A Far North man has been charged with murder following the discovery of an Auckland man's body near a popular hiking track in Northland.

A police officer has denied he was texting when the patrol car he was driving hit and killed a 16-year-old youth in Northland in 2009.

A teenage boy was released on bail today after his first court appearance over the shooting death of a 20-year-old woman in Northland.

The fatal shooting of a woman in Northland last night is a tragic reminder of how dangerous guns can be, say police.

A 17-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a 1-year-old child and stabbing a 26-year-old woman with a fork.

Police have named a woman who was killed in a quad bike accident on a Northland farm on Monday.

Driver error has been ruled out as the cause of the speedway smash that killed 15-year-old Samantha Mouat.

The funeral for a teenage driver killed in a speedway crash in Northland will be held at her home track in Mt Maunganui.

The family of a teenage speedway racer watched in horror from the trackside as she slammed into a wall and died late yesterday afternoon.

In 2004's Kaikohe Demolition, German-born New Zealand-bred filmmaker Habicht got to know the stars of a dodgems-to-the-death demolition derby in the Northland town of the title and then filmed the hilarious showdown.