Graham McCready is clearly a winner. He declared the police wrong in not prosecuting Banks. With the indefatigable Penny Bright's help, he got the case to court.

Taxpayer funding for National and Labour's election campaign broadcast advertising has been cut for this year's election but the Greens and NZ First will enjoy a substantial boost.

If John Key expected to be asked the soft questions when he bowled up for Question Time with school children in Niue yesterday, he was sorely disappointed.

Instead of trading personal abuse I challenge Bob Jones to a public debate on drone strikes and our mass surveillance society, writes John Minto.

A wealthy Auckland businessman, whose links to the National Party led to a senior minister's resignation, gave cut-price real estate deals to a Chinese politician.

John Key's National Government is enjoying a Budget lift higher in two new polls, and appears to have moved on from the conflict-of-interest scandals.

Editorial: The Prime Minister made a little-noticed announcement last week that could have much louder repercussions in this year's election campaign.

Prime Minister John Key is predicting a "tight and tough" election with the Government up against a "left wing block" of parties.

Migration pressures which Labour says are contributing to a housing crisis were worse under Helen Clark's Government.

I hate Budgets. I lack the financial analytical skills to be able to see through all the smoke and mirrors and for years they were basically boring.

Finance Minister Bill English may have lived up to his promise there would be no lolly scramble in the Budget.

Auckland motorways have been paved with gold in the Budget, while not an extra cent has gone to public transport.

Social security and welfare spending rises $625 million to just under $24 billion. Much of that is down to a $687 million increase in New Zealand Superannuation payments offset by small falls elsewhere.

Police officers have warned "something will break" if their budget is squeezed any further after the Government sliced a little more off their funding.

Tertiary student Chris Wiggins was hoping for a boost for transport in the Budget - and was happy with what was announced.

The Government is putting another $100 million into getting beneficiaries such as solo parents and the sick into work and stopping them ending up on welfare in the long term.

TV3 has defended broadcaster and lawyer Linda Clark following questions about her work for the Labour Party.

Sausagegate? The PM was snapped at the weekend dispensing free sausages at a National Party conference just 100m from pupils fundraising by selling the same product.

Voters are split over whether Judith Collins she should step down as a minister, a new political poll shows.

Screwing up in politics is forgivable and survivable, writes Rodney Hide. What is not forgivable - or survivable - is not killing the story stone dead.

Embattled MP Maurice Williamson is facing fresh trouble after it emerged he failed to declare a top-of-the-range $899 smartphone.

A business strategist has been named as the National party's new candidate for Wigram.

To understand the demise of Judith Collins, it helps to understand what a powerful role she has carved out for herself in the National Party.

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse has confirmed he was lobbied by Maurice Williamson about rule changes for wealthy foreign investors - as sought by Donghua Liu.

The Green Party is challenging the PM to reveal how much his party made from 53 "Cabinet Club" meetings at which attendees paid thousands of dollars to meet him.

National has taken a 6 point dive in the latest Roy Morgan poll, below the combined support of Labour and the Greens at 45.5 per cent.

Fran O'Sullivan asks, "What pushed Key to the point where he applied the choke chain to the Cabinet's Rottweiler? Pity Key didn't yank the chain earlier."