Prime Minister John Key has defended New Zealand's emissions trading scheme amid criticism it is soft compared with a new Australian scheme.

PM must please Greens and placate struggling voters if she is to succeed in pushing legislation through Parliament and regain shrinking popularity.

PM slips behind Abbott as preferred leader for first time.

Floods, hurricanes, droughts - will climate change mean more wild weather ahead? That's a risk the insurance industry is taking very seriously, reports Peter Huck.

Prime Ministers discuss everything from war in Afghanistan to emissions trading.

Australia's main cities face floods and king tides from rising sea levels that could make once-in-a-century disasters....

It's foolish to rush into further commitments on cutting carbon emissions, writes Phil O'Reilly