Stories by Craig McCulloch

The ACT Party wants to allow most returning New Zealanders to isolate in privately-run facilities - such as Airbnbs - rather than government-managed isolation hotels.

The National Party board will meet "as soon as possible" to discuss allegations surrounding its member Roger Bridge and a late-night call on talkback radio.

The eye-watering cost of keeping the Christchurch mosque gunman behind bars has reignited calls for him to be sent back to Australia to serve his sentence there.

The inquiry into the leak of Covid-19 details has placed the blame squarely on National MP Hamish Walker and former party president Michelle Boag, but also finds some fault with the Ministry of… Video

Support for the National Party has hit a new low in the latest Newshub-Reid Research poll.

Parliament's referee Trevor Mallard has threatened to name and shame the worst-behaving MPs if he is left to enforce a new code of conduct.

Power Play - With hastily-filled gaps in National's new-look line-up, Judith Collins still has work to do to shake the narrative of a party in disarray, writes Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch.

The government does not know how many foreigners have come into NZ under the essential worker exemption and says it would "not be a great use of officials' time" to find out.

A National MP has dropped a bombshell allegation in Parliament that the two women granted compassionate leave to drive to Wellington stopped for directions, casting doubt on the official story. Video

National backbench MP Chris Penk has released a book criticising the government's "lockdown lunacy" as "incompetent", a position that would seem at odds with that of his party's leadership.

National is distancing itself from its controversial Strike Force Raptor proposal, saying it would not direct the police to set up such a unit if elected.

Business leaders on both sides of the ditch have proposed a trial run of the trans-Tasman bubble which would see flights between Wellington and Canberra take off by July.

The Greens have accused Labour of breaking a core promise to overhaul the welfare system, a commitment made in 2017 during negotiations to form a government.

Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick has been propelled up her party's list to the third place ranking just behind the two co-leaders and ahead of those with ministerial portfolios.

New leader Todd Muller is wasting no time putting his stamp on the National Party's front bench with a caucus reshuffle expected to be unveiled today.

A $50 billion rescue fund sits at the centre of 2020's "once in a generation Budget" as the country braces for the economic carnage promised by Covid-19. Video

The Prime Minister's office has directed all ministers not to give interviews on a Covid-19 document dump, saying there is "no real need to defend" themselves.

National is pushing for struggling businesses to be offered GST cash refunds of up to $100,000 to salve the economic damage caused by Covid-19.

National MPs will pursue the case on the Epidemic Response Committee this morning, putting questions to the Ministers for Finance, Small Business, and Employment.

The government is exploring taking legal action regarding the Ruby Princess cruise ship which has proven to be a hotbed of Covid-19 infection in Australia.

Cabinet ministers will put into practice 'physical distancing' in this morning's Cabinet meeting, with half dialling in via video-conference.

As New Zealanders brace for a global downturn due to Covid-19, the Deputy Prime Minister is promising a rescue package "more significant" than any other he's seen around the world.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson is tempering expectations about whether he will follow Australia in rolling out a major Covid-19 stimulus package, saying his focus right now is on targeted support.

Environment Minister David Parker has written a forthright letter to the owner of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, accusing it of passing the buck rather than dealing with its hazardous waste.

Among the first regulations National would scrap, if elected, would be Labour's proposed rental regulations and the newly introduced heating standards, leader Simon Bridges says.