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.

The All Blacks long ago developed an ability to dominate the country's sports thinking; year on year. High achievement in the national

A year always feels like it has flashed by until we look back at some of the events that happened.

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

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.

Bill English made a good start to his premiership yesterday, making some personal declarations even before he was sworn in.

The National Government today takes the greatest risk of its tenure - a leadership change.

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

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.

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

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

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.

Among his many duties, Foreign Minister Murray McCully gets to rub shoulders with some fairly noxious individuals.

The Government's latest move to crack down on dangerous dogs is commendable and some will say well over due.

Doctors at Waikato Hospital have raised disturbing allegations about the way the district health board makes its decisions.