The Human Rights Commission has given cautious support to the Government's spying reforms.

After locking in its long-term climate change target, National is seeking a cross-party approach to the issue for the first time.

Porirua Mayor Nick Leggett says Labour leader Andrew Little's plan to upgrade all rental properties has some large gaps.

"It is very small, but it is quality,' says the National MP promoting a trivial law change.

Labour wants changes to spying reforms before it will support them, including a broader oversight committee.

COMMENT: Monday caucus. They filed in, dragging their heels, yawning, scratching, sighing. They were a bit more animated than usual.

Labour leader Andrew Little has downplayed his comments that the party could hold a referendum on decriminalising cannabis if in Government.

Labour leader Andrew Little's first move on the first day back at Parliament after a month's recess was to announce he had found the silver bullet to solve the housing crisis.

Labour's factions have resurfaced after leader Andrew Little accused recently departed member Nick Leggett of being a "right-wing" candidate in the Wellington mayoral contest.

Key's goal was to make New Zealand pest-free by 2050. The conservationists cheered aloud.

Labour's Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis says he is not worried the Maori Party and Mana Party might do a deal.

Labour and the Greens say the new lending rules won't be enough to slow rapid property price hikes.

House prices have risen faster than wages in all but four regions in New Zealand, according to analysis by the Labour Party.

COMMENT: Since announcing the policy, Labour has been almost silent on what it's planning and instead got distracted by what National was doing, writes Claire Trevett.

COMMENT: Judging by Helen Clark's performance and the audience enthusiasm for her, she may be the UN Secretary General.

COMMENT: It's as though a bee smoker has been pointed at Wellington's most famous hive and its inhabitants have become dopey.

State housing and building programmes are just the political branding of a package that contains more potent taxation inside.

Labour's proposed Affordable Housing Authority will have powers to buy land compulsorily, Labour leader Andrew Little says.

Labour's loudly heralded housing policy announcement today will be received with more interest than an opposition party normally receives.

Labour will promise to build 50,000 bargain-priced homes for first-home buyers in Auckland over the next 10 years in a rejig of its 2013 KiwiBuild policy.

COMMENT: At times over the past few years I've relished the thought of the Labour Party's centenary.

COMMENT: In a world in which the latest messaging apps last only seconds, the Labour Party has much to celebrate in lasting 100 years.

COMMENT: To mark this week's 100th birthday, a very short and completely reliable history of the Labour Party.

COMMENT: To be able to make a difference Labour is going to need a sensible and fair taxation system.

COMMENT: The Labour Party is introducing smart, innovative plans that are investing in our future.

Claire Trevett looks at the party's progress in the shaping of its plans to wrest power from the National Party at next year's general election.

It was 14 years ago when Helen Clark posed for the cameras and unveiled a plaque at Monte Cecilia House which sits on a street surrounded by former and current state houses in Mangere.

On the streets of Lincoln in Canterbury, Dunsandel apprentice electrician Michael Wallace, 25, is not impressed with the Labour leader.