Back in the day Wales could run on to a rugby paddock and field a team stacked with A-list names.

In a country where it is perfectly safe to drink water from a tap, it is incredible that anybody can make money by selling water in bottles.

Why should this Pacific nation, half the world away from the sovereign's palace, retain a foreign head of state?

Pity the British. Here in NZ we have referendums on subjects such as the flag; they have them on the make-up of their nation and its place in the world.

If the railway works as its planners intend, it will make Auckland a more compact city, boosting its CBD and attracting more dense development.

The return of Manu Vatuvei to the playing field today is doubly welcome. The stuttering Warriors sorely need the hulking winger's presence.

A week ago, when the Budget had delivered no answers to the hyperinflation of house prices, the PM told us to wait for a National Policy Statement.

Why are some people still smoking despite everything that has been done to discourage them? Why should the next four annual increases make any difference?

The Government has settled on a simplistic solution to the Auckland housing shortage.

NZME yesterday applied to the Commerce Commission for approval of a merger with its main rival in the business.

This is not a Government that often springs surprises, for which we should be grateful most of the time.

A party of off-road driving enthusiasts set out in 13 vehicles on Sunday to tackle a notorious high-country dirt track before it was closed for the winter.

The Labour Party surprised many people last week by advocating the complete abolition of boundaries on urban expansion.

Parker has New Zealand and Samoa behind him tonight as he bids for a chance to go for the summit. Here's to him.

These days Auckland is more like a graveyard for potential All Blacks. They seem to do better in any other franchise.

A survey of 1777 secondary school teachers has found nearly half believe the national assessment system, NCEA, is adversely affecting their teaching.

It is often said in favour of prisoner rehabilitation programmes that every offender has to be released eventually. That's not quite true.

We should be reducing debt faster while the good times last, not talking about tax cuts.

The Bachelor NZ, the television show which unravelled off-screen these past few days, ended its season a ratings hit.

The Government should tilt the market in favour of those still waiting for the Kiwi dream.

A man drives into a bridge and a city grinds to a halt. Such is the impact of a crash on Auckland's vulnerable motorway system.

The election of a candidate of Islamic Pakistani extraction as mayor of London is a proud moment for Britain and inclusion of minorities in its politics.

It is not often that international solutions work so well but when it happens, it deserves a tentative cheer.

The Auckland RSA deservedly took a barrage of criticism for its failure to include wheelchair-bound veterans in its dawn parade to the Auckland cenotaph.

Let us not soften the language we use about a man who hits a woman. It has been called domestic violence or partner violence.

The primary school system is in trouble. It is failing some of the young pupils who can least afford to be left behind.

The requirement for all rental properties to be insulated by mid-2019 was just a step in the right direction.

The fear is MediaWorks is losing too much talent. It needs to show it is still a serious competitor for visual news and current affairs.

EDITORIAL: Our "Home Truths" series has concluded with some possible solutions to runaway house prices that leave many facing rented housing for the rest of lives.

As Olympic torch makes its way from Athens to Brazil, the Latin American country is gripped by crises which threaten to overwhelm the battered host city.