The Health Commissioner's claim during Parliament's scrutiny week that "overspending" is to blame for Te Whatu Ora's financial crisis has outraged health workers and their unions.
Fire crews say it is too dangerous to establish containment lines around a large fire burning in the Canterbury high country, so they are focusing on bringing it under control instead.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has hinted that New Zealand may soon announce the start of long-anticipated trade deal negotiations with India.
New Zealand never knew the heights that Nikki Kaye might have climbed to as a politician, but both her colleagues and rivals suspected it might have been to the very top.
"We're dealing with complex, high-risk youth offenders," Oranga Tamariki's deputy chief says, after confirming two out of 10 youths absconded from the trial and a third died in a crash.
A building has been destroyed by a fire in Canterbury that remains out of control, but crews are hopeful of containing the blaze by the end of the day.