Former National Party leader Don Brash will seek the backing of the Act board on Saturday for an attempt to oust the leader of the party.

Act leader Rodney Hide's brand is 'toxic' and 'people don't like him', says the man who wants his job - his old mate Don Brash.

Let political miscreants go quietly into the night.

Amid cries of racism and snipes between the Maori Party and its former colleague Hone Harawira, the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill was passed yesterday.

The Government's coalition partners have been warned their pet projects will not be exempt from the drive for savings in this year's Budget, with funding for the Act Party's taskforce and Maori Party's Whanau Ora scheme under review.

So National and Act are allies, right? Anyone who was not aware this is the case could have been excused thinking otherwise had they sat through Act's annual conference at the weekend.

Act leader accuses middle class of stopping projects which create jobs for less well-off.

Personalities behind the parties get a critical review at Hide team's conference.

Hone Harawira says it was "dumb" and shameful that he forgot to vote on the bill that was the main reason for his break with the Maori Party.

Act Party leader Rodney Hide says there is no doubt that that few politicians have had such an influence on the direction of New Zealand as Sir Roger Douglas.

The Maori Party today continued to hound Local Government Minister Rodney Hide over his attitude to Auckland Council's Maori Statutory Board, asking in Parliament what he meant when he said yesterday it was "inherently divisive".

We shouldn't forget the first-past-the-post system twice delivered Robert Muldoon a government with fewer votes than Labour.

More than half of all voters support keeping MMP, a new poll shows.