Less than 25h after a stunning victory, Winston Peters was up to his old petulant antics in a way that made the Aussie cricketers look like models of good sportsmanship, writes Paul Little.

Winston Peters' triumph in the Northland byelection signals the most serious challenge he has mounted to National in two decades, writes John Armstrong.

Maungaturoto, Paparoa, Pahi, Tinopai, Matakohe, Ruawai and Tokatoka are a hop, skip and a jump from each other, and Elisabeth Easther found plenty in these tiny towns to delight.

The Prime Minister was quick to "rip up" the Government's intended reform of the Resource Management Act after the Northland byelection. Suspiciously quick.

Prime Minister John Key has admitted he underestimated Winston Peters' potential to win the Northland seat at the weekend's byelection.

Police are working to piece together events that lead to the death of a man who came off his motorcycle north of Whanagrei this morning.

Prime Minister John Key does not believe Winston Peters will be any more willing to work with National now he is the Northland MP.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has confirmed he will resign as a list MP, which will allow his party member to gain a new MP.

The Prime Minister would have been glad to be in Melbourne at the weekend. The World Cup final was bound to be more fun, whatever happened, than the result of the Northland byelection.

It surely does not get much better than this for Winston Peters, writes John Armstrong.

NZ First leader Winston Peters has delivered National a humiliating bloodied nose in the Northland byelection, with a majority of 4,012 votes after the counting.

Prime Minister John Key is relying on National voters flocking to the polls and Labour voters staying home to win the Northland byelection.

What a madcap couple of months. The Northland byelection campaign has had all the infantile pranking, ill-discipline and personal baggage of an Auckland airport carousel at Maadi Cup time. Here, from....

Last night's 3News-Reid Research poll has Winston Peters registering a thumping 54 per cent, writes John Armstrong. If replicated on Saturday, the result will be akin to a massacre of National.

John Key is bound for Northland where he will be campaigning alongside candidate Mark Osborne, two days out from the Northland byelection.

National's Northland byelection candidate Mark Osborne told supporters to brace themselves for some bad polls yesterday but insisted he was not out of the race.

The Government was asked to reaffirm its commitment to upgrade Northland bridges after comments by Finance Minister Bill English caused confusion in Parliament today.

Election campaigns are packed with exaggerations, scaremongering and obfuscation. The Northland byelection is no different.

The pork barrels now being rolled out by an apprehensive National Party squaring up to the Peter Pan of politics has turned the Northland byelection into an unusually interesting event.

Nearly 90 per cent of the 7500 new jobs created in the Northland region last year were full-time jobs, according to the office of Employment Minister Steven Joyce.

National MP Shane Reti initially defended himself against bullying claims, but later apologised.

The Northland byelection has been an opportunity for all parties to prove that predictability is the real lifeblood of politics, writes Paul Little.

Cartoonist Rod Emmerson's take on the Northland byelection.

The Government has a fight on its hands in what should be a safe rural seat. Geoff Cumming finds out why.

One of the country’s flagship charter schools is now teetering on the edge of closure. Kirsty Johnston goes behind the gates at Whangaruru.

Northland learned this week up to $69m will be spent to upgrade 10 one-lane bridges in their electorate. With close byelection polls, this represented pork-barrel politicking at its most flagrant.

A struggling Northland charter school has removed its management team in what it says is a last-ditch attempt at avoiding closure.