A Wairoa policeman became the fourth officer to be attacked on the job this month after he stopped two men suspected of carrying out a series of burglaries on the East Coast.

New Year's Day is tipped to offer sunny weather for most of the country and some respite from the recent muggy, humid weather.

The Crown and Ngati Porou today signed a Treaty settlement giving the iwi $110m and the return of approximately 5898 hectares of land.

There is extra security at Gisborne Hospital following a gang brawl between Black Power and the Mongrel Mob last night.

Another 80 job losses announced today in a third sawmill unable to profitably export timber suggests the wood industry is in crisis, says a union representing workers in the sector.

More than 50 sawmill workers at two North Island sawmills have been told they will lose their jobs.

A 14-year-old boy was jailed for 20 months and his father for two years at the High Court in Gisborne today in an emotional sequel to the shooting of an 11-year-old boy on an East Cape farm in July 2009.

More than 100 workers at Affco's Wairoa meatworks have been laid off, just weeks after returning to work.