The PM says the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous people that NZ signed up to overnight will have no practical effect, but Rodney Hide disagrees.

National has agreed to support the contentious UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Taxpayers are increasingly covering the legal costs when MPs are sued - but MPs can keep the use of public money for their defence secret.

Phil Heatley says he will be more careful in future after being told he was back in the Cabinet.

Phil Heatley will return to Cabinet on Thursday after the Auditor-General found no intentional wrongdoing on his part.

Former PM Jim Bolger is to be removed as KiwiRail chairman, SOE Minister Simon Power has confirmed.

Gerry Brownlee had to control himself in Parliament yesterday if only to avoid Labour making him even more of a laughing stock than he had already become.

The Prime Minister says he is not overly concerned by his Auckland Central MP's stance on mining on Great Barrier Island.

National MP Nikki Kaye has criticised Government plans to open Great Barrier Island to mining, as have mayors John Banks and Len Brown.

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples says working with the Nats in govt is proving to be "very difficult and stressful", writes John Armstrong.

Becoming a father once more at the age of 45 is forcing former All Black Michael Jones to think again about a possible jump into politics.

After no security threats were found, police investigating the release of Don Brash's emails waited for the media to reveal the culprit.

Don Brash says he appreciates police efforts to find who was behind his emails being given to a journalist, but accepts the culprit will probably never be found.