The income gap between children and the elderly has widened faster in New Zealand than in other developed countries during the recent recession, a new report shows.

Over the years I've had enough close encounters with neighbours to make me wary of them. Allow me to share some of these experiences, Shelley Bridgeman writes.

In bikie club culture where loyalty and territory are highly valued, disagreements can too easily boil over, writes Jarrod Gilbert.

After some confusion about Whanau Ora, Dita De Boni visited a provider to better understand the initiative.

A mathematical model designed to predict children at risk of abuse will be trialled with data about children reported to Child, Youth and Family.

HIV stigma is a plague that continues to follow the gay community, more than 30 years after the AIDS crisis emerged, writes Lee Suckling.

They run their Upper East Side homes like domestic CEOs, work tirelessly to improve their family's social standing and now want an annual perk from their husbands.

The Children's Commissioner wants a rethink of universal services so more public spending can go to the neediest families.

As a young boy, Daryl Brougham thought his name was Daryl Foster. He lived in at least 24 foster homes until the age of 18.

A $30,000 grant will enable a knitting group to bring even more joy and love — and beanies and blankets — to deserving families.

Not all religions and their followers are equal in New Zealand, a Herald investigation into the state of faith has found.

Is it a glorification of an outdated view on romance? Is it akin to a thinly veiled beauty pageant? Does it reduce women to their most basic attributes?

It's what 67 per cent of those celebrating Mother's Day compulsorily do to mark the occasion. So why is giving flowers not such a good idea?

Some regions will "fail" economically and perhaps socially unless we help them to adjust, the Salvation Army says.

When I was a child I had what might be described as a typical Maori upbringing. We didn't have much but we always had plenty to eat. In reality, we lacked nothing.

Five years after he was arrested for helping his mother to die, a NZ-born doctor has won a landmark victory allowing assisted suicide in South Africa.

The Auditor-General, Lyn Provost, took no pleasure in issuing a disturbing report on the Whanau Ora scheme this week.

Kiwi and UK scientists challenge the notion that people with autism generally see visual motion poorly, and explore the causes of sensory overloads experienced by some sufferers.

It is almost like I have been surrounded by so many various forms of racism for so long that I am almost immune to it. Or I have given up, writes Katherine Lowe.

Yes, women objectify the opposite sex, says Claire Cohen, but it's different for us.

Returning home to New Zealand after more than 10 years away I find a country both hearteningly buoyant and unsettlingly fragile. Let me explain - the view of one returning son.

The security Jeremiahs will be most put out. Not one sword-wielding ninja, or explosive-belted suicide bomber, shattered the peace of Anzac Day commemorations. Anywhere.

Lauren Knight recalls the night police visited her house after an anonymous bystander wrongly reported her for slapping her children.

A major shift to more voucher-type funding of social services, including health and education, is proposed in a new official report.

Most of New Zealand's 57,000 aged-care workers are satisfied with their jobs but not with their wages, a new survey from AUT University has found.

Autistic boy Tyrone Sevilla was on the brink of being deported from Australia, until his 11-year-old mate stepped in.

Robbie Martin is used to helping youths in his local community. Now the community is helping to raise $10k so he can fly to England to donate a kidney for his son.

Renee Somerfield, the genetically-blessed Australian model starring in a controversial new weight loss advert, has responded to the backlash against the campaign.

I saw a really cute toddler last Monday afternoon. She had cute little pigtails, a pink onesie and no one with her, writes Matt Heath.

Three groups have been granted permission to present evidence in court in the upcoming case of terminally ill 42-year-old lawyer Lecretia Seales.