New Zealand's Latest Breaking News, Business, Sport, Weather, Entertainment, Politics

Latest FromDavid Fisher

NZSAS troopers leaving a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

NZSAS told civilians killed just days after Hit & Run raid

20 May, 2019 3:00pm
7 minutes to read

New NZSAS raid details emerge after classified documents released.

A police officer stands guard during Prince William, Duke of Cambridge's visit with first responders to the scene of the Christchurch terror attacks. Photo / Getty

NEW ZEALAND

Police raids as terror 'watchlist' pulled from social media

17 May, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Police raids post-Christchurch are sparking concern after targeting choices.

Police guard one of the mosques in the wake of the March 15 attacks. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

The hunt for answers - what you need to know about the massacre inquiry

14 May, 2019 3:14pm
6 minutes to read

The search for the truth starts Monday - how will it be done?

National Party MPs Sarah Dowie and Jami-Lee Ross before their relationship ended and he was ejected from the party. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Police inquiry into MP: Are Dowie's days numbered?

14 May, 2019 12:00pm
5 minutes to read

National's Sarah Dowie and party leader Simon Bridges quiet on co-operation with police.

Corrections minister Kelvin Davis doing the dishes while the party goes on. He's in it to work, not for an easy ride. Photo / David Fisher

NEW ZEALAND

Analysis: How Kelvin Davis got $98m to fix our worst inmates

10 May, 2019 7:00pm
6 minutes to read

David Fisher watched Kelvin Davis at Ngawha prison and asks: How did he get $98m?

Corrections minister Kelvin Davis - his $100m prison plan aims to reduce reoffending and the number of victims of crime. Photo / Paul Taylor

NEW ZEALAND

$100m plan to tackle toughest inmates

10 May, 2019 2:45pm
5 minutes to read

Corrections minister Kelvin Davis and his $100m plan to solve society's greatest threat.

NZSAS training at the NZDF's battle training facility in South Auckland. Photo / Mike Scott

NEW ZEALAND

Inside SAS training deaths: By elephant, bomb or error

10 May, 2019 10:00am
19 minutes to read

David Fisher reveals details of NZSAS training fatalities - one involving an elephant.

A mushroom cloud after the explosion of a French atomic bomb above the atoll of Mururoa. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Project Doris: When France secretly built a beacon on NZ soil to target nukes

1 May, 2019 11:00am
10 minutes to read

Archives NZ files reveal our 1980s horror over a French antenna on the Chatham Islands.

NEW ZEALAND

Inside the secret operation to save Kiwi kidnapped by Isis

16 Apr, 2019 5:58pm
12 minutes to read

David Fisher reports on how close NZ and coalition forces got to a daring rescue mission.

NEW ZEALAND

A life helping others: How Kiwi nurse Louisa Akavi came to be kidnapped by brutal regime

15 Apr, 2019 9:03am
18 minutes to read

David Fisher reveals the inside story of the NZ nurse kidnapped by ISIS terrorists.

Kiwi model Kylie Bax and husband Spiros Poros Australia Fashion Week in 2012. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Kylie Bax and ex-husband in bitter court battle over million-dollar homestead

6 Apr, 2019 5:21pm
11 minutes to read

Ex-husband has laid a police complaint against former top Kiwi model.

Former blogger Cameron Slater, leaving the High Court at Auckland after a defamation hearing in 2014. Photo / Doug Sherring

NEW ZEALAND

Big Read: Blogger, Blomfield and police - a catalogue of failure

4 Apr, 2019 8:00pm
12 minutes to read

Police admit string of errors investigating complaints made by businessman.

Activist and blogger Martyn Bradbury. Photo / Natalie Slade

NEW ZEALAND

Hacker hunt leads to 'secret' evidence in closed court

31 Mar, 2019 1:59pm
4 minutes to read

Police don't want blogger Martyn Bradbury to hear the evidence against him.

One week on from the March 15 attacks, National Party leader Simon Bridges with head of the Tauranga Mosque Ahmed Ghoneim. Photo / Andrew Warner

NEW ZEALAND

Big Read: Speargun and mass surveillance - the confusion created by Simon Bridges

26 Mar, 2019 3:51pm
10 minutes to read

Would super-intrusive electronic intelligence have made a difference?

