Stories by Craig McCulloch

The Māori Party's ambitious plan to resurrect rail in the regions is being questioned, with critics worried it is doomed to fail.

Hundreds of disability support workers who initially missed out on a landmark pay claim will now be included in the hefty pay rise.

Two new charter schools targetting Māori students have been given the green light in Rotorua and Taupō.

A lawyer representing victims of historical abuse in state care is worried her clients are being set up for a second-rate solution.

The government has softened its position on whether to launch an inquiry into the historical abuse of children in state care.

ACT's new deputy hopes her "life experience" will complement the party's 'millennial' leader. Audio

The government needs to introduce minimum living standards to prevent people living in squalor and in overcrowded boarding houses, a Parliamentary select committee has heard today.

New Zealand has one rule for the rich and another for the poor when it comes to immigration, a South African family at risk of being deported claims.

The government is defending its decision to grant US billionaire Peter Thiel citizenship despite him having spent only 12 days in New Zealand. Audio

The Environment Ministry's own officials struggled to explain the government's proposed freshwater standards to the public, emails reveal. Audio

The agency has been pressured into changing how it treats census workers after being accused of operating "zero-hour-like" employment.

Self-sufficiency and independence have been described as foreign concepts to Pacific cultures by New Zealand's own Ministry for Pacific Peoples.

KiwiRail reversed a decision to release a document days after the Transport Minister's office raised concerns with an executive, emails have revealed. Audio

A top government watchdog wants an assurance ministers aren't flouting the law when dealing with requests for official information.

Accusations of race-baiting are swirling around Labour's immigration policy despite its direct effort to distance itself from such claims.

Foreign Affairs Minister Gerry Brownlee has issued a stark message to New Zealanders living in Australia: seek dual citizenship or realise you'll have fewer rights.

Officials have been ordered to draw up guidelines for the presence of firearms in schools, after photos emerged of children holding assault rifles.

A pay equity bill could cripple the care sector with "potentially catastrophic" results if it's not properly funded, MPs have been warned.

The government's move to put its data-for-funding plan on the back-burner in favour of a new system an "embarrassing U-turn", says Labour.

The Police Minister is warning New Zealanders not to try meth as a substitute for marijuana, with the price of cannabis driven up by poor growing conditions.

Major New Zealand exporters are applauding efforts to salvage a massive trade deal, but a long-time opponent says it is dead in the water. Audio

The government talked up the sale of Silver Fern Farms to foreign owners as beneficial to New Zealand, less than a year before the company announced it would slash 370 jobs.

Most of the thousands of houses the government is promising to build and sell in Auckland over the next decade will cost well over $650,000.

Family First is expected to be stripped of its tax-free charitable status, with its director vowing to fight any such decision "right to the top".

It is just a matter of time before New Zealand introduces prisons run by Māori applying Māori values, the Māori Party says.