Stories by Russell Palmer

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she does not need to travel to Auckland to understand the impact of the lockdown there.

National Party leader Judith Collins has come out firmly against creating a "two-class system" by bringing in vaccine certificates, but she also wants to bring in vaccine certificates.

MIQ changes being announced this week will free up facilities to accommodate demand from New Zealanders overseas and from the Delta outbreak, the Covid-19 Response Minister says.

National and ACT say the government's planned move from alert levels to a traffic light system is confusing and slow, as the Māori Party and Greens urge more protection for the vulnerable.

New Zealand has agreed in principle to the United Kingdom's second free trade deal since Brexit, eventually eliminating tariffs on all New Zealand exports to the country.

The government says the National Party's Covid-19 business plan is economically illiterate, while others say it puts Māori, Pacific people and other vulnerable communities at risk. Audio

Explainer - Councils and the government seem at odds over massive water infrastructure reforms - but is your water system in the drink? RNZ is here to clear it all up.

The government is set to expedite thousands of residence visa applications, RNZ understands.

The National Party is calling for New Zealand to first end lockdowns then reopen to the world based on two vaccination targets.

Mayors around the country are lining up for a fight as the controversial Three Waters reforms approach another deadline.

The climate minister's trip to the COP26 conference and his delegation's use of MIQ spaces upon their return is again being criticised by the opposition.

New Zealand needs to be careful not to be left behind as some of its close partners agree to share defence resources, but politically and on trade the move is good for Aotearoa, politicians and…

The proposed law banning conversion therapy practices is not strong enough, some submitters have argued, and needs work to ensure it will do what it aims to.

Church groups making oral submissions on the bill banning conversion therapy have offered a range of views about it, some calling for it to be scrapped outright and others in firm support.

The plan to reopen New Zealand to the world with a risk-based border has not changed in light of the Delta variant, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says, but there may be some delays.

Travelling to Glasgow after criticising Parliament sitting at alert level 4 is breathtaking hypocrisy, ACT's David Seymour says, but Shaw's office says he is following all health advice.

Te Pūnaha Matatini Covid-19 data modelling expert Shaun Hendy says alert level 4 in Auckland is working nearly as well against Delta as it did last year.

Experts say the government needs to prioritise more funding and health resources for South Auckland, which will remain New Zealand's ongoing front line in the battle against Covid-19.

Rushed counter-terrorism laws could risk stigmatising refugees, which would only reinforce the false justifications of the New Lynn terrorist, the parties say.

A group that has been petitioning the government for such changes says it does not address the lack of supply of MIQ rooms, and there's little confidence they will make things fairer.

National's leader Judith Collins says it was the prime minister's call to bring back Parliament under level 4, and she could have suspended it one more day if she was worried about it. Audio

Cabinet is exploring a second phase evacuation from Afghanistan, and the effects resettlement would have on New Zealand.

Te Pāti Māori and the Green Party have said they will not attend Parliament while Wellington is at alert level 4. ACT says the prime minister is using public health for political purposes.

The government is not considering mandatory vaccines for the wider workforce, the minister says, but employers could write vaccination requirements into future employment contracts.

Health officials should have been more up front after discovering five people could have been given saline instead of the vaccine, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says.