Labour leader Phil Goff continued his election strategy of attacking National's greatest asset tonight, panning the Prime Minister's record in rebuilding his hometown of Christchurch during a leaders debate in the city.
The National Party today introduced an election policy which would see a six-month time limit on planning consents for medium-sized buildings.
Prime Minister John Key has outlined an overhaul of the welfare system that will require more people to look for work and take jobs when offered.
National will tomorrow announce a $130 million welfare reform package aimed at getting people off benefits.
Businesses are not convinced that John Key's Government has a plan to develop the economy or the country's infrastructure, according to the Deloitte-Business NZ election survey.
National is promising free after-hours medical care for children aged under six.
Less than seven weeks out from election day, the Herald-compiled poll of polls shows support for National still rising, albeit slowly.
The National Government will stop young people using benefits to buy alcohol and cigarettes, even though it is already illegal for them to purchase those products.
The National Party has enough support to govern alone according to the latest poll released today.
National's controversial proposal to partially privatise state-owned assets bounded forward yesterday with the announcement of the "immediate" appointment of Deutsche Bank and brokerage firm Craigs Investment Partners as sole financial advisers to Treasury.
Labour has closed the gap with National by more than 5 percentage points in the latest political poll, but National would still get enough seats to govern alone.
Wages were rising faster than prices, the Government said today as it rejected Labour Party assertions that the soaring cost of food was driving people into poverty.
The Government has spelled out plans to make sweeping cuts to the public sector after the general election in November.
The National Party is yet to decide whether it will push to win the key Epsom seat at the election, a possible candidate says.
Feeling the financial pinch from the emissions trading scheme? Didn't think so.
Cracks began to appear in the Government's traditional rural support base over the introduction of the emissions trading scheme (ETS) as farmers took to the streets in Balclutha yesterday and a National Party branch chairman threatened to resign.
While Bill English was seriously off-message when he gave his strongest hint yet that he wants to privatise Kiwibank, his faux pax may be a blessing in disguise for National.
Tensions and periodic tantrums are built into coalition politics, just as compromise and pragmatism are an essential part of a coalition leader's armoury.
The National Party has long experienced tensions within its membership about the welfare state it inherited from Labour and what it should do about it.
