The man at the centre of an alleged $3 million fraud case will discover his fate in two weeks.

Loizos Michaels convinced people to "think big" and believe in his investment plans - before he fleeced them of more than $3 million, a court has heard.

The former chief executive of Christchurch Casino had plans to take over SkyCity with backing from National Party president Peter Goodfellow, says an alleged conman.

Labour's leadership woes are the gift for National that keeps on giving, writes John Armstrong. "But it will only keep on giving for as long as National is careful not to disturb the unhappy equilibrium."

Two senior National Party figures were involved in plans to apply for a casino licence, an alleged conman says.

Five years after they were thrust unwillingly into the political spotlight, things have changed for the residents of McGehan Close - much of it for the better.

National MP list Tau Henare spoke passionately in favour of a bill last night allowing people to swear to uphold the Treaty of Waitangi in official oaths but voted against it, along with the rest of his party.

There have been growing gripes that Lockwood Smith has been going too far in seeming to want to also be Parliament's coach and commentator, writes John Armstrong.

An apparent absence of economic rationality is not the only reason for questioning the Government's sense of priorities over this issue, writes Bryan Gould.

Labour leader David Shearer has refused to comment on reports that his press secretary's partner was the source for apparent GCSB leaks.

Trade unionists were quick to write off the Government's plan for a new, low, starting pay today, while business leaders said it would help create jobs.

The government will unveil the details of its version of the "youth wage" today - allowing employers to pay less than the minimum wage to many young workers.

While Labour is pecking away in a number of policy areas, they lack much in the way of an argument to explain what is wrong with the incumbents, writes Toby Mahire

John Key was yesterday again on the back foot in Parliament over questions about how much he knew about the involvement of his spy agencies in the Dotcom debacle.

National MP Tau Henare says he is serious about getting a tattoo of the 28th Maori Battalion's logo in defiance of a bureaucrat's request he stop using it on his social media pages.

Claire Trevett says John Key's actions show that there are at least two ostriches in New Zealand: him and Act leader John Banks.

John Armstrong says the Prime Minister's defence of John Banks looks more ridiculous by the day. The risk is that even more damaging material will seep out.