Former spy minster Andrew Little says a police trip to China looks like a "classic effort" by the Chinese government to "curry favour" with New Zealand authorities.

The death of a child at a playground in Lower Hutt is one of three deaths in or around water over the weekend.

Fewer tertiary students accessed funds through the Student Loan Scheme last year, but the amount they borrowed was up.

A person is in critical condition in hospital after a hit-and-run incident in Auckland early today.