New Zealanders whose lives have been blighted by the dangers of legal highs are thrilled by plans to pull them from sale within a fortnight.

It's a wonderfully Kiwi thing that National Party honcho Sir Wira Gardiner financially supported Shane Jones' bid to become Labour leader.

NZ's ambassador to China asked Judith Collins to tell him anything he needed to know about a Beijing dinner with an unnamed senior Chinese official.

Conservative Party leader Colin Craig says he does not intend to ask National to gift him an electorate.

National Party powerbrokers Peter Goodfellow and long-term partner Desley Simpson have married in an intimate service at a resthome.

Justice Minister Judith Collins has recovered her memory after telling Parliament she could not recall whether she had briefed New Zealand's ambassador to Beijing about her Oravida dinner.

Judith Collins was under pressure on two fronts yesterday, facing further questions over both the Oravida conflict-of-interest saga and widespread fresh privacy issues in her ACC portfolio.

John Key helped the Maori Party throw a $5000-a-seat fundraiser at which diners at the event were promised the chance to "chat confidentially" with the Prime Minister.

Don Brash's autobiography reveals he is a man of principle who doesn't appear to know what side his toast is buttered on, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Don Brash has likened the proposed Government-backed Auckland central rail link to the worst of National's white-elephant Think Big energy projects of the early 1980s.

Don Brash devotes all of three paragraphs to the Exclusive Brethren in his 330-page autobiography despite his dealings with the Church.

Former Reserve Bank governor Don Brash considered taking his own life "to end the pain" following the failure of his two marriages.

Timid and hypersensitive to opinion polls - that is Don Brash's scathing verdict on the performance of the Government led by the man who replaced him as National's leader.

Dirty Dog sunglasses, that infamous punch-up with Trevor Mallard outside the debating chamber...what will we do without Parliament's bad boy?

Tau Henare had the 'X-factor' and will be missed by Parliament, writes NZ Herald political editor Audrey Young.

Internet Party founder Kim Dotcom will address the Mana Party annual conference in Rotorua next weekend.

New Zealand First is doing "far better'' among voters than recent polls would suggest, leader Winston Peters says.

PM John Key knows homeowners in the electorally crucial mortgage belts of Auckland are nervous about rising mortgage rates, writes Bernard Hickey.

A fiercely anti-abortion lobby group is putting pressure on the National Party not to select an experienced doctor whose job has involved authorising and performing abortions.

National has fallen two points to 43 per cent in the latest Roy Morgan poll.

Hone Harawira issued an ultimatum to Kim Dotcom and the Internet Party yesterday: if Dotcom does any sort of deal with Peter Dunne, Harawira is out, writes Audrey Young.

Prime Minister John Key said the Chinese government had "rolled out the red carpet" for his visit to China.

Hekia Parata is all about being creative. But performance funding isn't thinking outside the square. It's thinking outside geometry, writes Paul Little.

Political youth organisations have stepped up their recruitment drives before the September 20 election - but a PR expert says the handouts being used to lure young voters lack creativity.

The faith modern executives have in the transformational powers of rebranding is remarkable.