GETTY270916LOSIFILIPO.JPG The discharge without conviction of Losi Filipo, a Wellington Under 19 rugby player, highlights how flawed

Caption for cropped photo on page 8, as per content list request:John Langley. Today is Social Workers' Day. Along with teachers

Across the goldfields of the Nullabor Plains, over there in Western Australia, there was a lot of glinting coming from the ground

People I knew left town when they joined Civil Defence and learned how bad things would be after a bad earthquake. Being logical

STV fairer to all We need a fairer voting system for voters. The unfairness of the present system came to a head in our general

It's always good to return things people have left at your house. Children, small dogs, cars. This past week, I returned a Tina

My parents were vigilant in monitoring what I was up to online - often much to my horror For many parents these days, the issue of

Voting tips How do I choose my next mayor? A humble layperson's guide to evaluating the mayoral candidates: If any of the candidates

• Vital work I have read with interest Alby Barr's letter in Saturday's Advocate. I have stated that I would lobby KiwiRail

Yes, it's time once again to look at language misuse that irritates people. I know it irritates them because they write to me and

Chris Hemsworth? It took me a moment or two, and then I clicked ... Thor. I haven't even seen the movie. But Hemsworth's ascending

I've been wondering why the Silver Ferns never get caught up in stripper scandals and I think it's something Janine Southby should

A few weeks ago, swimmer Cameron Leslie was asked what he thought about the fact his main rival, Russian Roman Zhdanov, would not

If there were ever an exception to prove the rule, it would be the "start" of spring. September 1 is a mental milestone for all of

New Zealand is rapidly facing an obesity epidemic similar to the US. Diabetes and heart disease numbers are continuing to rise annually. For

Whenever an election comes around, whether it be for Parliament or local government, the knives will come out at some stage as candidates

It seems crazy to me that there are 15,000 Kiwi labourers out of work at a time when the construction industry is booming. This number

Apparently sorry can be the hardest word to say. Not in my recent experience. I have found myself saying "sorry" repeatedly for a

After an ill-advised and completely pointless tirade about urgency needed to complete assessments and the fact that this would be

A couple of weeks ago, I chastised the Talley group and particularly their local industries - Affco Imlay, Land Meats and Open Country

NZ First leader Winston Peters, having wrested the Northland seat from National in 2015, reckons Whangarei is ripe for the taking

There's a certain glamour and prestige to photographing weddings. They are beautiful, big-budget and brimful of the hope and optimism

The burkini - where was it all my adult life? I could have enjoyed going to the beach, or the swimming baths. I might even have learned

Innocent until proven guilty. It's a fundamental tenet of our justice system. But it seems there are varying shades of grey when it

Sometimes expressions morph but the results are not always favourable. There is a perfectly good expression which has evolved into

I'm feeling hard done by. This week during an idle moment between making dinner and folding washing, I found myself on the couch watching

Unbelievable. On the day that the last log train rumbles out of Northland, two log trucks crash, as if to say "our roads can't take

Over the next few days, thousands of intermediate aged students will start descending on the Western Bay of Plenty for this year's

The French Mayor who decided last week that women who were wearing more than a handkerchief and some dental floss were improper on

Burglaries have become a massive PR headache for police in the past few years. The headache formed after a change in protocol meant