the homeless were put into motels and other housing but this was only temporary, now under alert level two they could be able to stay off the streets for good.

Government funding… Audio