Bowel Cancer New Zealand says Te Whatu Ora is reintroducing the postcode lottery for healthcare, after it paused regular surveillance colonoscopies for people in Manawatū-Whanganui.The preventative checks have been instrumental in helping to improve the outcomes of those at risk of bowel cancer – the second deadliest cancer in New…

A person has died following a water incident in Mount Maunganui this morning.Emergency services were notified just before 8.20am after a person was pulled unresponsive from the water at Pilot Bay Beach.”Despite the best efforts to revive the person, they died at the scene,” a police spokesperson said.”Inquiries are ongoing,…

While residents in Napier and Hastings are being asked to conserve water under Level 2 restrictions this summer, there is unlikely to be any disruption to water bottling operations in Hawke’s Bay.The region is home to nine consents that allow water to be taken for bottling.In total, the plants are…

Two houses remain evacuated with one being threatened by a large vegetation fire that broke out east of Whangārei this afternoon.Fire and Emergency said it was notified of a fire on Whangārei Heads Rd betwen Onerahi and Tamaterau shortly after midday.”Ten trucks and five helicopters are currently on scene,” a…

The New Zealand Army has paid tribute to a soldier killed in a South Taranaki crash last week — saying he’d had a “bright future” ahead of him.Private Rohaan Thomas died in a two-vehicle crash on State Highway 3 near Mokoia on January 5.Thomas, who was from Palmerston North, volunteered…

A search was launched this afternoon after reports a fisherman had fallen into water off rocks at the southern end of Auckland’s Piha Beach. In a statement, police said it was making inquiries about the whereabouts of a fisherman who was unaccounted for. “It has been reported the man was…

Auckland Council is urging beach-goers to exercise caution after swimmers report itching, rashes, or red spots after entering the water.The council’s environmental health technical specialist Darryl Thompson said it was seabather’s eruption, a rash caused by stings from the nematocysts – or stinging cells – of certain sea anemones and…

Businesses in Northland’s Kaipara District say they’re frustrated by a 13-hour internet outage that forced many shops to close or switch to cash-only transactions for a day.Dargaville Community Development Board manager Sue Curtis said Wednesday’s fibre outage meant eftpos terminals and ATMs stopped working, and banks closed.As a result, anyone…

The owners of a large carving that washed up on a Northland beach have been found — but how it ended up in the sea remains a mystery.The wheku, a carved representation of a human face, was discovered at Omakiwi Cove, at Te Rāwhiti in the Bay of Islands, last…

North Canterbury schools are continuing to back NCEA level 1, despite calls to scrap the certificate.Rangiora High School board of trustees presiding member Simon Green said the qualification is “robust” and provides a “benchmark” for student achievement.In November, Education Minister Erica Stanford said she was open to NCEA level 1…