Stories by Craig McCulloch

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has touched down in Singapore after a clean Covid-19 test cleared the way for her first overseas trip since 2020.

Power Play - Few prime ministerial trips have seemed so long in the coming - and still so uncertain - after a nearly 800-day hiatus from international travel, writes Craig McCulloch.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has accused the government of neglecting the Pacific and says his successor should have visited the region sooner.

The Green Party says New Zealand has put its relationship with the NATO security alliance ahead of saving lives in Ukraine.

Power Play - National has found its version of "Jacindamania" - and Labour may struggle to counter it in this volatile climate, Craig McCulloch writes.

The National leader will not negotiate with the protesters and says they are difficult to engage with given their "anti-social, abusive" behaviour. National's whole caucus has agreed not to meet them.

Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles is "really worried" about the government's plan for an Omicron outbreak, warning the red traffic light setting will not be enough to slow the variant down.

As well as the regional traffic light restrictions, ministers are likely to also discuss the traffic light system's broader parameters, the planned border reopening, and testing requirements. Audio

The two-way quarantine-free travel bubble lasted just three months in 2021. Since then, the island nation has vaccinated close to 100 percent of its eligible population, paving the way for today's…

Jacinda Ardern is refusing to comment on claims her fiancé tried to get rapid antigen tests for his musician friends despite them not being eligible.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she wants to see house prices fall back from their record heights next year.

National's Covid-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop said the legislation had been "thrown together hastily" and then dropped with little analysis and no time for public scrutiny. Audio

Talking points - With consensus on eliminating Covid-19 Delta showing signs of wavering this week, RNZ asked politicians, scientists and officials if it's time to double down or change tack.

Scientists have shot down calls from New Zealanders overseas who want fewer border restrictions, warning such action right now would risk another Delta outbreak.

Experts have warned of a few sticking points that could hinder parts of the country from shifting down alert levels this weekend.

New Zealand's Covid-19 quarantine hotels are under increasing pressure with more than 200 infected with the virus and predictions the number could hit 1000.

Monday's media conference contained a sobering admission: many infected in the Delta outbreak had not been vaccinated as they were not yet eligible, Craig McCulloch writes.

Former National leader Simon Bridges says his time in charge was "damned and doomed" due to the "circling wolves" and MPs who thought themselves bigger than the party.

National leader Judith Collins has used a speech to party members to signal a shift in focus away from race matters and on to seven "big issues" facing New Zealanders.

National Party president Peter Goodfellow has been re-elected to the position, prompting his challenger David Carter to resign from the board.

Education officials have warned their ministers that students are "falling through the cracks" because the curriculum does not clearly signal when they need more support.

About 3000 requests for emergency housing were rejected by the government last year, nearly triple the number the year before. Audio

Cabinet ministers have convened a special virtual meeting this afternoon to discuss the trans-Tasman bubble, including a potential pause of the entire arrangement.

The ACT Party wants to strip some gang members of their freedoms, introducing "gang injunction orders" which could ban them from certain areas or activities.

Foreign policy watchers have high hopes for tonight's "extraordinary" APEC meeting which will bring together the globe's heavy-hitters to discuss the Covid-19 crisis.