Roads and vehicles must be "more forgiving" to curb a road toll which averages more than one death a day, the AA says. Figures released by the Ministry of Transport today show 371 people died on the roads over the past year.

The two men arrested for attacking a police officer on the East Coast are facing more serious charges of threatening to kill him after appearing in Gisborne District Court today.

A Wairoa policeman attacked by two men in Mahia on Boxing Day is keen to get back to his job, Police Minister Judith Collins says.

A Wairoa policeman became the fourth officer to be attacked on the job this month after he stopped two men suspected of carrying out a series of burglaries on the East Coast.

More than 100 workers at Affco's Wairoa meatworks have been laid off, just weeks after returning to work.