The deputy mayor of Invercargill laid into the parents of young teenage oiks this week after six 13 and 14-year-olds went on a tyre-slashing spree in the city.

I don't know what Michael Woodhouse found confusing about the zero tolerance on speeding campaign. The message was pretty clear, writes Kerre McIvor.

Free speech is in the spotlight in the wake of the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris that left 12 people dead and eight others injured.

I turned 50 two days after Christmas and although it was a brilliant day, 50 is a funny age to be, writes Kerre McIvor.

By the time you read this, Christmas will be done and dusted. The last of the ham sandwiches will have been made.

Pakistan's Defence Minister, Khwaja Asif, summed up the dreadful toll that the war between the country's military and the Pakistan Taliban is taking on his people this week.

Any new singleton, wary of dipping their toe into the murky water of online dating, must surely be even more cautious after two news stories this week highlighting the perils of such behaviour.

Kerre McIvor writes: Creepiness is subjective. One woman's laid-back, approachable boss is another's sleazy lech and one man's caring boss is another's predatory old cougar.

I was horrified to read zero-hour contracts are common among many multinational fast-food companies and are increasingly being used by supermarkets and retailers.

First it was the great Lewis Road Creamery Whittaker's chocolate milk shortage of 2014; then it was reports that Creepy Santa was being consigned to oblivion.

The fire that caused a power outage affecting thousands of Auckland households and that lasted in some cases nearly three days was a "freak" occurrence, said Prime Minister John Key.

When an opportunistic young thug tried to snatch the bag of an elderly Chinese woman in Northcote this week, I think he saw an easy target.

As a general rule, if you’re with a man and your age difference is such that you could have once babysat him or given birth to him, you’re a cougar, writes Kerre McIvor.

The tragic shooting of three women at the Winz office in Ashburton on Monday was shocking. Two women were killed and one is still in a serious condition in hospital.

When the Wallabies drew with the All Blacks in the first Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney, it was widely considered almost as good as a win.

If you're wondering in this political maelstrom who the hell you'll vote for on September 20, you may like to try a couple of the internet's election tools.

The evolutionary biologist and philosopher Richard Dawkins created a Twitterstorm this week when he posted about a young woman in Ireland who was forced to give birth to a baby conceived through rape.

Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt must be wondering whether New Zealand society has changed at all in 50 years.

It seems incredible two young men can walk away scot-free, without a blemish to their name, after assaulting a schoolboy who later died.

It's time the Govt got tough on the mongrels who choose to have dogs simply to intimidate and make a statement, not to love and care for and have as part of the family, writes Kerre McIvor.

As errors of judgment go, Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee's was a pretty stupid one, writes Kerre McIvor.

A leading New Zealand health researcher is calling on supermarkets to follow the lead of the UK's biggest supermarket chain, Tesco, and remove all sweets and lollies from checkout areas to remove temptation from impulse buyers.

Two families will never be the same again. Shane Summerfield lost his wife, Sally, and his 12-year-old daughter, Ella; Sam Summerfield lost his mother and his little sister.

For Labour, size matters - particularly when it comes to education, writes Kerre McIvor.

I'm sure a number of you have been tapped up by earnest, clear-eyed friends who've pledged to go "dry" for July as a fundraising initiative to help adults with cancer.

What a complete cock-up on the part of our Foreign Affairs officials over the case of the Malaysian diplomat who has been accused of burglary and sexual assault.