Interesting how quickly a positive outcome can be portrayed as negative if you're intent on scuppering any process for change, isn't it?

There is something good about this time of year.

This week has been longer than most for the B-boys of politics - Brown and Banks - yet the way their separate-but-linked scandals have been treated raises some interesting questions.

Dear oh dear, Auckland mayor Len Brown has certainly got himself in a right royal mess and it just seems to be getting worse by the day.

A killer was jailed for a minimum non-parole period of 23 years on Wednesday.

Despite the certainty that a significant proportion of global climate change is being driven by man-made factors, sceptics continue to at times dominate debate.

The youth brawl that broke out among pou carvings in central Hastings this week once again highlighted a social issue that needs fixing, but some good has come out of it.