A popular brand of coloured sand sold in New Zealand has been urgently recalled over concerns it may contain asbestos following independent testing in Australia that confirmed asbestos contamination in similar products

'Our Freshwater 2026' report highlights worsening quality of groundwater, rivers and lakes, with increasing levels of nitrates, E.coli above legal limit, and nearly half of New Zealand's river network unsafe for swimming due to faecal contamination

Tens of thousands of people attended the annual rock and car festival Beach Hop in Whangamatā; the Beach Hop, established in 2000, has degenerated in 2026 into cases of unsuitable behavior that brought to 30 arrests, more than in the last years combined

KiwiSaver -a voluntary, work-based retirement savings scheme- will see withdrawal rules changed to help farmers, diplomats and soldiers buy their first homes, as Finance Minister observed current rules are unfair to workers in service tenancies

Farmers and businesses are taking stock of the cost of flooding that swamped paddocks and swept through Little River, Banks Peninsula, which remains under a state of emergency though State Highway 75 to Akaroa reopened and telecommunications were restored