Tough allocation criteria make it near-impossible for most people to even get on the state house waiting lists. The private rental market is a tough place to enter when you're down and out, writes Sue Bradford.

Attendees will be asked to light candles to commemorate the victims in Paris, and there will be a condolences book for people to leave a message of support.

The cost of cleaning the windows at Great Barrier Island airport is surprising.

Len Brown would have us believe that nothing happened pre-Super City and that advances since then were all his doing.

COMMENT: The writing was on the wall for outgoing mayor Len Brown and his fanciful schemes, he just needed Phil Goff to show him the door, writes Mike Hosking.

The Council does not build the homes. That is the role of the private development and community housing sectors, writes Ree Anderson.

When the Auckland Council was formed in November 2010, Watercare went from being a wholesaler to seven councils to a retailer for 450,000 customers.

Seldom has New Zealand seen, at any level of politics, a rise and fall as rapid as that of Len Brown.

Len Brown's announcement has been met with relief by council members who say they can focus on milestone decisions for the region's future.

It's rare for politicians to admit their mistakes. Particularly one as recent as Auckland Council's unelected Maori Statutory Board, writes Brian Rudman.

Richie McCaw was granted the Freedom of Auckland by Mayor Len Brown yesterday - the first time the honour has been bestowed since the birth of the Super City five years ago.

The Government is proposing a governance model similar to the Auckland Council for regions that have voted to reject a Super City-like structure.

Lyttelton Port Co, which was taken private by Christchurch City Council last year, is suing insurance broker Aon for $184 million over the handling of its policies during the 2010 and 2011....

Fire safety issues have stopped construction on the first 20 terraced homes at Auckland's biggest affordable housing project.

A sea wall is to be built at one of Auckland's most popular beaches in a $5 million plan to try to stop storms ripping out chunks of its grassy park and currents carrying away its sand.

It bemuses me the way the major political parties go to so much trouble to disguise their interest in running Auckland Council, Brian Rudman writes.

The Auckland Council intends to hold a debate and a vote on whether to oppose exploratory oil drilling in an area of seabed off the west coast.

The Auckland Council has been struggling to work out how to preserve the city's heritage in housing.

Council's bloopers tape shows why asking Aucklanders to trust builders and developers is a step too far, says Brian Rudman.

Christine Fletcher writes an open letter to Phil Goff, warning him of the "shambles" in its local government as he considers standing for mayor.

Authorities seek to force out dodgy inhabitants after alleged kidnapping and gunshots at Mark Lyon's 15 Karaka St building.

The rise in pay packets for Auckland Council's top brass has slowed this year, according to a Herald survey.

State house tenants from around New Zealand plan to march on Parliament against Government plans to sell 1600 houses in Tauranga and Invercargill.

New Zealand Cup and Show week was previewed in Christchurch yesterday with a business breakfast to celebrate the annual event's influence in the region.

Council takes leap of faith to give another chance to Black Power member who was jailed for assault and grievous bodily harm.

There is relentless scrutiny and although customers and shareholders may be a tough crowd at times for a corporate CEO, ratepayers present an even more challenging constituency, writes Mark Thomas.

Auckland's point of difference is not the glories or supremacy of one ethnicity over another, but our place in the Pacific as a smorgasbord of cultures and ethnicities, writes Brian Rudman.