Advance voting kicks off in the Mt Albert by-election today, but one of the main candidates is worried no one will turn up.

John Key says the decision to resign as Prime Minister was the hardest of his life.

The Government remains unconvinced about a proposal to put a cap on how much money households can borrow for a mortgage.

Former Prime Minister John Key is back at Parliament - for a limited time.

Protesters want the legalisation of medicinal marijuana to be an election issue.

The naming of election day always intensifies the focus on politics.

Among the new targets set by Bill English, police will be attending 98 per cent of burglaries within 48 hours, up from current rates of 86 per cent.

The English and Bennett team is bigger than the sum of its parts, writes Audrey Young, after the Prime Minister's State of the Nation address.

English says NZ First an 'unlikely' choice of governing partner, saying Nats prefer to stick to their present allies.

Labour and the Greens say they have dropped plans to cut electoral "deals" in marginal seats,

These are the high points from Labour and Greens' State of the Nation speeches this afternoon.

Andrew Little attacks Bill English, as he reveals his battle with prostate cancer left him determined to strive for a system fair for everyone.

Greens co-leader Metiria Turei's State of the Nation speech today focused on feminist themes.

Five National MPs have been given new roles by Prime Minister Bill English.

National MP for Rangitata Jo Goodhew will quit Parliament at the election after being dropped from Cabinet.

Bill English's arrival this afternoon was uneventful compared to his first Ratana visit in 2002 - also the first by a National Party leader.

Labour leader Andrew Little says the Maori Party is "effectively the Maori branch of the National Party."

Nearly 5000 people are now in the queue for social housing across the country.

Resignations by MPs has been pronounced since MMP began in 1996, of both of list and constituency MPs.

The European Union seems keen for a trade agreement with New Zealand.

Foreign Minister and East Coast Bays MP Murray McCully's office has been vandalised after New Zealand co-sponsored a UN resolution against Israeli settlements.

The Green Party are to contest the Mt Albert byelection, with a candidate to be selected in the New Year.

The National Party's decision not to contest the Mt Albert byelection can be well understood, but that does not make it right.

COMMENT: New PM finally gets to sit in the "highest-backed chair" at Cabinet unveiling.

National Party has waved the white flag in the upcoming Mt Albert byelection, with Labour accusing Bill English of "running scared" and daring him to call an early election.

Bill English's Cabinet makeover has rewarded two of National's best young ministers with some heavy-lifting duties that will make or break their reputations.

Nikki Kaye is set to become the new Education Minister but her appointment has been put off to allow her to recover from breast cancer treatment.

Four new ministers feature in Prime Minister Bill English's first Cabinet reshuffle. They are Alfred Ngaro, Mark Mitchell, David Bennett and Jacqui Dean.

Isaac Davison profiles two of the new faces in Bill English's Cabinet line-up.

PM Bill English's new Cabinet was a boon for Bridges, and others.