When the official holiday period finished at 6am yesterday there had been 15 fatal crashes on New Zealand roads since the Friday before Christmas.

Nothing ruins a professional's reputation like blaming the weather.

The major obstacle to a Palestinian state is not settlements.

All too soon students will be back at school and questions will resume about about how well our education system prepares them for later life.

COMMENT: Farming does not get the public attention is deserves.

Seldom has a year started with so much upheaval in prospect.

The nation's New Year Honours look back much further than one year for New Zealanders whose contribution deserves recognition.

There is no better way to end a year than to choose one New Zealander among many who contributed something exceptional to national life.

Suspiciously quickly, the Government re-opened SH1 south of Kaikoura just before Christmas.

A philosopher writing in the Herald this week, Massey Professor Bill Fish, pointed out that Santa Clause is real.

At the start of last month, the tarnished Lance Armstrong was the defendant in a federal courtroom in Washington as lawyers ripped apart his life.

The National Party's decision not to contest the Mt Albert byelection can be well understood, but that does not make it right.

The US President-elect, Donald Trump, (which still sounds like a joke) made Twitter his preferred means of communication in his election campaign.

New Prime Minister Bill English faced one big question when it came to shaping his Cabinet: how much change does the country really want?

Chris Kelly did not take long to disappear from Massey University's governing body after his careless remarks about woman vets.

The new cabinet Prime Minister Bill English unveils tomorrow will be assembled with two objectives in mind.

The end of an economic era may have occurred yesterday.

The Government must ensure every firm trading here pays its fair share for the stability and services they all enjoy.

New Zealand whitebait are one of the few dining pleasures to escape the culinary assault of reality chefs.

The contest for the National Party leadership and the job of Prime Minister lasted barely 72 hours.

David Shearer is a loss to our politics.

National Party politics - and, by extension, New Zealand politics - have suddenly become very uncertain.

John Key's bombshell announcement yesterday has thrown New Zealand politics into turmoil.

It is hard to understand why Finance Minister is wary about giving the Reserve Bank the power it wants to impose an income limit on house mortgage lending.

As the end of the year draws closer, we start to recall those who made a difference to New Zealand in 2016.

New Zealand pop pioneer Ray Columbus has been fondly remembered this week.

The police yesterday called off the search for Taulagi Afamasaga.

"Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me." Those were the words of Fidel Castro in October 1953.

The British and Irish Lions team to tour NZ next year will potentially be the finest side representing the four Home Unions to travel to our shores.

A stoush over "land banking" developers is brewing in Britain - and local authorities in New Zealand may well be interested observers in the result.