A reader writes: How much do we need to take, haven't we done our penance?

Are you sick of ever increasing rates bills and keen for some respite?

Dairy farming in Northland is undergoing the biggest shake-up the sector has seen in more than 50 years with a wave of outsiders taking advantage of comparatively cheap farmland.

Bringing New Zealand into the digital age has been a top priority for the Government. The Ultra Fast Broadband scheme to bring fibre optic internet to the home in urban areas is well under way, but the rural sector isn't being left in the dark ages.

The Government has announced an increase to investment in our deteriorating rural roads, but Federated Farmers has concerns as to whether it will be enough.

As a country that grows, processes and sells food products, New Zealand cannot afford to rest on its laurels when it comes to food safety, especially since the Fonterra botulism scare.

The buzz about town is the revised payouts announced by Fonterra and Westland, which have both dropped significantly.

Hamiltonian Rodney Sharp and his wife Angela own a business called Progressive Group - and judging by their three grassroots innovations at Fieldays, the name is apt.

Political leaders across the spectrum have pounced on the opportunity to peddle their policies for the impending election - a sound bite or snippet more than sufficient to stir up controversy - particularly on a matter as divisive as land sales to foreign

I was hardly a model student. If I had devoted as much time to my studies as I did in trying to fashion a timetable that gave me Fridays and Mondays off I may have completed my Bachelor's degree in the standard three years rather than the four it eventual