The PM is factoring in the possibility of a visit by Barack Obama to NZ as one of the wild cards he has to consider in setting the date for next year's election.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown made a reasonable fist of fronting up to key Auckland businesspeople yesterday at the Herald's annual Project Auckland luncheon.

Talkback host John Tamihere claimed it was all just a matter of "West Auckland men's room talk" when he got into trouble for labelling Labour's female MPs "front-bums" back in 2005.

Now that economic reform has slowed, joining TPP could spur the next round of reforms, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

That the scare turned out to be the result of a false positive test does not mitigate the need for Fonterra to up its game, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Coalition mathematics is not far from the Prime Minister's mind these days.

The key question is whether Labour will stay on song with the bilateral positioning that has assured NZ extraordinary clout in trade negotiations, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

First it was their banks that were "too big to fail" - now it's the United States Government itself which has been deemed to be so, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Firm in dispute with Fonterra argues recall of some infant formula brands cost it the thick end of $326 million.

Labour's Phil Goff is back in business, adding his strong and rational voice to New Zealand's advocacy for the completion of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Labour leader said to have singled out economy, inequality gap, environment and strengthening national identity.

I celebrated the 120th anniversary of women's suffrage by going down to Parliament to stand in the public galleries while Labour MP Lianne Dalziel made her valedictory speech.

David Cunliffe leveraged the "axe the copper tax" campaign in Parliament yesterday to signal he intends to keep waging war against John Key's Government.

Political pundits are predicting a bloodbath if David Cunliffe is elected Labour's leader tomorrow and fails to quickly unify the caucus.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott faces a difficult challenge as his Liberal-led government tries to reboot the stalled mining boom.

Why doesn't earthy Shane Jones just come out and say it? "I'm not just another Labour 'soft cock'."

Last Wednesday, Fonterra bosses were heaving a collective sigh of relief, but as Fran O'Sullivan writes the clean-up from its dirty pipe debacle continues.

Both John Key and the TV channels could enlighten us much more on issues of the day if they abandoned the formula entertainment and got back to the journalism, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Some in the PR world prefer the more crude approach to crisis management, writes Fran O'Sullivan. That's the front up, fess up and (give us a) fair go to carry them through.

John Key's Cabinet must ensure an independent inquiry is held into the latest food safety scare to envelope the company that prides itself on being our national champion.

There is widespread anger within the dairy industry over the length of time it was kept secret from the market while officials worked on a gameplan, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Smart political footwork by Prime Minister John Key has put the South Korean free-trade agreement back on the agenda.

David Shearer should be personally disappointed that many of the nation's top chief executives do not believe he has yet demonstrated the right stuff to credibly challenge the Key Government.

Almost from the start, the deal was SkyCity's for the taking. The SkyCity board knew exactly what the Government's bottom line was, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

RadioLIVE has dubbed Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee the Minister of No, writes Fran O'Sullivan. It is a label that might just stick after his frank response to Auckland Mayor Len Brown's latest foray into transport funding.

Have you heard? NZ has signed a low-key free trade agreement with Taiwan.

In her judgment against what was in many respects a phantom company on trial, Judge Jane Farish was clear about where the buck should stop, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Congratulations to Party Central for putting gender equality ahead of diversity when it comes to the ranking criteria for selecting the next crop of Labour MPs.

Prime Minister John Key's decision to suddenly back Auckland on big infrastructure investments wasn't simply designed to steal a march on his Labour opponents.