A new NZ First member’s bill seeking to define the meaning of a “man” and “woman” in law is a “distraction” from other issues, two MPs from National and Labour say.The proposed legislation, submitted by NZ First MP Jenny Marcroft, would “ensure the biological definition of a woman and man…

Bolstering trans-Tasman relations ahead of Anzac Day, the opposition has pledged to retain the direct citizenship pathway for New Zealanders should it win the Australian federal election.Access to Australian citizenship — and its associated benefits — was a long-running bugbear for Kiwis living in Australia for two decades until changes…

Parts of State Highway 1 in Northland and Waikato are expected to be closed for an extended period following two serious crashes that occurred within 15 minutes of each other this morning.A crash has also blocked part of State Highway 25 on the Coromandel Peninsula.A section has been closed south…

Four teenagers, aged 14 and 15, have been apprehended after a dairy was allegedly ram-raided in Auckland’s Mt Wellington overnight.Officers were called to Commissariat Rd at around 2.50am, following a “report of a vehicle being used to enter the premises.”Police alleged that four offenders were involved and also broke into…

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has knocked back overseas interest to sign a two-year contract extension at the Warriors.The fullback had been linked with a move to the English Super League but he will now remain in Auckland until at least the end of 2027, by which time he will be 32.Nicoll-Klokstad has…

An artwork has been damaged at a glitzy event held at the Auckland Art Gallery, leading to a criminal charge.Guests at The Curious Ball last month were served alcohol and given exclusive after-hours access to the exhibition of works by Olafur Eliasson.His art sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars…

One property investor says there is pain for some investors in the rental market as listings reach record numbers.Trade Me Property says the number of homes available for rent has reached a level not seen in more than 10 years.There were 41% more rental listings in March than in the…

New cost estimates have revealed the Government’s planned Northwestern Busway in Auckland will have a price tag of at least $4.4 billion.Transport Minister Chris Bishop said a staged delivery of the project would be a “game changer” for fast-growing suburbs in northwestern Auckland.Construction on the project “could begin from 2027”,…

A woman involved in a 2018 kidnapping and murder can now be named — seven years after the crime took place.Marica Toalei’s attempt to maintain name suppression ended in the Supreme Court this month.Toalei was 16 years old when she and two others kidnapped Dimetrius Pairama in an abandoned Māngere…

A Married at First Sight bride has accused her on-air husband of lying in his application for protection against her, which she claims he lodged out of retaliation.Ryan Donnelly and Jacqui Burfoot were paired together in the most recent season of the hit Australian reality TV series but chose to…