Rising rents are believed to be driving a 46 per cent jump in food parcels being handed out each month by the Auckland City Mission since the middle of last year.

VERITY JOHNSON: The other day I made a joke about how men don't know what it's like to fake an orgasm.

Workplace lying is a two-way street. The damaging top-down lies from management and the equally destructive bottom-up lies from staff.

Are millennials really that different to previous generations? Greg Bruce speaks to three generations of two families to find out.

I came to the Black Power as an act of community service.

EXCLUSIVE: Primetime local television is about to feature its first transgender actor playing a transgender character in a long-running storyline.

Verity Johnson outlines a few of the many moments when life's easier if you're a man.

Men describe problems with compulsive pornography use that closely mirrors most of the symptoms of substance addiction, writes Simon Adamson.

Emerge Aotearoa wins tender to supply short-term housing for individuals or families for up to 12 weeks.

A longstanding union goal of lifting the minimum wage to $15 an hour may finally be achieved today.

The In Work Tax Credit fails children and is a policy that cannot be justified, writes Michael Timmins. Its operation is so complicated and ultimately punitive in that its costs outweigh any supposed benefits.

The Salvation Army's annual stocktake on New Zealand's social health has earned high credibility. It owes this to its recognition of progress as well as problems.

All families have elements of dysfunction. This may range from homicidal violence to petty gossip and frustrations, writes Peter Lyons.

Govt aims to let drug be grown for medical or scientific use, but more change is needed, writes Alex Wodak.

Disputes between neighbours bring out the worst in people - like divorces often do. Or money, Alan Duff writes.

If we want an inclusive city that can accommodate the next generation of New Zealanders, tough calls will need to be made.

Welfare rolls have risen in Canterbury for the first time since reconstruction work began after the 2011 earthquake.

The self-plagiarist tries to take undeserved credit for the work as new and original when they know the material was derived from a previous source, writes Deborah Hill Cone.

The other day, a custom-built 'Wash Against Waste' trailer which is designed to wash reusable items at events was stolen, writes Sam Judd. Such crime can be a real blow for an organisation.

Over the years, I've been privileged to gain insights from visiting schools on our literacy programme, which is now past its 21st birthday.

Dressing in feminine clothes can be a sensuous pleasure, says Dr Colin Cremin - and he wants the right to enjoy it as a man.

A third of people in need of food parcels this Christmas are new, showing a "reflection of the child poverty stats".

Sentenced to death, a lawyer set out to gain the right to choose how she would die.

The child poverty crisis in Aotearoa is serious, writes Sue Bradford. No nice words or fancy messaging can alter the fact that until power is confronted and very different jobs, welfare and housing policies set in place, nothing will change.

When money is tight, we may need to make trade-offs to make this investment in our children and our future, writes Dr Russell Wills. What are we prepared to give up, so that Govt can prioritise children?

It's a simple formula: buy a delicious lunch, and a hungry child will get one too.

The latest report tells us 29 per cent of children lived in poverty in 2014, up from 24 per cent the previous year. About 14 per cent live in material hardship, lacking several of the items most New Zealanders would consider essential.

An alarming number of Auckland families are being forced to live together in one house so they can afford rent and living expenses.

The number of NZ children living in households earning below 60 per cent of the median household income has almost doubled.