Act leader Jamie Whyte says Christine Rankin's entry into the Epsom election contest will have no impact because her Conservative party appeals to simple-minded voters, not educated Epsom voters.

Epsom election candidates faced off at a public debate last night, with one promising to name a convicted sex offender with name suppression under parliamentary privilege.

Epsom once again could be the electorate that decides the election.

What goes through the minds of educational professionals when they see the lengths that property owners will go to remain in a prestigious school zone?

Prime Minister John Key continues to back John Banks as "an honest man" and says he still has "options" despite being found guilty of knowingly filing a false electoral return.

Self-styled public watchdogs Penny Bright and Graham McCready claimed their biggest scalp yesterday as Act MP John Banks was found guilty of electoral fraud.

Today's guilty verdict has ended John Banks' 34-year political career at least three months earlier than he would have hoped.

Snobbery and a false rumour that a boundary change would take some homes out of the Auckland Grammar zone and affect property values are believed to be factors in the strong opposition.

Business people are more accustomed to putting sentiment aside for important decisions, writes John Roughan.

John Key's right-hand man made a secret visit to former Act leader Rodney Hide in a desperate search to shore up a coalition partner for the National Party at this year's election.

The tussle to replace John Banks as Act's Epsom candidate is heating up ahead of the party's decision early next month.

Former Act on Campus leader and John Banks staffer David Seymour has changed his mind and will now seek the party's nomination for the key Epsom seat, he has confirmed.

Epsom Girls Grammar is considering a fresh complaint to Auckland Council after a Herald report that brothels are operating in its immediate area.

A group of Epsom and Royal Oak residents have been working themselves into a right old lather over low-flying aircraft, writes Brian Rudman.

One look at the crowd at the Food Show yesterday and it's obvious that cooking is attracting more and more men.

The steady life in sales and prices started in the central Auckland suburbs over a year ago and has now spread across the new supercity. But as Bruce Morris reports, it's still tough going out in the provinces.

You know how much you're prepared to pay, so why take so long to lay your cards on the table? Bruce Morris ponders the slow-coach tactics of the auction room.

If you ever had any fear that birds dislike an urban environment, a walk through Epsom will dispel that notion.

Twelve fire trucks were sent to Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland this afternoon after a fire broke out in an air conditioning unit.