Before last week, we had a bunch of laws that attempted to mitigate just some of the harmful effects of free and easy alcohol purchasing and consumption.

Angry patrons of a suburban cafe brought their own chairs along for a "sip-in" after its popular street-side seating was removed to meet Auckland Council rules.

Fed up residents of the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert will be having a shot of protest action with their coffees this morning.

Almost two-thirds of New Zealanders nearing retirement have not yet worked out how much money they will need to keep afloat after retiring, a new survey has found.

More than $450,000 of hardship relief in water bills has been granted in the three years since radical changes to the way Aucklanders pay for water.

Ham on the bone, party hats and crackers were just some of the treats on offer yesterday at a festive gathering for people who sleep rough in Auckland.

It all started when a "self-taught engineer, extreme introvert, science-nerd, anime-lover, college dropout" wrote that she was tired of stereotypes.

US pop star Demi Lovato has urged US retailers not to censor the latest issue of Cosmopolitan, which features the singer flaunting her figure in a revealing dress.

Forget the hikoi and library training, the answer the council needs is in Utah - and it's quite straightforward, writes Brian Rudman.

A photographer has teamed up with a group of plus-size women in order to reclaim the word "fat" and remove the negative stigmas that are currently connected with it.

In reality, the possibility of courtesy lies within every single social interaction, writes Shelley Bridgeman. But have old-fashioned good manners gone missing?

I saw a pregnant lady on the bus offer her seat to an elderly lady. Meanwhile, college teenagers were going about their conversations.

According to the International Lesbian and Gay Association, 2.79 billion people still live in countries where being gay is a crime.

Two years of defence against graffiti vandals is bringing visual relief to communities used to waking up to a blight of spray-painted tags spoiling streets, buildings and parks.

For one 17-year-old living rough on West Auckland streets, snuggling up to her boyfriend was the one way she kept warm at night.

As a young nation undergoing a rapidly changing demography, NZ is learning to grapple with the rise of 'casual' or 'everyday' racism.

Meridian Energy has joined with charity KidsCan to raise awareness of child poverty in NZ and help to provide food, clothing and basic healthcare.

The Problem Gambling Foundation has won a challenge against the Ministry of Health, which wanted to cut its funding.

A move to extend a youth welfare service to older teenagers has received initial backing from Labour - despite reservations about how young people will be assessed.

Exclusive: Samuel Forrest suggested as Leo's primary caregiver, he should be paid $90,000 in the first year and up to $70,000 the next.

Kiwi father whose plea for help raised more than half a million dollars for his disabled son says flying business class was justified.

Lorde has expressed her support for a lunch delivery program that helps our most vulnerable Kiwi kids.

The company has made changes after a Farmers staff member asked if it was okay to let "half-man, half-woman" in.

Saying a particular group of people is doing a particular thing is not racism. If I said most inmates are Maori or that Browns Bay is full of S Africans, I wouldn't be accused of racism, Heather du Plessis-Allan writes.

NZ has one of the world's lowest organ donation rates, sparking concerns more needs to be done to save lives. Part 2 of our Organ Donation series.

Bad manners can be contagious, a study suggests. It found that those who experience rudeness in the workplace are more likely to be impolite to colleagues.

Anna Hart shows her appreciation for the new self-help trend taking the world by storm.

The Turkish woman was as wizened and brown as a date. The date smiled out at me from a magenta headscarf.