The country is facing a backlog of 36.000 visa applications for international tourists; the app is currently advising travellers from non-visa-exempt countries not to book holidays until their visa is approved

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

With Lyon Farrell, Rocco Jamieson and Dane Menzies qualifying for the men’s snowboard big air final, the Kiwis accounted for a quarter of the 12-strong field at Milano-Cortina Olympics, but no medals came to New Zealand in the first day of races