Political Roundup: Should politicians be free to hop in and out of elected office when it suits their career interests?

COMMENT: Politicians should not be swayed by big business and their lobbyists. Govt needs to serve the interests of the many, not the few.

COMMENT: I'm glad we finally moved towards banning microbeads, it's been great for the nation to have this conversation, late or not.

Labour leader Andrew Little is proposing a new solution to recover bodies in the Pike River coal mine.

COMMENT: Amongst the many reasons for accepting legislation on equal wages is the fact that it is the right thing to do.

Auckland barrister and Green Party candidate Golriz Ghahraman is hoping to be the first refugee to become an MP in New Zealand.

COMMENT: Let's hope that this 150th year of Maori representation enables a robust dialogue to occur with all of us at the table with an equal voice.

Twenty-one seconds is all it took for Wendy Atkinson's 2-year-old to scale their regulation-standard pool fence.

United Future leader Peter Dunne confirms he plans to contest this year's election. Jarrod Gilbert went to a Santa parade with the man behind the bow tie.

A new fight may be developing between Government and iwi over fishing rights, this time in the Marlborough Sounds.

A grassroots environment group is ramping up a lobbying campaign for more stringent "bottom line" rules around freshwater quality.

The very health and safety changes which the Pike River disaster prompted make re-entering the mine difficult, Prime Minister Bill English says.

Critics have slammed the Ministry of Social Development for rejecting a clause to establish special family violence leave saying they were "disappointed" and "saddened" by the decision.

Fewer than half of councils have enough staff trained to respond to marine oil spills.

Proposed new marine protected areas, rules for polluters and changes to commercial fishing methods have been revealed in a long-awaited master plan for the Hauraki Gulf.

The Ministry of Social Development is awaiting sentencing on breach of health and safety legislation after the 2014 Ashburton Work and Income office killings.

Further proposals to reduce the risk and harm of dog attacks has been given a tentative thumbs up from local animal welfare advocates

COMMENT: Technology is advancing at such a pace there is a risk our lawmakers, unless they are up to speed, will founder on legal and ethical decisions.

The Government will urgently pass quake recovery laws which allow landslips in the South Island to be cleared into the ocean without consent.

It has been more than 20 years since the first major effort in New Zealand to promote legalised euthanasia.

Labour MP Louisa Wall says her proposed law change to legalise assisted dying in New Zealand will not go into the private member's bill ballot.

MP Louisa Wall championed the right of everyone to marry. She has now tabled a Bill that sets out a process for terminally ill person to legally end life.

Constellation Brands, the alcohol giant that sells Corona beer and Svedka vodka, is considering a new approach to livening up its beverages: marijuana.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is calling for tough new laws around looting after three houses were burgled in the aftermath of this morning's quake.

The spying watchdog has urged Parliament to "tighten up" the warranting regime for New Zealand's intelligence agencies.

A major inquiry into euthanasia is taking place, but the Govt has already concluded it will not lead to any changes in New Zealand.

Concerns over the impacts of new health and safety legislation have seen the cancellation of a popular school gala day and fireworks display.

COMMENT: Palmer and Butler are drawing public attention to the benefits of our current constitutional arrangements.

Protest boats will be banned from parts of Auckland's harbour during a historic visit by a United States warship.

Thousands of US servicemen have been told to pay back enlistment bonuses, a decade after signing up for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.