Stories by Guyon Espiner

Community leader Dave Letele considered Christopher Luxon a friend - until the PM reacted badly to an open letter he signed decrying racism.

Officials and experts have given repeated warnings the government's ban could backfire.

Minister was told the government may face requests to bailout media companies if it failed to progress a law forcing digital platforms to pay local media for using their content.

The minister in charge of tobacco regulation was warned repealing smokefree legislation would be seen as a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Casey Costello rejected all compromise options suggested to her, documents obtained by RNZ show.

A Crown Solicitor's management style was "challenging, critical, and unpredictable" and left some staff "genuinely distressed," a high-level review says.

'About four' lobbyists have gained access to the Beehive and had their identities made secret by the new Speaker.

RNZ has obtained more evidence contradicting NZ First minister Casey Costello's insistence she didn't specifically ask for advice on a tobacco excise freeze.

Instead of increasing each year with inflation, the tax on cigarettes would be frozen for three years under a plan suggested by Associate Health Minister Casey Costello.

Lobbyists, PR experts and lawyers are being paid to counter criticism of animal welfare standards in live exports.

Senate, which had a large contract with the Commerce Commission, was caught up in a cyber attack raising fears about the possible release of highly sensitive material.

More than seven years after he was shot by police, the whānau of Shargin Stephens will finally have their time in court.

Justice Ministry warns of 'misuse of privileged information' by ministers entering the lobbying industry.

The firm was embedded in Commerce Commission offices working on supermarket and energy industry inquiries, which had major implications for its corporate clients.

An internal police review of bail finds its system "far under-estimating" the proportion of high risk offenders.

The chancellor of the University of Waikato was intimately involved in helping National develop policy, raising questions about independence.

Hipkins - just like his predecessor Jacinda Ardern - uses a well-worn tactic to change the direction of a difficult interview.

Unnamed lobbyists are advising Transparency International on the rules and ethics of their own industry.

An analysis of hours of interviews suggests National's leader has more positive things to say.

Steven Joyce has been paid $966,000 for various roles at Waikato University over three years.

How Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins square up against the different news networks and hosts.

The words and phrases National leader Christopher Luxon says over and over again - and how they dramatically differ from Labour's leaders.

Multiple complaints have been raised about the culture at the office of Hamilton's Crown Solicitor, RNZ understands.

A lobbyist has written to industry peers arguing "there's no accountability to the public" in what they do.

When a big corporate is alarmed about possible law changes, it asks its well-connected lobbyist to intervene. A text message exchange between a Cabinet Minister and his lobbyist "mate" follows.