The conditions have been atrocious. Mr Smith and some of his team, him grey with fatigue and his hands still not fully functioning, ponder at how she could have lasted so long.

Children's Commissioner Dr Russell Wills has decided to publish his own annual stocktake of child poverty after the Govt spurned his call to publish official measures and targets.

Every New Zealand classroom will soon have access to digital devices - opening up huge learning opportunities, but also a risk of another "digital divide".

A grand hilltop estate with sweeping views over Tauranga has hit the market with a $12 million price tag - and a $400 fee just to take a tour.

The judges called it "extraordinarily rare", and the picture of a leopard anemone adrift in the sea has earned Richard Robinson of the Herald the title of New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year.

He was the new arrival with an impressive CV who burst onto the political scene hoping for a future with the National Party. But his naked ambition and role in the Len Brown infidelity scandal have left him high and dry

The electoral gods could well be shining on Conservative Party leader Colin Craig as the electorate boundaries are changed in the wake of the census.

A cause credited for putting educational computers in the hands of millions of children across the world will come full-circle for one of its Kiwi-born founders today, when he launches the One Laptop Per Child programme here.

Forget Richie McCaw and Dan Carter - NZ's most adored brands are chocolate and ice cream.