WARWICK RASMUSSEN - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: Any tweaks to the rules surrounding the way we drive are always going to create polarising responses.

JONATHON HOWE - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: There will not be much swimming in Lake Horowhenua this summer after its water was revealed to be potentially fatal if swallowed by children or animals.

© Fairfax NZ News

Our weekly restaurant reviews resumed yesterday for the first time this year, after taking a break for a couple of months.

WARWICK RASMUSSEN - DEPUTY EDITOR - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: Sonny Bill Williams' boxing match in Hamilton this week had all the sporting significance of a theatre production.

MICHAEL CUMMINGS - EDITOR - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: Science and politics make for uncomfortable bedfellows, as lobby group Family First's bumbling efforts this week to undermine day care for children clearly demonstrate.

WARWICK RASMUSSEN - DEPUTY EDITOR - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: There's something creepy about going through a full-body scanner as a security measure at an airport. Images of weird, lumpy skeleton-like figures on a screen are conjured up, as are thoughts of privacy invasions.

WARWICK RASMUSSEN - DEPUTY EDITOR - © Fairfax NZ News

Sometimes, groups with good intentions cause more damage to their organisation when they cross the line, thinking they are doing so for the greater good.

JONATHON HOWE - CHIEF OF STAFF - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: It was interesting to see that a friend of doctor Ralph Saxe, who died along with chiropractor Brett Ireland in a plane crash at Feilding's Timona Park, publicly rule out pilot error as a factor.

WARWICK RASMUSSEN - DEPUTY EDITOR - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: Getting rid of everyone's rubbish is a seriously costly business.

WARWICK RASMUSSEN - DEPUTY EDITOR - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: Barely two months have passed since the election and already the ACT Party is causing headaches for the National-led Government.

WARWICK RASMUSSEN - DEPUTY EDITOR - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: Certain industries are used to boom and bust times.

WARWICK RASMUSSEN - DEPUTY EDITOR - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: Auckland's population has topped 1.5 million, according to estimates, and shows no signs of slowing down.

OPINION: The local government watchdog challenging the Government's decision to appoint an observer to the troubled Christchurch City Council has chosen the wrong time to start barking.

WARWICK RASMUSSEN - DEPUTY EDITOR - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: Too much is being made of the sale of 16 farms to a Chinese business

GRANT MILLER - ON POLITICS - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: Headwinds are continuing to chill the nation's economy and the effect on the Government's books is increasingly clear.

The political year had its unofficial commencement ceremony at Ratana this week.

WARWICK RASMUSSEN - DEPUTY EDITOR - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: When someone in the public sector gets a pay rise that's far more than the average person earns in a year, eyebrows are going to be raised.

WARWICK RASMUSSEN - DEPUTY EDITOR - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: Today is Australia Day.

WARWICK RASMUSSEN - DEPUTY EDITOR - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: While internet multimillionaire Kim Dotcom learns whether he will be extradited to the United States by the FBI on racketeering, copyright infringement and other charges, his dealings in New Zealand are coming under increased scrutiny.

© Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: In the bottom shelf of the bookcase of her lounge, my grandmother keeps a set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica - an invaluable resource in my childhood.