Jo Moir

People over 70 and those with underlying health conditions faced the lockdown four days before the rest of the country - but some of the elderly still aren't taking any notice.

A small number of MPs have returned to Parliament today to debate and pass much-needed legislation as the country prepares for a nationwide lockdown tonight. Watch Parliament live here.

The 74-year-old Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters, will carry on working despite the Prime Minister's advice today for over-70s to stay home.

At least 80,000 New Zealanders are overseas and not all of them will get home before flights grind to a halt, says the Foreign Affairs Minister.

The government is promising to keep spending as and when required to get New Zealand through a recession that's now almost certain. Audio

Businesses will receive the lion's share of a $12.1 billion economic rescue package as New Zealand responds to the Covid-19 crisis.

The response to the Covid-19 crisis kicked up another notch yesterday with the prime minister calling a halt to gatherings of more than 500 people, and warning of a recession greater than that of the… Audio

MPs were caught out in a verbal vote against abortion clinic safe zones last night, but Labour's Jacinda Ardern and Andrew Little seem to want to just put it behind them.

Under-fire charity Quit Group will wind up in June once it has spent the $2.7 million it has squirrelled away, it says. Audio

Spend the money on smokefree services or give the money back and shut down - that's the message from Jacinda Ardern to the Quit Group Trust board.

In just one day, the Māori Party has unravelled 18 months of work rebuilding and repositioning itself ahead of the September election, writes Jo Moir.

The quit smoking charity stopped functioning five years ago but continues to pay board members tens of thousands of dollars a year from funding that includes taxpayer money.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has named his first bottomline for any post-election coalition talks - the provincial growth fund in its current form.

Former Labour minister and Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere is set to run for the Māori Party in the Tāmaki Makaurau seat.

The government remains divided over the second tranche of gun reforms and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters cannot say when an agreement might be reached.

Former and future Australian prime ministers would not treat New Zealand in the way the current regime is over deportation, says the deputy prime minister.

Abortion reform has cleared another hurdle, passing its second reading in Parliament tonight by 81 votes to 39.

The New Zealand and Australian prime ministers have spoken on Australia's deportation policy during a press conference.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will be picking her battles when she meets her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison this afternoon.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced $2 million in funding to put towards the relocation of Fijian communities displaced by climate change.

The Prime Minister has arrived in Fiji to a red carpet welcome and locals lining the street to catch a glimpse.

Climate change will be a hot topic in Jacinda Ardern's meeting with the Fijian PM this week, but an elephant in the room for her talk with the Australian PM.

The owners of the disputed land at Ihumātao say for seven months they've halted development at the request of the Prime Minister, but that can't continue indefinitely.

Both RNZ and TVNZ's chief executives see merit in a proposed merger of the two public broadcasters, but RNZ's chief executive warns a culture change would be needed.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has attempted to bypass the media, answering questions about the secretive New Zealand First Foundation in a live video on Facebook. Video