A new book documenting New Zealand's restaurant history busts the myth that dining out is a recent Kiwi hobby.

A man shot by police after allegedly presenting an airgun at them last month says he thought he was playing a joke on his brother.

Police have admitted a man they gunned down pointed a stolen air rifle but never fired before they started shooting. And the man's brother says it wasn't loaded.

Shannon Lawson, 38, who was shot by police in west Auckland on Sunday, has been remanded in custody after a brief appearance in court today.

A West Auckland man seriously wounded when police shot him was armed with an air rifle he had allegedly stolen from a neighbour.

A formal police investigation is underway to determine if a man gunned down by police last night fired the first shot.

A 29-year-old mother faces a murder charge for leaving her 13-month-old baby in a bath.

An Auckland mother is planning to uproot her two children and leave her family home after being burgled seven times in just over a year.

Potters Hugh and Jacqueline Roscoe were among the queues of people collecting bags of free clay dug from the New Lynn Rail trench.

NZ Bus makes an amended offer to drivers, averting tomorrow's industrial action.

Bus lanes will still be a no-go area for cars tomorrow, despite up to 70 per cent of Auckland's buses being off the road.