State Highway 1 through Marlborough is now clear after being closed for two hours after a stock truck crash near Seddon.

Christchurch residents have been jolted by a 4.2-magnitude aftershock this evening.

Christchurch athlete Steve Gurney says he is ''very grateful'' after accepting diversion following a guilty plea to careless driving after his car collided with a passenger train in Rangiora.

The Prime Minister's electorate chair sat on a working group of four that decided to commit hundreds of thousands of dollars to a documentary about the Government's controversial Whanau Ora scheme.

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has entered the political fray consuming the city council, calling Mayor Bob Parker a ''clown''.

A 42-year-old truck driver has been charged today with dangerous driving causing injury to 16 students following a school bus crash last year.

An angry Winston Peters has made a personal statement to Parliament after his partner Jan Trotman was dragged into a political row over Whanau Ora funding.

Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman says he will look into suggestions that personnel have been encouraged to list their occupations as public servants when they visit Fiji on holiday.

A teenager had his teeth broken and face battered during a violent robbery in downtown Wellington last night.

Police have released CCTV footage of a gun toting man who robbed Wellington's Khandallah Post Shop.