Church and health leaders are calling on all parties in the upcoming election to raise the price of alcohol and phase out alcohol advertising and sponsorship.

The Medical Association is calling for a ban on all liquor industry sponsorship of sports and youth events and backs a proposal to ban alcohol ads on TV and radio.

From on-site creches and kids' clubs to play rooms and child minders, child-friendly retailers are on the rise.

Our Govt is taking an increasingly one-eyed approach to its analysis of Auckland's over-valued housing market, which is driving a good chunk of NZ's economic and interest rate outlook, writes Bernard Hickey.

An Anglican pastor has quit the church and is taking his congregation with him after the governing body moved ahead with plans to bless same-sex relationships.

Pasifika people are drinking less, staying away from crime and doing better at school.

Hone Harawira’s bill that would provide breakfast and lunch to every decile one and two school began its first reading in Parliament last night.

Over recent months, Auckland Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse has found herself advocating for a major change in the legal status of marijuana, writes Brian Rudman.

To formulate a correct solution to a problem the correct questions need to be asked.

More than 90 per cent of New Zealand rental homes inspected in a pilot warrant of fitness test failed to pass.

Changing the geography of poverty within NZ will take generations, according to health policy researchers. So which areas of the country are the most deprived?

Two British health researchers are gearing up to challenge New Zealanders' unusually high tolerance of what many countries consider a social evil - inequality.

It could soon be harder to get a drink late at night in Auckland - but hospitality bosses have labelled it a 'draconian' step backwards.

It's a London few have seen before. Data sets about people, property, burgeoning banker numbers and haemorrhaging of hedgehogs have been mapped and brought alive.

An author has examined the inquest files of 11,000 Kiwis between 1900 and 2000 and found a common link between those who have died by their own hands.

Editorial: The rebuilding of the city has created plenty of opportunities. Any initiative that makes it easier for beneficiaries to move to this work is, therefore, welcome.

Snorted alcohol has the potential to deliver alcohol [directly] to the brain, writes Nial Wheate. "The product is clearly targeted towards the alcopops market. But there are dangers that need to be considered before such a product is made available."

They’re the kids born totally wired, the first generation who will spend their whole lives in a world where the planet’s accumulated wisdom is available instantly at the touch of a finger. And the first of them have just left school.

Synthetic cannabis products will be pulled from shelves faster than the looming Government ban, as users suffer acute psychotic reactions and prolonged withdrawal.

Maori and Pacific problem gambling services have won more money out of a tender which stopped all funding for the country's biggest provider, the Problem Gambling Foundation.

If the research produces essential results of value to humanity that cannot be produced in any other way, despite its cruelty, it should be permissible, writes Alexander Gillespie.

The sensible move should have been to fast-track the proposed market, thereby ensuring the drugs being smoked by young NZers have been tested and are "safe", writes Brian Rudman.

The number of people seeking help to quit synthetic cannabis has soared and is expected to rise further next month.

Kiwi tech entrepreneur Derek Handley is on the hunt for a "right-hand" in New Zealand to manage investments and launch ventures.

An Indian national with a master's degree was declined an opportunity to apply for residence as a skilled migrant, despite being more qualified than was required.

Going without shoes could be quite difficult for dancer, snowboarder and television personality Hayley Holt.

Makers of synthetic drugs predict the Government's "surprise" ban on their products will force 80 shops to close their doors and 200 staff to lose jobs.

Be cool, writes Deborah Hill Cone. That's all I ever wanted when I was a small-town teenager sending off for my too-big winklepickers from Carnaby St and then stuffing the pointy toes with toilet paper.

Housing New Zealand considered using an insurance payout for Christchurch earthquake damage to meet an unexpected demand to pay higher dividends to the Government in 2011, official letters disclose.