Latest from Social Issues

After the plan, the battle begins
Vowing to "put everything into this", President Barack Obama has unveiled the most sweeping proposals in 20 years to tighten gun control in the United States.

Bennett trumpets 5000 fewer on DPB
The number of sole parents on the domestic purposes benefit dropped by 5000 last year - a drop Social Development Minister Paula Bennett is attributing partly to her new policy requiring sole parents to get jobs when their youngest child turns five.

Growing crime linked to poverty
Young New Zealanders and Pacific Islanders in Australia are turning to crime as they become trapped in a cycle of poverty and despair.

Editorial: Australia's welfare rules disadvantage both sides
Editorial: A large number do not understand the consequences of not finding a job. They leave for Australia without realising they will not have access to most of that country's welfare safety net, including dole and disability payments.

Burglars take child along for ride
A South Auckland woman watched in amazement as a couple burgled her neighbour's home while a young child sat waiting in their getaway car.

Oz exodus: Flying Kiwis unfazed by lack of welfare across the Ditch
An ever-increasing number of Kiwis are eyeing a move to Australia despite the lack of access to safety nets.

Cynic's guide to being Maori
Two earthquakes, the end of his marriage and loss of his recording studio later, the 30-year-old sound engineer identifies himself as Maori.

Final release for ex-con
A love story that began at a murder trial drew to a poignant close this week.

New Zealand great place to draw in lottery of life
New Zealand has been ranked one of the world's best countries to be born in this year. Researchers named New Zealand the seventh most lucky nation in which to start life.

Divide over gay marriage
Pensioners are holding out in a dwindling minority opposing gay marriage - as 2013 looks possibly to be the year for it to become reality.

Desperate bid for better life
For more than three months he remained an unknown young African whose fatal decision to seek a better life in Europe ended with an 800m drop.

Academic celebrated after death
A gifted academic who grew up in Karori has died suddenly in London, devastating her family.

Tapu Misa: Christmas should be a time of hope for us all
A Christmas story from an associate, who was in a Salvation Army op shop when a family - mum, dad, and three children - stopped by to drop off a new bike.

Deborah Hill Cone: Life is not about living in a soft-drink ad
The highlights of my year according to Facebook bear very little resemblance to the reality of what 2012 has been like.

Modest heroes who live among us
Early on the morning of May 12, 8-year-old Michelle O'Brien showed humanity, kindness, and selfless bravery when faced with the unthinkable.

Record queues for Christmas food
Fuelled by the highest rate of unemployment in 13 years, the queues snaking along the pavements outside the Auckland City Mission have nothing festive about them.

Warning on safe sleeping
Parents around the country should be given consistent advice about safe sleeping practices with their newborns.

Peter Durney: Being a New Zealander opens door to life of privilege
This country offers me beaches and mountains and lakes to explore, with good roads and an adequate car, writes Peter Durney. Many people cannot even aspire to owning a car.

Editorial: Community trust good way to keep loan sharks at bay
Editorial: The Nga Tangata Microfinance Trust in South Auckland seems to be providing a less businesslike but no less welcome solution for some of the indebted poor in this country.

Zero-interest loans to help poor families
A group of Auckland charities have quietly started lending money at zero interest rates to low-income families in a pilot project which may drive loan sharks out.

$10,000 grant will help women dress for success
Women heading back into the workforce after a long break and worried they have nothing to wear to a job interview are getting a boost of confidence from the team at Dress for Success.

Editorial: Remedies for child poverty step in the right direction
Editorial: When the Children's Commissioner set up an "expert advisory group on solutions to child poverty" this year, many New Zealanders will have cheered.

Olinda Woodroffe: Pacific ministers well placed to combat violence
I'd like to see church ministers being proactive in curbing violence before it happens. It is good to see church ministers taking a positive step to curb violence.

Peter Calder: December cruellest month for poor
The noticeboards in the public area at the Hobson St headquarters of the Auckland City Mission make grim reading.

Govt urged to offer low-cost loans
Government-backed low-interest loans to undercut "loan sharks" could be on the cards in the wake of a pragmatic final report of an expert group on child poverty.

Jim Traue: Education not delivering despite many theories
Despite 40 years of investment, the under-performing tail is as stubborn as ever and will remain so as long as educational policy is driven by ideologies, writes Jim Traue.