When film-maker Ridley Scott comes calling you don't think twice about accepting the invitation.

All Black great Ian Kirkpatrick fended off many challenges during his stunning rugby career - and now he's set to cycle from Wellington to Auckland.

Teenage seamer Bevan Small has the potential to crack the Black Caps in the coming years, according to Central Districts coach Alan Hunt.

The deaths of two horses involved in a national endurance riding competition have sparked a review by the country's governing body for equestrian sports.

OPINION: Maybe it's a sprinkling of Hollywood magic, but the reaction to James Cameron adding "farmer" to his director title seems different to the Crafar Farm decision. This different reaction, especially from Labour, is why we need consistently applied rules around foreign investment.

A South Korean fishing company that illegally took $600,000 worth of toothfish from the Southern Ocean has been fined only $1800 by its own government.

He's done magic for Hugo and Harry Potter and he's bringing his skills of illusion to the Wellington stage. Paul Kieve speaks to Emma Page.

Reporters Marika Hill and Imogen Neale chart the evolution of the classroom through the eyes of three generations of Epsom Girls' Grammar School students

Auckland Grammar's headmaster enters his last year in the job and tells of his misgivings about NCEA.

Sonny Bill Williams' boxing opponent is so confident he'll win he's put $1000 on it.

Shot put stars Valerie Adams and Jacko Gill put on a clinic for the Christchurch crowd as international athletics made a welcome return to the earthquake-ravaged city.

Fears that China is gobbling up New Zealand land are misplaced, official figures show.

The judge appointed to assess David Bain's compensation claim asked for two books by supporter Joe Karam to be included in his background information on the case.

In what could be the defining year for Pat Lam as coach of the Blues, the team got off to just the type of start they needed in Whangarei yesterday.

Peter Lynch's Christchurch crusade is over.

John Key will confront activists angry about privatisation and public sector cutbacks.

Times may be tough but please leave my booze, icecream and chocolate alone.

A former MP who looks set to return to Parliament says NZ should welcome TAG Oil.

The world's rarest dolphin could be down to fewer than 80 individuals, with conservationists enraged after a female was killed last month.

A New Zealand scientist is calling for permanent restrictions on research into bird flu after a US laboratory genetically engineered a strain of the virus that could kill half the world's population.

House prices in Auckland are around double those in South Canterbury, but its doctors are paid an average $30,000 less than their rural counterparts.

Charles Anderson talks to the Indian families at the centre of an immigration "black hole".

The Warriors have won their opening trial of the season after a blazing first half performance.

Having malaria four times has failed to dampen the spirits of a young Kiwi doctor based in Ghana.

Waitangi is set to be a flashpoint of protest today with threats to once more hijack official celebrations.

A private investment company ultimately owned by family trusts associated with Auckland businessman Peter Huljich and the Minister of Small Business, John Banks, is selling its holding in a large Northland property syndicate at a loss.

Summer's the season for feeding the family with fish, but a new guide wants to change how we think about which species we put on our table, writes Kim Knight.

The interest bill for the combined debts of the country's local councils has topped half a billion dollars a year for the first time.

The colour of money is increasingly becoming green. Steve Kilgallon looks at how New Zealand is hoping to cash in.

Two of Tonga's royal cousins are getting married, prompting debate on whether the gene pool is becoming too narrow.

A big jump in the number of people gambling in Canterbury is being blamed on people's need to escape the stresses of constant earthquakes and an uncertain future.

Hundreds of teenagers, questioned in a recent survey, said they felt they had been unfairly treated by police and health professionals because of their ethnicity.

Doctors treating the bar manager allegedly assaulted by infamous Queenstown bouncer Jonathon Dixon hope to get a clearer picture of the extent of his injuries this week.

The Maori radical who smashed the America's Cup with a sledge-hammer has turned his skills to film-making.

When Chaz Brown last met a key official who knew about his past he was bursting to explain how he'd saved himself from failure.

A sharp rise in ACC claims for injuries caused by fighting pushed the taxpayers' bill for assault injuries to almost $7 million last year.

It's the holiday shag Narelle Davis will never forget.

Gisborne Council officials have already granted exploration consents to Canadian oil companies without seeking public approval.

Australian drug addicts, rapists and violent offenders have slipped through New Zealand borders to continue committing crimes.

A pornographer who sued Kim Dotcom for infringing copyright says he is delighted Megaupload has been smashed.

Police descended on a tiny island off Tauranga after a man threatened to kill conservation staff for "stealing the island's secrets".

Police spent more than $1million on advertising for new recruits, only to put successful applicants on a long waiting list.

The former mines boss charged over alleged failings leading up to the deaths of the Pike River 29 has founded a new business which consults on issues such as mine safety.

Who is Wilson Dixon? The alter ego of Kiwi comic Jesse Griffin. Not that he'll tell you that, finds Eleanor Ainge Roy.

Judging from the number of shows set to be staged in 2012, theatre appears to be in rude health. But is it? And has Auckland grabbed centre stage? Ruth Spencer investigates.

Two separate but parallel lawsuits have been launched against the former directors of failed property scheme Blue Chip, with both groups apparently in the dark about what the other is doing.

Four Kiwis, who are helping to forge the world's youngest nation, tell their stories to Eleanor Ainge Roy.

The teenager who raped a five-year-old girl in a Turangi holiday park has gang connections.

Middle-aged Kiwis are lining up for plastic surgery to compete with their younger colleagues in the workplace.

NEIL REID - © Fairfax NZ News

Labour Department officials have ruled out prosecuting their own staff over alleged failings in the lead-up to the Pike River mining tragedy.