A video of an apparently drunk Hamilton boy has been removed from YouTube - but not before more than half a million people watched the uncensored footage.

The mother of a Hamilton boy filmed celebrating his ninth birthday drinking at a skatepark says she was shocked and angry to discover he'd been consuming alcohol.

Police say they are appalled that adults supplied a young boy with alcohol and concerned he was re-victimised when footage of his antics was posted on YouTube.

Child care law changes sought by lobby group after children denied right to family life.

Graphic images of a couple taken after they were shot on a Libyan beach have been removed from Facebook after site administrators were inundated with angry emails.

Ill-prepared families are dumping elderly relatives at hospitals before going on their holidays in a practice known as "granny dumping".

An Indian IT worker wonders if it was racism that made a bouncer stop him and his friends from entering a bar at Auckland's Viaduct Harbour on New Year's Eve.

So, rich fulla, enjoy your throbbing car, but also be aware that not being a dickhead takes constant, painstaking, vigilant effort, writes Deborah Hill Cone. Also: don't drive through zebra crossings.

Australian, Queensland and Broncos league star Sam Thaiday is lending his weight to fundraising efforts for a charity helping at-risk South Auckland teenagers.

The measurement of child poverty is complex, hard to understand and has become a highly polarised matter, says John Dew.

Next year is election year and all the parties have an opportunity to show us their commitment to children, writes Russell Wills, Children's Commissioner.

Children's Commissioner, Dr Russell Wills, wants motorists, the well-off and the elderly to take less from taxpayers so that more public funding can go into tackling child poverty.

Many unsavoury events that have occurred in New Zealand over the past few decades can be attributed to our faith that free markets, writes Peter Lyons.

As a teenager, there is a huge pressure to accept the cool pragmatism of "this is how it is" when it comes to binge drinking, writes Verity Johnson.

Minister rejects 'nanny state' intervention as health survey shows NZ is getting fatter, with three in every 10 adults now regarded as obese.

The Prime Minister's reaction to the latest survey of child poverty was predictable but misguided. It is not just about jobs.

In a UK first, shoppers in South Yorkshire are being offered food at up to 70 per cent of normal prices - but they have to prove they're on benefits to get the bargains.

Almost three-quarters of the depressed Kiwis who have gone to Sir John Kirwan's website depression.org.nz are no longer depressed after finishing the six lessons.

It would take 19 median incomes in Auckland to buy a home for the city's median house price, a Herald analysis has found.

When we look at Nelson Mandela's legacy as South Africa's post-apartheid leader, we must acknowledge serious failings, writes John Minto.

A new report on child poverty in New Zealand has been applauded by groups who have criticised the Government for failing to thoroughly monitor the issue itself.

Children's Commissioner Dr Russell Wills wants Kiwis to shift support from older, middle-income families to give more to our youngest and poorest children.

In the eyes of the law, he is a criminal. But to many he is a hero, dubbed the "Robin Hood" of their struggling community.

Extended paid parental leave and a mandatory rental housing "warrant of fitness" are close to winning majority backing, a survey of MPs has found.