Phil Goff

Labour leader Phil Goff has emerged from a crunch meeting in Dunedin with the backing of his front bench.

Embattled Labour leader Phil Goff will meet his shadow cabinet in Dunedin today, when his handling of the Darren Hughes incident is expected to be on the agenda.

The Government needs to act quickly to prevent a skills shortage that could cripple efforts to rebuild quake-hit Christchurch, Labour leader Phil Goff says.

The increase in power prices by Genesis Power was a warning for what lay in store if the Government was allowed to sell off shares in the state-owned power companies, Labour leader Phil Goff said yesterday.

It goes without saying that Phil Goff has a major problem in simply connecting with voters. More to the point, voters find it difficult to connect with him.

Labour's Wellington Central MP, Grant Robertson, formerly of Dunedin, gets a move to the front bench  and charge of the health portfolio  in the party's election-year line-up announced this morning.

Labour is promising a tax-free zone for the first $5000 of income, a crackdown on tax avoidance and an increase in the top rate for people who earn more than $100,000.

Labour leader Phil Goff's proposed tax package was a big step backwards, NZIER chief executive Jean-Pierre de Raad said yesterday.

A Labour government would pay for its spending promises by closing tax loopholes and revenue gained from economic growth, party leader Phil Goff said today.

The bold start to the political year by Phil Goff and John Key has a sequel tomorrow when Greens co-leader Russel Norman relaunches the case for a capital gains tax in his "state of the planet" speech. That should cause waves for a party cruising through relatively calm waters.

Disgraced Labour MP Shane Jones looks set to be returned to glory by leader Phil Goff in a reshuffle early this year.

Early reaction to the Labour Party's annual conference last weekend had elements of evangelistic enthusiasm - and not just from the delegates.

Labour has made a dramatic reversal on its foreign investment policy: big land sales to overseas buyers would be turned down except in exceptional circumstances.

Most New Zealand families, already struggling to make ends meet, are going backwards not forwards, Labour leader Phil Goff says.

Falling wages and rising prices were expected to lead to a huge spike in vulnerable people not being able to pay their bills later this year, Labour Party leader Phil Goff said yesterday.