There is no evidence of a spike in tobacco-related crime due to price increases, and claims of potential organised crime are being overblown, says Maori affairs select committee chairman Tau Henare.

Unemployment numbers just released show NZ's jobless rate has fallen from 6.9 per cent to 6.4 per cent - better than many were expecting.

A top Zealand-born Melbourne Cup jockey has been suspended for three months after testing positive to a banned substance.

Legislation introducing the change to a split drinking age will be one step closer after it is tabled in Parliament next week, Simon Power says.

I won't be signing up to this. Get behind something that will do some good.

Growing numbers of local authorities in Britain are forcing their staff to 'clock out' every time they take a cigarette break.

The Kahui family's social worker warned it was possible twins Chris and Cru could be at risk before they returned home a month before they died, but the warning was not acted on.

Professionals who worked with the Kahui family prior to the deaths of twinsChris and Cru had no cause for concern other than the parents' infrequent hospital visits, an inquest hears.

Australian PM Julia Gillard is today trying to convince the Indonesian President to grant clemency to convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby, according to a report.

Medical professionals are supporting a coroner's suggestion that it be mandatory for them to report suspected child abuse cases to CYF.

Engaging the health sector could reduce the "shameful" child abuse rate in NZ, an inquest into the deaths of the Kahui twins has heard.

Dita De Boni wonders what the environmental impact of having children really is.

A coroner conducting an inquest into the deaths of Chris and Cru Kahui has turned his attention to the phenomenon of child abuse in NZ.

When alcohol industry reps unleash their charm offensives on the corridors of power there is one office they dodge, that of Jim Anderton.