The political stakes have suddenly become very high as the enormity of the earthquake's impact becomes more and more apparent.

At Merrill Lynch in 1998, the ever-cheerful John Key was nicknamed "the smiling assassin" after he fired some 50 members of his team.

The National Party has received $200,000 from a wealthy Chinese NZ couple linked to the Crafar farms bid.

John Key says public opinion has shifted since compulsory superannuation was rejected in a 1997 referendum.

National MPs might be allowed a conscience vote on a Labour Party bill that proposes lowering the drink driving blood alcohol limit, John Key says.

National Party president Peter Goodfellow's marriage break-up just gets messier.

The Chinese bid for the Crafar dairy farms has everything but transparency, finds Karyn Scherer.

MMP could sink or swim, not on its own merits, but on whether the All Blacks are successful in 2011, writes Brian Rudman.

Employment law changes will swing the balance in favour of bosses and expose workers to easier dismissal, an expert says.

John Key says extending the 90-day trial period is about "giving prospective employees a shot", but the Greens say National is breaking one of its pre-election policies by doing so.

The Government today announced sweeping changes to labour laws, including changing the test for reasonable dismissal to make it easier for employers to fire workers.

Great poverty still affects pockets of NZ, ministers were told yesterday - shortly before their sumptuous three-course lunch.