A guard escorts a prisoner at Auckland Women's Prison in South Auckland. Photo / Doug Sherring

NEW ZEALAND

15 female prisoners get $25K each for unlawful medical examinations

26 Mar, 2019 9:47am
6 minutes to read

Police and medical council alerted to internal searches at prison.

Firefighters attempting to save the Kaitaia Gun Club shed. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Big Read: A gun club burns in a nation on edge

21 Mar, 2019 8:09pm
7 minutes to read

David Fisher investigates a gun club fire and finds a nation on edge.

Flowers adorn the cordon near Hagley Park, where the attacker struck first. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

Big Read: Our spies and the hunt for a 'lone wolf' killer

19 Mar, 2019 7:40pm
13 minutes to read

Lone wolf killers are the most elusive of terrorists, say intelligence sources.

Police and flowers at the Deans Avenue mosque in Christchurch. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

Spy agencies managed only 'small' improvements with $179m

18 Mar, 2019 5:49pm
4 minutes to read

Fresh review says only "small" improvements in intelligence agencies defence of NZ.

DPMC chief executive Brook Barrington (with case) heading for an Odesc meeting in the Beehive bunker. Photo / Derek Cheng

NEW ZEALAND

Christchurch shootings: Meet the PM's top secret advisers

18 Mar, 2019 11:50am
5 minutes to read

It's called ODESC and it gathers in times of crisis.

Armed Police guard the Masjid Al Noor, Deans Avenue Mosque, Christchurch. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

Christchurch spree came as spies tried to fix security gaps

17 Mar, 2019 5:34pm
5 minutes to read

Spies warned of risks discovered in reviews and moved to keep New Zealand safe.

NEW ZEALAND

Accused mosque killer's links to British extremist groups probed

17 Mar, 2019 11:28am
4 minutes to read

Britain's MI5 has taken the lead in the investigation.

Police directing weapons towards a man whose vehicle they had rammed from the road. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

David Fisher: How did we miss Christchurch killer?

15 Mar, 2019 6:26pm
6 minutes to read

There are questions for security agencies after Christchurch massacre, says David Fisher.

Lawyer Deborah Manning. Photo /Doug Sherring

NEW ZEALAND

Big Read: Lawyer laid flat by Hit & Run

13 Mar, 2019 6:43pm
10 minutes to read

A lawyer, the NZSAS, and a new Goliath-sized fight.

Fatima, aged 3, who was claimed to have been killed by US aircraft supporting a 2010 NZSAS raid in Afghanistan. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

NZSAS raid claim: Afghan villagers say inquiry 'unlawful'

13 Mar, 2019 11:49am
7 minutes to read

Lawyer Deborah Manning chucks a potential spanner into the works of NZSAS inquiry.

Former blogger Cameron Slater. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

Bankrupt Cameron Slater ordered to pay $70,000 for 'character assassination'

12 Mar, 2019 3:18pm
7 minutes to read

Cameron Slater has been found to have carried out an "extended" character assassination.

The work of the Tomorrow's Schools Independent Taskforce aims to turn out education system on its head. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

Big Read: One night with the man who will change your kids' lives

27 Feb, 2019 7:38pm
11 minutes to read

Our schools face an overhaul - David Fisher finds out what passes for public consultation.

Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Cameron Slater's claims of ill-health challenged by defamed victim

26 Feb, 2019 2:08pm
5 minutes to read

The businessman who sued Cameron Slater and won casts doubt on extent of stroke damage.

Invercargill MP Sarah Dowie and Botany MP Jami-Lee Ross in 2016. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Sarah Dowie and that text: what the police won't tell you

16 Feb, 2019 8:40pm
4 minutes to read

Even the home base of detectives on the text message investigation is secret.

NEW ZEALAND

'Māori nationalist groups' pose threat from prison - Corrections

16 Feb, 2019 7:36pm
3 minutes to read

Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis slaps prisons over "provocative" language.

Blogger Cameron Slater, leaving the High Court at Auckland. Photo / Doug Sherring

NEW ZEALAND

Whaleoil blogger Cameron Slater loses defamation case

15 Feb, 2019 5:30pm
6 minutes to read

Six years in the courts and blogger Cameron Slater fails to come up with a defence.

