The number of sole parents on the domestic purposes benefit dropped by 5000 last year - a drop Social Development Minister Paula Bennett is attributing partly to her new policy requiring sole parents to get jobs when their youngest child turns five.

Vowing to "put everything into this", President Barack Obama has unveiled the most sweeping proposals in 20 years to tighten gun control in the United States.

Young New Zealanders and Pacific Islanders in Australia are turning to crime as they become trapped in a cycle of poverty and despair.

Editorial: A large number do not understand the consequences of not finding a job. They leave for Australia without realising they will not have access to most of that country's welfare safety net, including dole and disability payments.

A South Auckland woman watched in amazement as a couple burgled her neighbour's home while a young child sat waiting in their getaway car.

An ever-increasing number of Kiwis are eyeing a move to Australia despite the lack of access to safety nets.

A love story that began at a murder trial drew to a poignant close this week.

Two earthquakes, the end of his marriage and loss of his recording studio later, the 30-year-old sound engineer identifies himself as Maori.

Are we still a nation of people who can catch a fish, roll up our sleeves and fix something broken or cook a leg of lamb?

Pensioners are holding out in a dwindling minority opposing gay marriage - as 2013 looks possibly to be the year for it to become reality.

A gifted academic who grew up in Karori has died suddenly in London, devastating her family.

For more than three months he remained an unknown young African whose fatal decision to seek a better life in Europe ended with an 800m drop.

A Christmas story from an associate, who was in a Salvation Army op shop when a family - mum, dad, and three children - stopped by to drop off a new bike.

The highlights of my year according to Facebook bear very little resemblance to the reality of what 2012 has been like.

The wedding was a joyful affair, with 300 guests, traditional Serbian dancing and two dozen motorbikes bedecked with red, white and blue streamers.

Paying it forward - a popular expression for extending generosity to others after someone has been generous to you.

Parents around the country should be given consistent advice about safe sleeping practices with their newborns.

This country offers me beaches and mountains and lakes to explore, with good roads and an adequate car, writes Peter Durney. Many people cannot even aspire to owning a car.

Editorial: The Nga Tangata Microfinance Trust in South Auckland seems to be providing a less businesslike but no less welcome solution for some of the indebted poor in this country.

A group of Auckland charities have quietly started lending money at zero interest rates to low-income families in a pilot project which may drive loan sharks out.

Women heading back into the workforce after a long break and worried they have nothing to wear to a job interview are getting a boost of confidence from the team at Dress for Success.

I'd like to see church ministers being proactive in curbing violence before it happens. It is good to see church ministers taking a positive step to curb violence.

Editorial: When the Children's Commissioner set up an "expert advisory group on solutions to child poverty" this year, many New Zealanders will have cheered.

The noticeboards in the public area at the Hobson St headquarters of the Auckland City Mission make grim reading.

Despite 40 years of investment, the under-performing tail is as stubborn as ever and will remain so as long as educational policy is driven by ideologies, writes Jim Traue.

Government-backed low-interest loans to undercut "loan sharks" could be on the cards in the wake of a pragmatic final report of an expert group on child poverty.