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.

Market forces and the self interest of the private sector generally do provide outcomes that are beneficial to society, writes Peter Lyons. But markets require governments to set the parameters.

New Zealand has the third highest material living standard in the world for households with a teenager.

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.

You'd think that, between the filters and the #fitnessgoals and the celebrity-grams, Instagram would make an unfriendly place to talk body acceptance. But the opposite is actually true.

A new gender classification for people who don't see themselves as just male or female has been developed and New Zealand will be the first to use it.

How do Kiwis really feel about Asian people? Results from a sprawling study show warmth toward Asians has been growing.

The Ku Klux Klan is flourishing and exploiting racial tension in the US, according to a behind-the-scenes documentary.

Sixteen months after a Government decision to end most of its contracts, the Problem Gambling Foundation has won a year’s further reprieve.

A long-term contract to inspect all state houses for potential risks to health and safety was axed the year before two Auckland tenants died last winter.

NZ has one of the world's lowest organ donation rates, sparking concerns more needs to be done to save lives.

Imagine if you could invest $14.1 million up front and get a return over the next 50 years of $3.3 billion. Would you do it?

I want to know what is going on in people's heads as they shuffle towards me, on the footpath, engrossed in the device they hold in their hand.

A campaign grows in support of two Moroccan woman accused of "gross indecency" for wearing dresses considered provocative.

Women have found a wacky way to fight censorship of their breasts on social media, covering them with images of male nipples.