The sensible move should have been to fast-track the proposed market, thereby ensuring the drugs being smoked by young NZers have been tested and are "safe", writes Brian Rudman.

If Labour finance spokesman David Parker is proposing a job swap with the Reserve Bank Governor he should say so, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Editorial: The Labour Party has done well to come up with a constructive monetary policy for the coming election.

Finance Minister Bill English has rubbished Labour's new Kiwisaver plan, but the policy has received support from employers.

Kiwibank has increased its interest rates just as the Labour party gears up to reveal its proposed changes to monetary policy this morning.

Labour has extended its deadline for the Tamaki Makaurau seat for the third time as it waits for a TVNZ report into the actions of potential candidate Shane Taurima.

Shane Jones has become a lightning rod for the discussion about the state of the Labour Party, and about what it means to be leftwing in 2014, writes Bryce Edwards.

PM John Key says leaving some synthetic drugs on the market was “a mistake” and Government should have banned all products until a rigorous testing regime was in place.

When Shane Jones walked away from Labour this week, he may have taken thousands more voters just like him.

Editorial: Kelvin Davis is the pawn in one of the most vexed strategic decisions facing David Cunliffe and the Labour Party strategists this election.

It's a wonderfully Kiwi thing that National Party honcho Sir Wira Gardiner financially supported Shane Jones' bid to become Labour leader.

The Labour list MP, Jacinda Ardern, is one of the few politicians who lets you go to her house and what's more, she lets you have a good nosy around.

In March last year, Labour MP Jones held a "Lazarus Party" to celebrate his comeback after being cleared of wrongdoing in an Auditor-General's probe into a citizenship decision he made.

Could things get any worse for David Cunliffe than they did this week? John Armstrong on Labour's schisms.

Kelvin Davis has bought a new suit and quit his job for a return to Parliament following the resignation of Shane Jones, but says people needn't expect him to take over Jones' mantle as one of the bluntest, more colourful characters in Parliament.

Labour party leader David Cunliffe said he did not try to convince Shane Jones to stay with the party when he received news of his resignation yesterday.

National's audacious poaching of Shane Jones could be seen as a cynical ploy to undermine the electoral chances of the Opposition, writes Bryce Edwards.

Labour's Tukituki candidate says she won't delete a 2011 tweet in which she called David Cunliffe, now her party's leader, a "bully".

Shane Jones says he's not a 'sellout' for leaving the Labour party to take up a position created by the National-led Government.

Shane Jones' shock decision to quit as a Labour MP will lead voters to draw one conclusion and one conclusion only, writes John Armstrong.

A law change to ensure paedophiles convicted of the most serious crimes are not released back on to the streets without monitoring could rely on a future Labour government.

Labour MP Shane Jones will step down from politics at the end of next month and will not run for Parliament again.

Labour MP Shane Jones' party leadership bid was part-funded by a cash donation from Sir Wira Gardiner, husband of National Party Cabinet minister Hekia Parata.

Labour's immigration spokesman is concerned about the consistency of Immigration New Zealand's decisions after it granted a visa exemption to Nigella Lawson.

Wild weather couldn't dampen the spirit of Kiwi kindness over Easter weekend.

Snobbery and a false rumour that a boundary change would take some homes out of the Auckland Grammar zone and affect property values are believed to be factors in the strong opposition.

The reluctance of her fellow National MPs to come to her aid no doubt in part reflects their annoyance that she was so silly, so unwise, writes John Armstrong.