A powerful paedophile network may have operated in Britain protected by its connections to Parliament and Downing St, a senior Labour politician suggested yesterday.

A mother has escaped a prison sentence for an "orchestrated campaign of abuse and neglect" against her preschool-age child.

A key recommendation in the landmark coroner's finding into the Kahui twins' deaths has been ignored by the Government in its child abuse white paper.

A database of about 30,000 "at risk" children is to be created and accessed by government workers without parental knowledge as part of an overhaul of laws tackling child cruelty.

The new child protection system will bring teachers, doctors and social services together to protect each of New Zealand's 20,000 to 30,000 most vulnerable children.

The proposed new multi-agency plans for each child, backed by an IT system accessible by all agencies, should have been set up years ago, writes Simon Collins.

The connection between animal abuse and the abuse of humans will be explored at this year's New Zealand Companion Animal Conference.

A Rotorua man has been sentenced for giving his 6-year-old stepson a black eye by elbowing him in the face while he was having a tantrum over being buckled into his car seat.

A mother is accused of immersing her 2-year-old son's hands in boiling water then failing to seek medical treatment for at least eight months.

Child protection officials believe New Zealand may be finally tackling its child abuse problem after the first drop in abuse cases for at least eight years.

An Education Ministry inquiry into sex abuse by Far North teacher James Parker will begin this week, but no children will be questioned.