Lawyer Deborah Manning, whose intervention stopped a deportation order being served on a client. Photo / Jason Oxenham

NEW ZEALAND

Immigration NZ attempts to deport man with valid visa

14 Feb, 2019 5:00am
6 minutes to read

No paperwork on removal order which almost saw Immigrant X put on a plane.

The plan envisaged by Clint Rameka involves climbers scaling mighty kauri trees for the seed pods.

NEW ZEALAND

A sanctuary for our mighty kauris

13 Feb, 2019 5:00am
10 minutes to read

Clint Rameka dreams of a sanctuary built on a sanctuary.

Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki at Waitangi today. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

Brian Tamaki signals political return: 'New breed of Māori rising up'

6 Feb, 2019 1:28pm
3 minutes to read

Tamaki warned change was coming during a heated Waitangi sermon.

Don Brash speaks to media after his speech at Te Tii Waitangi marae. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

Don Brash at Waitangi: 'I hate being called racist'

5 Feb, 2019 7:59pm
4 minutes to read

Don Brash went to Waitangi to speak - then surrendered in the face of an angry crowd.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern arriving at Waitangi to meet with Māori leaders. Photo / David Fisher

NEW ZEALAND

Ardern meets with iwi leaders at Waitangi

1 Feb, 2019 11:57am
3 minutes to read

Meeting in the Bay of Islands ahead of Waitangi Day commemorations.

MP Sarah Dowie and former National MP Jami-Lee Ross. Photos / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

The MP and the text message inquiry

25 Jan, 2019 5:00am
6 minutes to read

National MP Sarah Dowie has been revealed as focus of a police investigation.

Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater has had a life-altering medical event. Photo / Doug Sherring

NEW ZEALAND

David Fisher: Whaleoil attacked me but I wish him well

22 Jan, 2019 4:09pm
7 minutes to read

COMMENT: Reporter David Fisher on why the Whaleoil blogger deserves sympathy.

Opito Bay, Kerikeri Inlet. The poisoned pohutukawa are those on the right-hand side of the grass beach reserve. Photo / David Fisher

NEW ZEALAND

Pōhutukawa massacre at Opito Bay - Four poisoned and the hunt for a killer

22 Jan, 2019 5:00am
11 minutes to read

Opito Bay's pōhutukawa poisoner leaves locals furious and searching for likely suspects.

Fishing for brown trout. Photo / Alan Gibson

NEW ZEALAND

World-record angler - leave me be or I'll hide the mega-fish

20 Jan, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

It would be the biggest brown trout ever - if it ever emerges.

NEW ZEALAND

RSA clubs get blunt message of survival - change or die

19 Jan, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

RSA needs to appeal to younger military personnel, says report.

Herb and Colleen Subritzky run Te Paki Station and live in the northern-most occupied home on State Highway 1. Photo / David Fisher

NEW ZEALAND

Meet the couple at No.1 State Highway, Far North

12 Jan, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Meet the couple who built a life at the end of the road.

Alexandra Kitto says she complained to the NZ Defence Force after discovering her partners were in other relationships. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

On Her Majesty's sneaky service: 'The spies who cheated on me'

2 Jan, 2019 5:00am
7 minutes to read

This summer we look back at the big stories of last year. This is from November.

The NZDF on patrol in Bamiyan. It was repeated attacks against these soldiers which NZDF says led to its NZSAS mission. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Secret hearings for NZSAS inquiry into Afghanistan claims

21 Dec, 2018 4:53pm
4 minutes to read

Limited public hearings planned for NZSAS probe.

NEW ZEALAND

Inside story: The one-punch killer who got home detention

20 Dec, 2018 7:20am
19 minutes to read

In desolate small towns, a criminal record can be a birthright.

Karel Sroubek at his sentencing for using a false passport. Photo / Steve McNicholl

NEW ZEALAND

Karel Sroubek: Claims against me are false

16 Dec, 2018 5:00am
8 minutes to read

From inside prison, drug smuggler Karel Sroubek says he's not threat to ex-wife.

Intelligence agencies' minister Andrew Little. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Minister of Spies backs watchdog over Kiwi intercepts

14 Dec, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Spies' minister Andrew Little says incidental surveillance on Kiwis is serious.

Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Cheryl Gwyn. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Oversight inquiry - is the GCSB breaking the law again?

