Points of interest:

- Government open to rise in tobacco tax

- English: "I wouldn't guarantee the same number of government departments [at the end of this term]".

Points of interest:

- Clark opposed to mining Doc land: "There are other ways to make money [and] some things are more important than money"

- "Who wants the Martha Mine in the middle of you know Tongariro National Park? Not me"

Young Pacific Island people are taking up the mantle of leadership in different ways from their trailblazing forebears, Pacific Island Affairs Minister Georgina te Heuheu says.

A new code of welfare for dairy cows that completely ignores the issue of factory-style dairy farming is a major concern, Green Party Co-Leader Dr Russel Norman said today.

The findings of a review of the Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury or ECan) are an attack on democracy and could be disastrous for the Canterbury environment, the Green Party said today.

Canterbury water management would be better served by enforcing tougher, new environmental requirements than by passing responsibility to a new tier of un-elected local government, says Labour's water spokesman Brendon Burns.

Today's better than forecast deficit numbers beg the question - is all this slash and burn necessary from Bill English?

"The Government response to the Capital Markets Development Task Force report is welcomed by the Investment Savings and Insurance Association (ISI) as an important step in the right direction. The appointment of the Hon.

The failure of the Government to secure agreement to transform Auckland's waterfront into "party central" for the 2011 Rugby World Cup proves National's handing of preparations is a shambles, Labour Leader Phil Goff said today.

Kiwibank has made a profit during the worst recession in decades by staying in the New Zealand market and refusing to gamble on overseas currencies like the big Australian banks, says MP for Wigram and Progressive Party leader Jim Anderton.