Stories by Nita Blake-Persen

Supermarkets are reporting a 140 percent jump in hair dyes and hair clipper sales have doubled, as New Zealanders take their hair into their own hands during lockdown.

Salons and barbers won't be… Video, Audio

The government's wage subsidy scheme has been paid to nearly 1000 companies who shouldn't have received it.

More than $10 billion has been paid out to businesses - the bill has now reached more than… Audio

Tenants struggling to pay the rent as the lockdown drags on say calls for landlords to show compassion are going unanswered.

A pause on mortgage payments has not trickled down to rental deferrals for… Audio

An entire sports stadium in Auckland has been transformed into a food bank to help feed thousands of households going hungry during the lockdown.

As New Zealand's cases of Covid-19 start to level… Video, Audio

As economies around the world recoil in the face of COVID-19, their carbon emissions are also shrinking.

With businesses shutting up shop and global supply chains disrupted, pollution from transport… Video, Audio

The number of New Zealand retirees getting their Super while earning more than $100,000 has topped 30,000 - costing taxpayers more than half a billion dollars each year.

Figures released to… Video, Audio

The number of people desperate for government help to pay for essentials like food and rent is skyrocketing - with advocates warning that won't change until baseline benefits increase.

Figures… Video, Audio

An unimmunised toddler has landed in Samoa on Tuesday afternoon, after being refused a measles vaccine in New Zealand.

The 15-month-old boy had been visiting New Zealand with his family but had been… Video, Audio

A curly question in last week's NCEA Level 2 maths exam has prompted dozens of complaints, with a university maths professor saying those who put the test together 'messed up'.

The question asked… Video, Audio

Fire crews from across Auckland are battling a massive blaze at SkyCity's embattled Convention Centre on Tuesday evening.

The blaze broke out just at around 1pm, sending flames into the sky and… Video, Audio

Could axing frequent flyer points be key to helping cut New Zealand's greenhouse emissions?

Greenpeace New Zealand is backing a UK government climate change committee report calling for air miles… Audio

Record numbers of people are asking the government for help to pay for their food and accommodation, with frontline community workers labelling the situation a 'crisis'.

New figures from the Ministry… Audio

Nearly two years after several Destiny Church branches were supposedly stripped of their charitable status, they are still operating without paying tax. Video, Audio

It's been dubbed this generation's Bastion Point. The stand-off at Ihumātao in South Auckland burst into the headlines in July after an eviction notice was served to protestors who wanted to stop a… Video, Audio

Auckland medical clinics are running out of measles vaccines as they scramble to keep up with ballooning demand for immunisations.

The country's worst outbreak in more than two decades has seen the… Video, Audio

The days of using plastic flowers to decorate graves and memorials could be numbered, with mourners being urged to consider their long-lasting environmental impacts. Video, Audio

The government spent a record $34 million on emergency housing at hostels and motels between April and June - up nearly 230 percent from the same time last year. Nita Blake-Persen reports. Audio

The government's fronted up to a South Auckland Work and Income office where parents have again been queuing since the early hours of the morning to get help accessing emergency grants. Nita… Video, Audio

Beneficiary advocates say people in South Auckland are being forced to endure inhumane conditions to access emergency grants to feed and clothe their families. Video, Audio

Babies are being dropped at preschool with no formula or nappies, and toddlers are going without shoes or lunches in the middle of winter. KidsCan is helping 25 early childhood centres, where teachers… Video, Audio

As the deadline closes in for the government's Healthy Homes standards, families living in state homes say more than extra insulation is needed to keep their children warm and healthy. Nita… Video, Audio

Hundreds of cows, calves and sheep are being sent to meat works in an injured, diseased or pregnant state, violating new animal welfare rules and prompting instant fines. Nita Blake-Persen reports. Video, Audio

The mother of two boys who died after a horrific car crash last Easter says she is shocked and offended at the sentence handed down to the truck driver that killed them. Video, Audio