An accused sex offender from the West Coast was able to adopt a new name and flee to Australia because a Ministry of Justice employee ticked the wrong box on a form, an internal review has revealed.

Officials are investigating a proposal which could lead to the Pike River mine being turned into an opencast coal pit stretching into a national park.

Prime Minister John Key has denied that the Solid Energy crisis and Telecom job cuts are a black mark against the Government's handling of the economy.

Solid Energy is in crisis, with a Government bailout almost inevitable, mine closures possible and further job cuts likely in another restructure to try to salvage it.

This West Coast gem is wild at heart, finds Elisabeth Easther.

Work on a West Coast bridge has been halted after workers were caught on camera dumping material into the river.

West Coasters hit by a deluge of heavy rain and thunderstorms can expect little relief in the coming weeks.

A man naked from the waist down stopped to pick up two Chilean women hitchhiking on the West Coast.

A storm battered the western side of the Southern Alps just under a week ago, closing roads and stranding holiday makers across the region.

The body of a man recovered from a creek in the Mikonui River area, south of Ross on the West Coast, has been confirmed as that of 50-year-old Christchurch man Rex Leslie Taylor.