Martin Van Beynen

It's an all too familiar story. A building company with lots of projects on the go collapses without warning.

IRD is refusing to pay a tax rebate of about $38 million to an oil company which is expected to cost the New Zealand taxpayer about $450m.

A move by the Lyttelton Port Company to start a new, compulsory health check regime has been ruled unlawful.

A hard-fought dispute between a wealthy British high country station owner and the University of Canterbury over a “small sum” of rent has been cleared for a hearing in the High Court.

Poor profits, constant management changes, unhappy workers, bloated wages and salaries and a shocking safety record.

A frustrating five-year wait while liquidators sorted out the mess left by failed cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia has paid off handsomely for some investors.

The carnage started in February with the death of a nine-year-old boy in Warkworth in a crash between a quad bike and a motorcycle.

OPINION: Remember Jacinda Ardern. Already she seems like an historical figure you get asked about in pub quizzes.

Martin van Beynen is a journalist with The Press OPINION: At the end of 2019 The Economist magazine selected its country of the year.

OPINION: The best thing about any hard day's tramping is getting to the hut and sliding the pack off your back.