Less than half of five-year-olds passed new phonics tests after their first full year of schooling last year.

A father-of-two killed in a shark attack is being remembered as a "one-of-a-kind gentleman", while his mates have been praised for rushing to bring him back to shore.

Winston Peters has announced a policy to automatically enrol all newborn New Zealand citizens into KiwiSaver with a $1000 government contribution, alongside a proposal to buy back the Bank of New Zealand and merge it with Kiwibank.