Hidden homelessness campaigners are scratching out messages of housing desperation the old-school way.

Prince Harry's nine days in New Zealand cost Kiwi taxpayers $426,317 - more than three times what it cost Australians.

A spend of more than $360,000 on pay television subscriptions by Government departments has been criticised by Labour.

A Government inquiry into the escape of convicted murderer and paedophile Phillip John Smith has been extended.

A former West Auckland principal who pleaded guilty to possessing objectionable material can be named for the first time.

An illegal immigrant who paid a NZ couple $8000 for their identities to get false passports has been deported.

Internal Affairs are investigating the legality of children's amusement machines which experts say are grooming young people to play the pokies.

In the decision, Smith was described as a “manipulative, serious criminal with a high risk of reoffending”.

The Government plans to increase the application fee when it extends the passport validity, even though there seems no grounds for doing so.

The father of Lydia Ko says he is planning to take legal action against Auckland Korean Society members who he claims have severely damaged Ko's image.

Police were called to Auckland Korean Society after meeting on secret donations to golfing superstar Lydia Ko’s family turned nasty.

The bid by Phillip John Smith and his sister to have their case transferred to the High Court has been delayed until May.

Donations of more than $100,000 from a Korean Government bank to golfing superstar Lydia Ko's family were secretly filtered through an Auckland charity.

The Corrections Department has given the names of 10,000 offenders to border officials in a bid to prevent another escape in the wake of the Phillip Smith case.

The woman accused of helping Phillip John Smith escape custody can now be revealed as his sister.

Pip Smit of the Bay of Plenty's Beachrentals.net.nz was unhappy to discover his Trade Me advertisement to rent a Beach property had been copied and put on to another website.

The stepfather of murderer and paedophile Phillip John Smith believes a woman accused of helping him flee authorities was conned.

A former chairman of Harness Racing NZ and three others have been charged over an alleged $30m pokie fraud, in the biggest case ever of its kind outside of a casino.

Cases such as Phillip Smith's flight from New Zealand on an allegedly unlawfully obtained passport are not behind a review of how public records are accessed, officials say.

The Department of Internal Affairs is reviewing the way people access Births, Deaths and Marriages records.

Police are hunting two men after busting what they believe was an illegal gambling den in one of Auckland's swankiest suburbs.

Charlotte and Oliver continue to top the most popular names for newborns last year in a list dominated by traditional names.

Holes in NZ passport security have been exposed after an illegal immigrant paid for two false identities and the copies ended up linked to a terror plot.

Internal Affairs has abandoned an investigation into alleged irregular payments for a thoroughbred racehorse made by Sir Owen Glenn's charity.

A West Auckland man who pleaded guilty to possessing objectionable material has had his name suppression continued until the new year.

It was a sting operation - but Internal Affairs is disappointed just one gambling venue out of 102 stopped their fake addict from gambling.

The Department of Corrections underestimated Phillip Smith when they planned his temporary release from prison, an inquiry has found.

The Government has confirmed the terms of reference for an independent inquiry into the escape of convicted killer Phillip Smith.