A key recommendation in the landmark coroner's finding into the Kahui twins' deaths has been ignored by the Government in its child abuse white paper.

A database of about 30,000 "at risk" children is to be created and accessed by government workers without parental knowledge as part of an overhaul of laws tackling child cruelty.

The proposed new multi-agency plans for each child, backed by an IT system accessible by all agencies, should have been set up years ago, writes Simon Collins.

Two of New Zealand's top children's doctors are proposing an increase in the state pension age to pay for more services to stop child abuse.

Successive governments have failed utterly to deal with child poverty but now is the perfect time for local Auckland communities to work together, writes Catriona MacLennan.

If child-support payments were made directly to the household, not the state, non-custodial parents would be more likely to meet their responsibilities.

Food programmes for hungry Kiwi schoolchildren may soon get a boost from the Government to top off an overwhelming public response to recent media appeals.

Disabled hunger striker Sam Kuha is hoping to meet Social Development Minister Paula Bennett in Auckland tomorrow.

Good teachers matter, but the problem with conflating education and poverty is that the focus can narrow unhelpfully on one piece of the puzzle, writes Tapu Misa.

More than 1400 New Zealanders attempted to make do with only $2.25 worth of food and drink for each of five days.

Sexual assaults by players and supporters in last year's Rugby World Cup helped set a new record for assaults on women reported to an Auckland sexual abuse service.

A Putaruru school serving up compulsory breakfasts and hot lunches for just $1 a meal says the benefits are showing in students' dental records.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has admitted the Government does not have the resources to test all beneficiaries under tough new welfare reforms.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says she believes some parents do not need to enrol their children in early childhood education - but concedes her welfare reforms will force beneficiaries to do just that.

Teens among the first "guinea pigs" for a new money management system for welfare say they get enough for food - but not for transport, baby supplies and medical costs.

A quarter of primary and intermediate pupils in poorer Waikato areas go to school hungry, researchers have found.

Monetary policy is always contentious when the dollar is high, and at the moment it is very high.

The bill pushing ahead with the Government's second wave of welfare reforms passed its first reading in Parliament today.

New Zealand's most popular sports have taken nearly $1 billion in gambling proceeds in the last seven years, records show.

Jack Daylight came to protest against welfare reform because he wants a job. He was arrested yesterday outside the Ministry of Social Development's office in Auckland.

The Government's latest welfare reforms will help get people out of the "trap" of benefit dependency, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says.