Very few NZers vote on the basis of knighthoods, writes Claire Trevett. Public support for knighthoods tends to depend more on who is awarded them and their behaviour than the title's historic origins.

Normally, a new leader of the Opposition would relish the chance to boost his or her profile and start making some real waves through the platform offered by a byelection.

Labour leader Andrew Little would not have had to look far for reasons to be positive when he addressed his party's two-day caucus meeting yesterday.

Labour leader Andrew Little heads into a two-day retreat with his caucus today, only mildly buoyed by the latest poll results and the shock success of Labor in Queensland at the weekend.

Support for both Labour and National has gone up in the latest TV3 poll, the first major poll of the year, which reflects similar results to the Herald DigiPoll December survey.

A poll has revealed 55% of voters think Little is potentially a better match for PM John Key than his Labour Party leader predecessors.

"The Labour Party I lead is about jobs, good jobs, skilled jobs, well-paid jobs." Andrew Little has delivered his first state of the nation speech.

The union backing of Labour leader Andrew Little in last year's leadership contest did not translate into hard cash - his rivals got more.

The Herald understands Len Brown has the backing of his wife and has told his inner circle he wants to run again for the mayoralty, but may not have enough support.

An Auckland University lecturer Nigel Haworth and City Vision chair Robert Gallagher have put themselves forward to be the Labour Party's next President.

Labour leader Andrew Little and Prime Minister John Key are gearing up for their state of the nation speeches on Wednesday.

Labour's popularity has jumped three percentage points in the first political poll since Andrew Little took over the leadership and the first major poll since the election.

A world-class surfing spot and one of Northland's most picturesque strands of coastline are among more than 40 swimming beaches hit with a "caution" label for water quality.

It was a year of sorrows. It was a sorry excuse of a year. It was also a year of sorries. As of yesterday, they were still flowing.

Labour leader Andrew Little has appointed Matt McCarten as his chief of staff, keeping him on after his time in the job under former leader David Cunliffe.

Parliament has just passed legislation aimed at stopping would-be foreign fighters from leaving New Zealand to join Islamic State in Iraq.

The Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill is expected to pass tonight under urgency with the support of National and Labour.

Pre-sales of the first of 500 to 600 new Wynyard Quarter apartments start in February and the first show-home is being built.

Labour's review panel has reported back on its election campaign - finding a failure to unite behind David Cunliffe and confusion over its "Vote Positive" slogan.

Rodney Hide writes: Prime Minister John Key likes to text. So, perhaps it would help us all if Labour and the Greens drew up a list of whom the Prime Minister can and can't text?

Labour says it has secured concessions to urgent counter-terrorism laws including a shorter period of 24 hours for warrantless surveillance of terror suspects.

Andrew Little is not setting up his Future of Work Commission to be just another dull talkfest. Its real purpose is to chip away at National's economic policy, writes John Armstrong.

It was a tale of two speeches in Auckland yesterday for the Labour Party's new leader..

Little must be seen as a potential leader for all, not just narrow left-wing interests, writes Audrey Young, so the guest list was as important as the message.

Andrew Little has unveiled plans to challenge the way the Labour Party has traditionally related to working people in his first major speech outside Parliament.