Our panel pick their overachievers and under-performers from the year in politics. How would we know it was the week before Christmas without a deluge of recap lists inviting us all to remember the highs, lows and everything in between from the year that’s been? This year in politics has ...

A person has been apprehended by armed police after they surrounded a house in Browns Bay on Auckland’s North Shore. Ricky Wilson/Stuff A person was arrested following an armed stand-off in Browns Bay, on Auckland’s North Shore. “Earlier this morning police were called to a residential address on Sartors Avenue following reports on an assault,” the spokesperson mentioned. “Cordons were put in place and the police negotiating team was deployed,” the spokesperson mentioned. Ricky Wilson/Stuff Police could possibly be seen leaving an handle on Sartors Avenue, Browns Bay.

Video / SuppliedKiwis will soon have a new way to discover whether they’ve unknowingly had Covid-19, with a simple blood-based test. Video / SuppliedBy Rowan Quinn of RNZThe number of people in hospital with Covid-19 could hit a record high in the Christmas wave. New modelling has been released by the Ministry of Health, suggesting a likely peak of about 1100 people in hospital with Covid on any given day. That is more than both the first Omicron wave in March (1000 a day) and second in July (836), partly driven by more older people getting the virus for the first time. The updated scenario shows community cases peaking at about 13,000 a day by the end of this month, up from 11,000 a day in the early modelling for this third Omicron wave.

After two years as head of South Island news, Hamish Clark has resigned from NZME. The boss of the New Zealand Herald in the South Island, Hamish Clark, has resigned. Clark was NZME’s South Island head of news for two years, following 14 years as South Island bureau chief for MediaWorks, where he led the reporting team for TV3, Newshub, and Radio Live. Murray Kirkness, the Herald’s editor, said: “NZME South Island head of news Hamish Clark has decided after much deliberation the next step in his career is outside of NZME and now is the ideal time to pursue that. We wish him well.”Stuff understands NZME will look to replace Clark in the new year.

A police dog was used to detail a person in Dunedin after they became aggressive. A suspected drink driver attracted the attention of police, and later received a bite from a police dog after becoming aggressive. The man was spotted driving past the Dunedin Central Police Station, before pulling into the neighbouring Countdown supermarket, on Saturday about 12.40am, Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said. The 27-year-old male driver became ‘’instantly aggressive’’ towards attending officers. The man was bitten by a police dog during his arrest.

Stuff.co.nz’s Miriam Bell has done a terrific job summarising the budding New Zealand housing crash, which has seen house prices and sales collapse at their fastest pace in decades. The key headline is the 13.7% decline recorded by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand’s (REINZ) House Price Index, which takes into account changes in the mix of properties sold each month. In turn, “the national median price at $810,000 in November, down from $925,000 at the same time last year”. Forecasts of how far New Zealand house prices will fall vary, with ASB leading the pack tipping a 25% decline from peak (-40% adjusted for inflation). New Zealand led the global house price boom over the pandemic.

Our panel pick their overachievers and under-performers from the year in politics. How would we know it was the week before Christmas without a deluge of recap lists inviting us all to remember the highs, lows and everything in between from the year that’s been? This year in politics has ...

White Ferns captain Sophie Devine hopes pay equity will be a 'huge drawcard for women and girls' to play cricket. It’s six years since she released her Women and Cricket report into the bleak state of the game in New Zealand, when she feared female cricket was dying. The agreement provides our top women’s cricketers the same money for the same day’s work as their male counterparts for the first time in New Zealand cricket history. So NZ Cricket asked women and girls how they wanted to play cricket, not just delivering it the ‘way it’s always been done’. “If girls want to play rugby that’s great, but we’d love them to play cricket in summer, too.

Those who had identified Baby W not only kept their content up, they continued to breach the suppression order. The result is that the baby, in the mainstream media, will forever be known as Baby W. Elsewhere, his name and face will live in infamy. The Philip example was an appetiser for the Baby W case, which has stretched the integrity of suppression rules to breaking point. Mainstream media mostly approached the Baby W story with caution, not identifying the baby or his parents. For Baby W, the reason is different: It is to preserve his right to privacy.

Stuff’s NowNext Travel survey has gathered insight into the ‘hearts and minds of New Zealanders’ releasing the latest report in November, this time discovering continued strong demand for both domestic and international travel. Drawing responses from Stuff’s audience across the motu, the November NowNext survey offers businesses valuable insight into how New Zealanders are feeling about travel, tapping into their dreams, concerns, and intentions. With a robust sample size of over 2200 Kiwis, the NowNext Travel surveys provide rapid, invaluable insights for brands wishing to capture and better understand public views. David says one of the most interesting findings was the strong international demand for Kiwis to travel overseas. The NowNext Travel surveys have the scale to provide trusted insight for the tourism industry, he adds.

Argentinian fans packed into Wellington pub the Four Kings to watch their side narrowly beat France in the Fifa World Cup final. On one side was French despair and on the other Argentinian ecstasy as the Fifa World Cup final at Lusail Stadium in Qatar played on the screens. ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff Argentinian fans erupt in joy at Dux Central bar in Christchurch take the Fifa World cup final win. Ricky Wilson/Stuff Argentina fans leave The Fox pub in downtown Auckland after the Fifa World Cup final. In Auckland, Argentinian fans flocked to the Fox sports bar on Auckland’s Viaduct in the early hours on Monday morning.

A traveller went off on Auckland Airport after discovering heaps of lost luggage, while her own bag had been missing for weeks. A passenger by the name of Debi Flutter has called out Auckland Airport for mishandling travellers’ missing luggage in an ‘outrageous’ picture showing heaps of unclaimed baggage collecting dust on the premises. Samantha was informed that her luggage would be waiting for her at the airport, but three weeks later, the bag was still a no-show. When she showed up at the airport to ask about the whereabouts of her bag, she was greeted with a long line of unclaimed luggage instead. “It’s an issue Auckland Airport continues to be concerned about, recognising how frustrating it can be for customers to lose their bags.

Alan was shot and killed at a property at Wieambilla, Queensland. The Covid-19 border breach was reported to police less than a year before Nathaniel was involved in the deadly standoff that killed two young police officers. “I saw him in a vehicle on a road,” the farmer told the publication. It was the last he heard from them for more than a year, before officers showed up at his border property days after Nathaniel’s deadly encounter in Wieambilla. A Queensland Police spokesperson told news.com.au they would not comment while the Ethical Standards Command conducted a major investigation into the shooting.

Another big year in politics is ending with next year, 2023, an even bigger one. Yep, it's an election year. To assess the political landscape as we head into 2023, I had a chat with regular interest.co.nz political commentator Chris Trotter. In the video Chris discusses the mood of the electorate, the key issues heading into 2023, and where the key political parties and politicians are at. *Note, there are a couple of ropey connection moments in the Zoom video.

Gareth and Stacey Train recorded and uploaded a video to YouTube on Monday night, after killing three people. Photo / YouTubeGareth and Stacey Train recorded and uploaded a video to YouTube on Monday night, after killing three people. Nathaniel (pictured), Gareth and Stacey Train were all previous employees of the Queensland Department of Education. The woman who accompanied police killers Nathaniel and Gareth Train has been revealed as former school principal Stacey Train. Gareth and Stacey Train recorded and uploaded a video to Youtube on Monday night, after killing three people.