Churches have become corporate onshore tax havens which are subsidised by taxpayers so that the religious can pursue the supernatural, writes Max Wallace and Robert Nola.

"Be content with what you have". That's just one of the slogans on a mural at the Cannons Creek Four Square.

Hundreds of fatherless boys will benefit from a boosted mentoring programme.

Deliberate self-harming is reaching epidemic levels among Kiwi teenagers - but the teens say it has become "almost fashionable".

When politicians talk about making the labour market more flexible, it means ensuring that the demand and supply of labour determines the wage rate. writes Peter Lyons.

Students at one Auckland high school are not convinced drinking, smoking and drugs are as rare as an Auckland University survey suggests.

For decades, we've been told that if we worked hard and were patient, eventually the gender pay gap would close, writes Catriona McLennan.

Parents battling to get their children back from state foster care are being stymied by two-month delays to get hold of their official files, a lobby group says.

In Pyongyang, Kim Jong Un enjoyed perhaps the proudest moment of his nascent leadership as North Korea beamed its now familiar images of strength to the world.

School's back today after the holidays - but not all students will be. And in many cases it's the parents' decision to let them skip classes.

Paris is an East Auckland boy whose mum couldn't afford a winter uniform.

A year after Auckland Mayor Len Brown promised to crack down on central city alcohol issues, booze-related assaults are "bog standard".

Martin Johnston reports on the growing pressure to expand taxpayer subsidies and lower the cost.

Mother of four Michelle Gordon delayed taking her teenage daughter to the doctor for a fortnight.

Pokie numbers in pubs and clubs across Auckland will drop under a new unified Super City policy.

When Robin Vinod turned 17, he couldn't sign a tenancy agreement or be responsible for bills - but that was when CYF left him to fend for himself.

He will be heir to riches of which the other 361,480 babies who share his birthday can only dream, writes Brian Rudman.

We don't really see the street. Most of us don't even look. Kids look, as I'm about to find out, but we adults, most of us walk on by, our attention fixed on anything other than that dude over there

The idea that New Zealand has become one of the most unequal societies in the developed world is just not supported by the data, writes Brian Fallow.

A doctor's certificate is often a ticket to social welfare. From this week it becomes a recipe for work. At least - that's the hope.

Drug and alcohol addicts may face longer waiting times for treatment.

Identification numbers attached to children as young as three could be used to track and punish their parents.

Sickness will be at best only a temporary excuse to avoid work under the new welfare regime that came into force this week.

Doctors have been told that putting patients on welfare is akin to putting them on "an addictive debilitating drug ... not dissimilar to smoking".

School ball costs have soared as social pressure leads more girls to spend up to $300 in salons.

An welfare advocacy group is warning that thousands of Kiwis will suffer under newly implemented changes to the beneficiary system.

Even being the sole carer for triplets can't excuse Jared Chase from work obligations under the new welfare regime.

Devaluing the outsider is probably the most common cult-like behaviour in everyday society, but it's not so easy to identify one's own crazy faults, writes Deborah Hill Cone.