Demelza Leslie

The ACT Party goes in to its annual meeting this weekend hoping to breathe new life into its party membership and leave recent troubles behind. Audio

A beneficiary advocacy group says the Government's crack down on welfare fraud could put some beneficiaries unnecessarily in the firing line. Audio

The Government is being accused of breaking its promise to bring all troops home from Afghanistan in April. Audio

The Government has put the Australian company responsible for the error-ridden teacher payroll system, Novopay, on notice and given it an extra five million dollars to clean up the mess. Audio

The Prime Minister's being challenged to back up his claim that Australia has considered escorting boats carrying asylum seekers into New Zealand waters. Audio

Parliament's new speaker, David Carter, is at the centre of controversy after refusing to allow a visiting West Papua political activist to speak at Parliament. Audio

Compared with previous visits, this year's political visits to Waitangi ran relatively smoothly. However, infighting between local elders threatened to overshadow the Prime Minister's traditional… Audio

The guardians of the Waitangi treaty grounds say the argy bargy, feuding, and petty politics surrounding New Zealand's national day would occur no matter where it was held - after a suggestion it… Audio

The Prime Minister's annual appearance today on the Waitangi marae has been marked not by the more usual protests, but by a stoush between two kuia over who should escort him on. Audio

The Minister in charge of fixing Novopay, Steven Joyce, says he doesn't have much confidence in company promises to get the teachers' payroll system to work properly. Audio

The Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman says a highly critical Auditor General's report on cost cuts at the Defence force is 'nothing new' and the NZDF has largely moved on. Audio

The Green Party says the Government and the public must weigh up whether it's worth subsidising New Zealand Post or letting it cut back on delivering the mail. Audio

Manufacturers have told a Parliamentary inquiry they're sick of politicians telling them to up their game if they want to survive. Audio

A community housing agency says the Green Party's proposal to allow state house tenants to rent-to-buy their homes would help poor families into home ownership. Audio

The Prime Minister says the decision to put Steven Joyce in charge of fixing the Novopay payroll system does not mean the Education Minister, Hekia Parata, or her associate, Craig Foss, have failed. Audio

Education groups say the Economic Development Minister, Steven Joyce, has drawn the short straw in the Cabinet reshuffle after being put in charge of fixing the Novopay payroll system. Audio

Environmental groups say the Prime Minister needs to bring the National Party MP Nick Smith back into the fold as a Cabinet Minister. Audio

Can the Chatham Islands cash in on potential mining of phosphate deposits on the sea-bed, Demelza Leslie reports. Audio

While the Government's partial asset sales programme and the fiascos in education have been two of the biggest political issues this year, it has also been a year of highs and lows for the leaders of… Audio

While PM backs his minister, opposition parties say Ms Parata needs to accept responsibility for the failures in education, and should follow her Secretary of Education, Lesley Longstone, in falling… Audio