Traffic

As travellers return home from the long weekend, crashes have closed or backed up parts of the main highway.

NZTA is warning people in the area to allow additional time for their journey and take extra care.

Access has been restored to communities in Ruapehu District who were isolated by flooding and storm damage.

It could be a long drive home for commuters on Auckland's Southern Motorway this afternoon.

At the back of the protest, police provided a human barrier separating the 20,000 marchers from a group of counter-protesters.

Organisers say safety concerns mean the march will instead go through Auckland's CBD before ending at Victoria Park.

Snowfall warnings are in place for a clutch of South Island mountain passes, with flurries forecast to 200 and 300 metres for parts of Fiordland, Southland and Dunedin.

A group of dangerous drivers have been arrested after an on-road confrontation with police in Palmerston North overnight, police say.

Consultation has opened on proposed toll charges for the Belfast to Pegasus motorway extension and Woodend bypass, which is expected to cost around $1 billion.

Emergency services are at the scene of a serious crash in Matakana, north of Auckland.

The road is expected to be closed for some time, police say.

One of the vehicles was a stolen Toyota Aqua being tracked by a Police Eagle helicopter before it crashed near Wainui.

State Highway One has been closed by a serious crash near the Otago Moeraki Boulders, and a person has died after a crash near Christchurch.

The route has been closed following heavy rain in the region that caused widespread flooding and slips.

Taranaki and parts of the central North Island face flooding and highway closures as heavy rain returns after Thursday's deluge.

Six people have been hurt in two crashes in Tasman, including three who were critically injured, with police appealing for information and witnesses to one of the incidents.