Stories by Sarah Robson

Labour and the Greens are chalking up the Mt Albert by-election as a successful test of how the parties will work together but stand against each other in electorates.

Labour's Jacinda Ardern is the new MP for Mt Albert after a convincing by-election win.

The parties' agreement to work together has not extended to the Greens giving Jacinda Ardern a clear run at Mt Albert - a safe Labour seat.

Housing is the top issue on the minds of both voters and candidates in this Saturday's Mt Albert by-election.

Aucklanders may be able to check which of the city's beaches are safe to swim at before they head for a day of sand and sea next summer.

Decriminalising recreational cannabis use has been ruled off the government agenda despite medicinal cannabis changes - but police are already turning a blind eye, a user says.

The Salvation Army's says there's no evidence the crime rate is on the rise and criticised goverment pledges to put more police on the streets and build more prison beds.

Natasha Utting, who is engaged to singer Anika Moa, says the government was right to reject 22 would-be celebrants because they would not marry same-sex couples.

It is New Zealanders - not foreigners - who are pushing up house prices in Auckland and other fast growing areas, a new report has found.

Passengers on a Singapore Airlines flight waited eight hours for the plane to depart, after the pilot aborted the first take-off because of a wheel issue.

Extra blankets and raincoats haven't been far from reach in many parts of the country, but farmers up north are worried about another prolonged dry spell.

The government needs to accept that New Zealand's housing market is dysfunctional, says ACT Party leader David Seymour.

The Mt Albert by-election campaign will be a chance for Labour and the Greens to show they can work together, says Labour's candidate for the seat, Jacinda Ardern.

Ngāpuhi kaumatua Kingi Taurua is apologising to Prime Minister Bill English and says he is welcome to speak at Te Tii Marae, even in English.

Bill English has kicked off his first overseas trip as Prime Minister with high-level meetings at the European Union headquarters in Brussels.

Correspondence shows the Prime Minister's office flatly rejected an offer to speak at Te Tii Marae after the pōwhiri.

It's seagulls' nesting time and they will dive bomb anything that threatens their young, including your cat.

One in four Kiwi children live in low income homes, eight percent live in severe poverty - and it is not getting better, the latest monitor report says.

The government should not delay changes to allow 17-year-old offenders to be dealt with in the Youth Court, a justice advocacy group says.

Most 17-year-old offenders will face the youth justice system from 2019, rather than adult courts, under changes announced today.

The cost of prisons is spiralling out of control and the money would be better spent on reducing reoffending, the Salvation Army says.

Many able-bodied New Zealanders still aren't getting the message about not using mobility car park, an advocacy group says.

An introduced wasp species is being credited with saving the country almost half a billion dollars.

Candidates in the Mt Roskill by-election are on their last day of campaigning before voting takes place tomorrow.

With the Mt Roskill by-election just a few days away, rising rents and house prices in the area remain top concerns for voters.