Collins: I'll be bringing a firm hand
Reinstated Cabinet minister Judith Collins says a year on the backbench has given her more confidence and she is looking forward to sorting out the Serco debacle as the new Corrections Minister.
Reinstated Cabinet minister Judith Collins says a year on the backbench has given her more confidence and she is looking forward to sorting out the Serco debacle as the new Corrections Minister.
Spare a penny for the poor? This time around, the poor in question are not the homeless or the children, but the MPs themselves, writes Claire Trevett.
COMMENT: The PM's attitude might not be fashionable, but he is about old-fashioned values, teaching women to be seen and not heard, writes Paul Little.
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.
Serial litigant Graham McCready filed papers with the Human Rights Review Tribunal in May after an attempt at a private prosecution of Mr Key failed.
National Party figures are behind a new ticket, Auckland Future, being set up to wrestle for control of the Super City at next year's local body elections.
When prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and John Key meet this weekend for their first official talks there will be plenty on the table to discuss.
A push to legalise voluntary euthanasia has been boosted by the Prime Minister's endorsement.
When you can afford a holiday, a meal out and to replace your car, people are, by and large, content, writes Mike Hosking. Which in part is what has made John Key so successful.
The importance of National's support partners - Act, United Future and the Maori Party - has grown immensely since election night a year ago.
Malcolm Turnbull starts new job as Australian Prime Minister praising John Key, saying New Zealand had a leader whose style should be emulated, writes Audrey Young.
In the space of a week, Prime Minister John Key has performed a rather acrobatic about-flip, writes Claire Trevett.
The Cabinet's response yesterday to the Syrian refugee crisis is no more than a token gesture.
A long list of negative episodes have plagued John Key's third term, ranging from very damaging to trivial.
We are living in an age of spin, writes Peter Lyons. The Roman leaders gave their people bread and circuses. Sadly we no longer get the bread.
I believe we need to hold our Govt, whatever stripe it is, to the task of doing what it is there to do. That's what has driven this column, writes Dita De Boni.
Worm farming is a dangerous industry, according to the Government's health and safety reform bill.
It is crunch time for the economy, crunch time for Bill English and his "steady as she goes" economic plan.
Given the already surreal shemozzle the likelihood of more embarrassments emerging should have had National feeling like a lamb to the slaughter.
The Government says a new plan to lure migrants away from Auckland will boost regional economies, but admits it will do little to ease Auckland's housing pressures.
National's latest bit of tinkering with its immigration policy will not solve the Auckland housing crisis. It will barely touch it.
If this weekend's National Party conference runs true to recent form it will be so stage-managed that any vitality or vibrancy will have been sucked out of the affair before it has even begun.
The NZ-China free trade agreement doesn't stop new restrictions on house sales to overseas buyers, but National's subsequent deals try to, writes David Parker.
"Spectacularly unsuccessful" is John Key's verdict when asked about following Australia's foreign buyers policy. They are not really telling the whole story, says John Armstrong.
Prime Minister John Key has opened the door to possible restrictions on foreign buyers if information gained shows high numbers of foreigners are buying in New Zealand.
For all intents and purposes National was done like a dog's dinner by Labour this week, writes John Armstrong.
Unfair employment practices including zero-hours contracts are not going to be solved by National's latest measures, politicians and a union representative say.
Judith Collins described a champagne stunt by SFO boss Adam Feeley as an "utter disaster" that threatened to overshadow the Government at a crucial time.
It did not take long. Just three days, if that, for the politicians to get voluntary euthanasia well and truly off the political agenda, writes John Armstrong.