Japan will lay five charges against anti-whaling activist Peter Bethune, for boarding the Shonan Maru II in the Southern Ocean in February. His lawyer says the situation is potentially very serious.

The Transport Minister is pushing for security cameras in all city taxis with the taxi federation hoping they will be in place by the middle of next year.

Smacking children may be creeping back into favour following Government assurances that police will not prosecute parents for "light smacks", according to a new survey.

Phil Heatley will return to Cabinet on Thursday after the Auditor-General found no intentional wrongdoing on his part.

Murray McCully said the 2011 World Cup "may be the last time our small country of 4 million people can afford to host a rugby world cup".