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

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

National is preparing for immigration to become a major election issue.

Landbankers could have property seized by the Government if the land is within certain areas marked for housing development. Housing

Serious social imbalances take shine off good performances in polls and economy.

Halfway through the third term, National remain in a strong position. Audrey Young assesses key rivalries and what Labour needs to do in next 18 months.

COMMENT: It is not often that the big surprise in a Budget is something that will not be in it at all.

John Key was the star guest at a private fundraising lunch for Change the Flag lobby group in a last-ditch bid to raise cash from wealthy Chinese donors.

COMMENT: Key and Kitteridge owe us all, and NZ Muslim women especially, an apology.

The Labour Party is justifiably celebrating a victory on legislation to end "zero-hour contracts" even if it is victory on a fine point of law.

It was an ominous sign when Prime Minister John Key wandered into his weekly post-Cabinet press conference and announced, "I've got a bit of a head cold."

Eight Mile Style LLC and Martin Affiliated LLC, publishers of Eminem's copyrights, accused the party of using backing music to the rapper's song Lose Yourself.

The longer a Government goes on, the more it needs to minimise the fronts on which it can be attacked, writes Audrey Young.

Murray McCully, National's influential backroom strategist for decades, will not stand for re-election. He tells Claire Trevett he's not dead yet.

The National Government will today ignore widespread opposition from ordinary New Zealanders when it signs the secretly negotiated deal, writes Jane Kelsey.

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.

Audrey Young looks back at the five biggest moments of John Key's third term.

Without a national achievement target, how would the PPTA suggest the performance of the eduction system be checked?

The importance of National's support partners - Act, United Future and the Maori Party - has grown immensely since election night a year ago.