13 Dec, 2018 11:01am
7 minutes to read

Is the GCSB scooping up information belonging to Kiwis without proper legal authorisation?

Reiha McLelland, 13, with her former teacher Sam Back. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Reiha: No change to 'loophole' to protect vulnerable children

11 Dec, 2018 6:20pm
5 minutes to read

A law change urged following the suicide of Reiha McLelland, 13, did not happen.

Reiha McLelland, left, and teacher Sam Back, right.

NEW ZEALAND

Failures in probe before Reiha McLelland's suicide

11 Dec, 2018 10:00am
8 minutes to read

IPCA finds fault in police handling of teacher Sam Back's contact with 13-year-old girl.

Peter Bircham and Elane de Moraes Lobo with their daughter Ana-Carolina at her fifth birthday. Photo / Sally Ahern

NEW ZEALAND

Parents brace for legal challenge to daughter's care

25 Nov, 2018 11:46am
4 minutes to read

Is a court hearing next in a fight between doctors and parents?

NEW ZEALAND

Exclusive: 'The spies who cheated on me'

25 Nov, 2018 5:00am
7 minutes to read

The secretive nature of their jobs meant she never knew of their secret lovers.

Operation Burnham Inquiry members Sir Terence Arnold and Sir Geoffrey Palmer during day one of the hearing at the High Court in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

'Secret inquiry' would not help public confidence, hearing told

22 Nov, 2018 4:13pm
4 minutes to read

Second day of two-day hearing focused on privacy concerns v public confidence.

Willie Apiata's VC award saw NZDF engage in a huge publicity campaign, which included press conferences and a book. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Inquiry: VC-winner Willie Apiata's high profile was a 'risk'

22 Nov, 2018 12:00pm
3 minutes to read

The disclosure came during the second day of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham.

Author Nicky Hager during his submissions at the Operation Burnham Inquiry at the High Court in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

'Highly secret' NZDF documents available on internet: Nicky Hager

21 Nov, 2018 4:56pm
5 minutes to read

Intelligence and military concerns on classified information challenged as probe opens.

Deborah Manning, representing the former residents of Khak Khuday Dad and Naik villages, during her submissions at the Operation Burnham Inquiry at the High Court in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Inquiry into controversial SAS raid on Afghan village begins

21 Nov, 2018 11:18am
4 minutes to read

The book "Hit & Run" alleged six civilians were killed in a "revenge" raid in Afghanistan.

NEW ZEALAND

'105 errors': Defence Force hits back at Hit & Run book claims

21 Nov, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

NZDF claims a US drone video would show the NZSAS did nothing wrong in Afghanistan.

Fatima, the 3-year-old girl it is alleged was killed during an NZSAS raid which killed five other people and left 15 wounded.

NEW ZEALAND

Secrecy debate over Hit & Run inquiry

21 Nov, 2018 5:00am
8 minutes to read

Critics say hearings must be open so the public can have faith in the outcome.

NZSAS troops leave a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Big Read: Details revealed of NZSAS assault in Taliban territory

15 Nov, 2018 8:30pm
11 minutes to read

NZDF's full narrative on the NZSAS raid behind an official inquiry starting next week.

Forestry minister Shane Jones with Ngati Hine Forestry Trust chairman Pita Tipene. Photo / John Stone

NEW ZEALAND

'Mulched': $160k of taxpayers' trees destroyed in bungle

14 Nov, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Government ordered 1.2m pine seedlings - then found it couldn't plant where planned.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Forestry Minister Shane Jones, with former minister Meka Whaitiri, at the ceremony launching a joint venture with Ngati Hine. Photo / John Stone

NEW ZEALAND

Billion Trees bungle: One million seedlings but land unfit

13 Nov, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

The plan was to plant 1.1 million pine trees - then someone looked at the ground.

Jami-Lee Ross has been in the spotlight since the National Party revelations. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

Inside story: How it all went wrong for Jami-Lee Ross

1 Nov, 2018 6:25pm
20 minutes to read

David Fisher traces the downfall of a man who seemed born for politics.

NEW ZEALAND

Four words raised alarm: Jami-Lee Ross' text to lover

27 Oct, 2018 6:25pm
6 minutes to read

National's rogue MP sent a four-word text message to his lover which sparked fears.