Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

A suggestion the economics in ACT's latest transport policy won't stack up.

The Party says it would fund roading infrastructure with toll roads and more public-private partnerships.

Greater Auckland Director Matt Lowrie says today's cost of construction means there's no way tolls could pay it off.

"Look at something like Transmission Gully- you'd probably be looking at a toll of around $20 per car, per trip to cover the cost of construction. That was before the cost increased by 50 percent."

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A man accused of kidnapping a Christchurch real estate agent had reportedly booked a one-way flight overseas.

44-year-old Harcourts employee Yanfei Bao was last seen in Wigram, on Wednesday.

Her cellphone was found on the Southern Motorway on Friday.

A 52-year-old Bryndwr man appeared in court today, understood to have been arrested at Christchurch Airport.

The Herald's Sam Sherwood says Bao's husband is calling her disappearance a nightmare.

"He says it's been a very dark space, but he remains hopeful for a positive outcome for his wife."

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Kiri Allan's arrest has raised questions about Labour's chances in the upcoming election.

Ginny Andersen has taken over as Justice Minister from Kiri Allan - who was charged with careless use of a motor vehicle and refusing to accompany a police officer in Wellington last night.

She's the latest Minister exiting Cabinet in recent months, following Stuart Nash and Michael Wood.

Former Labour Chief of Staff Mike Munroe says Kiri Allan's departure is another sorry chapter for the party- but there's 80 days left to go.

"The concerns that people have got are the concerns around law and order, crime and the cost of living. And we'll find that those issues are going to be front and centre of the political conversation over the next 80 days."

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Kiri Allan has resigned all her portfolios after being charged with reckless driving and resisting arrest following a car crash.

The Prime Minister today confirmed the former Justice Minister was taken into custody after the crash on Evans Bay Parade in Roseneath just after 9pm.

She was charged with reckless driving and resisting arrest, and was released about 1am.

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Kiri Allan's political career won't recover from this incident- and that Labour's done and dusted.

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Swimmer Erika Fairweather welcomes the strength of her 400-metre freestyle peers in the build-up to next year's Paris Olympics.

The 19-year-old's claimed bronze at the world championships in Japan, becoming the fifth woman to go under four minutes in the discipline.

Sportstalk host Jason Pine explains this accomplishment further.

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The New Zealand Bar Association is warning against misinformed anger at the judiciary following Thursday's Auckland shooting.

The revelation that the 24-year-old shooter was serving five months’ home detention following domestic violence charges has been met with questions and criticism.

Bar Association Criminal Committee co-chair James Rapley KC says it's normal for offenders who commit domestic violence to serve home detention and the sentence felt appropriate at the time.

"The judge started at three years imprisonment, he got a discount for pleading guilty and other factors brought it down to less than two years. And by law, the judge has to consider a sentence of home detention."

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Two men who were charged alongside Mama Hooch rapists Danny and Roberto Jaz have been granted permanent name suppression, to avoid being “stigmatized” by their connection to the case.

Senior Political Reporter Anna Leask told Jack Tame that one of the men was acquitted on the single charge he was facing, and the other was acquitted on all but offering to supply a class C drug.

She said that the Judge granted name suppression to these men on the basis that they would face serious hardship if their names were to be known.

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How fricking good?

I watched the Football Ferns on my phone last night as I drove from Auckland to Rotorua. Streaming it from the passenger seat as we zipped along the Waikato expressway. I can’t think of a time when I’ve been more anxious for the 4G reception to hold out.

And talk about adding new meaning to ‘Are We There Yet’? Those last nine minutes of additional time felt like ninety.

We needed that result last night. In every respect. For the tournament. For the sport. And after the events of yesterday morning, for the country.  

From a football perspective, the thing I loved most was the hunger.

From the word go, the Football Ferns were rabid on defence. Every time a Norwegian midfielder found the ball at her feet and lifted her head to assess the options forward, a Football Ferns’ defender was rushing up, in her face, busying or badgering her for the ball and shutting down her options. It was the kind of relentless, exhaustive, extraordinary effort that makes the last twenty minutes of a game very difficult indeed.

The style of New Zealand international football has historically been defined by a heavy line of brutish defenders heaving the ball up the field and hoping for the best, but on attack, the Ferns were creative, technical, skilful and fluid. It was such a joy to watch.

For the second time in as many years, a women’s team has stepped up in a World Cup under the pressure and hopes of the nation. The Black Ferns last year, the Football Ferns now.

Isn’t it amazing how sport can lift us?

Two more pool games. And having recorded our first ever win at a Football World Cup, and in such glorious style, it's surely not too soon to suggest the Football Ferns of last night have the talent and desire to become the first New Zealand team to make the World Cup knockout rounds, too.

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A targeted intelligence-gathering campaign by China-based hackers has resulted in the email account of Nicholas Burns, US Ambassador to China, being breached.

The hackers also accessed the accounts of the assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson told Jack Tame that these attacks seem to be happening almost weekly.

He said that the hackers managed to breach unclassified emails, but were not able to access anything with higher levels of security.

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National says the Government needs to scrap its 30-percent inmate reduction target.

A 24-year-old on home detention for domestic violence fatally shot two workmates at an Auckland building site yesterday.

He was permitted to work at the site, wearing a monitoring anklet.

He died after a police shootout.

National's Paul Goldsmith told Jack Tame that people convicted of violent crimes are ending up not going to prison.

He says that the priority should be on reducing the number of victims as opposed to reducing imprisonment rates.

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