A tough new policy cracking down on beneficiaries with unresolved arrest warrants has resulted in the issuing of thousands of alerts.

Ngati Whatua state house tenant Apihai Pihema supports returning state housing to iwi in principle - but he worries that the rents could go so high that he might have to leave.

A charity tagged as a likely buyer of state houses says it is reviewing its involvement unless it can get either more capital from the Govt or a very low price for the houses.

Gareth Morgan says the National Party a decade ago was "harsh and intolerant" - but not many people turn up to hear him speak.

Leading Maori tribes are lobbying to get first bidding rights for state houses when they start going up for sale this year.

Gareth Morgan is heading to Orewa to confront what he calls the "ignorance of Brash-think".

In the flush of election victory, John Key said something about tackling child poverty in this term. He was looking for fresh ideas from ministers in the new year.

It is difficult to erase the suspicion that the social housing policy is motivated by ideology as much as anything else, writes John Armstrong.

Those at Davos, seemingly representing the interests of the very wealthy, like to think they are working to make the world a better place - as long as they are not inconvenienced in doing so.

"The Labour Party I lead is about jobs, good jobs, skilled jobs, well-paid jobs." Andrew Little has delivered his first state of the nation speech.

87 per cent of teenage mums, and virtually all teen fathers, are missing out on education at specialist units designed for them.

Auckland is a great place - but it can be even better. In the second of our five-part Future Auckland series we aim to stimulate debate. Teuila Fuatai reports.

In Europe and even parts of the United States, Jews report rising levels of the "oldest hatred". And we aren't immune from the subject here in New Zealand, writes Inge Woolf.

Six-year-old Destiny can't walk without a frame because of domestic violence meted out to her birth mother. Now she needs a costly spinal operation in the US.

I don't get excited about the adventure of going to a fantastic location, I worry about how much I'll miss my little kids. It's pathetic, writes Matt Heath.

Labour leader Andrew Little and Prime Minister John Key are gearing up for their state of the nation speeches on Wednesday.

Designers, a poet, a politician and our most famous living soldier helped to inspire a group of Auckland teenagers in an unusual creative workshop yesterday.

When people ask Mike Dargaville what he does, he's quick to say "doorman" because he thinks the term bouncer has an unfriendly stigma about it.

"We've got houses more expensive than LA. How is this possible?" A new survey finds Auckland's surging housing market is pricier than New York, Brisbane and Boston.

You see the words "drink responsibly" everywhere. Fair enough too. It's great advice. I love drinking responsibly.

We show you how SkyCity's new convention centre would look in central Auckland, as details are revealed for the first time in its resource consent applications.

Thirty years ago, NZ was a much more equal society. It could be so again. But it will take a huge shift in the mindset of the majority. Changing this state of affairs is a moral challenge to us all.

The majority of children admitted to the Starship hospital as the result of suspected abuse or neglect are under 1 year old.

A new year means a wealth of resolutions. Most of us want to make life better, challenge ourselves or realise some of our ambitions

"Oh my God, my hairdresser made my hair far too dark this time." "The service here is appalling - I get so sick of eating out all the time."

So far we've identified the achievements of the Treaty settlement and reconciliation process, and flagged that the process is now being pushed beyond the point of being useful.

The richest people on Earth got richer in 2014, adding US$92 billion ($118 billion) to their collective fortune in the face of falling energy prices and geopolitical turmoil incited by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

New Zealand's eurocentric reference point in trade has been transformed in the past 20 years, writes Philip Burdon.