Stories by Catherine Hutton

Demand for help from disabled people and their families has soared with thousands coming forward for the first time. Audio

A disability advocate is taking legal action against a system of "sham employment relationships" that means disabled children are the employers of the parents caring for them.

Council candidates on the Kāpiti Coast - including the mayor - are refusing to share the stage with convicted sex offender and former councillor David Scott.

The woman who accused former Kāpiti Coast district councillor David Scott of indecent assault is going to court next month to apply for a restraining order against him.

Documents released to RNZ show the Kāpiti Coast District Council had been getting complaints from women about the former councillor's behaviour since 2015.

RNZ analysis shows there won't be enough money to properly pay new families that are expected to join the scheme.

Disability support providers may stop accepting new clients and some services may close because of a freeze in government funding.

A growing pay gap between community social workers and their government-agency counterparts is putting programmes for vulnerable families at risk.

Some family carers are disappointed recent changes to the Funded Family Care system didn't overhaul the assessment process, but the associate Minister of Health says that overall families are happy… Audio

The service would have paid families between $500 to $5000 a year, allowing them to buy the respite support which suited them best, but the Ministry of Health baulked at the cost.

The Family Court system is not fit for purpose, with the radical reforms of 2014 delivering few of the promised benefits and actually increasing delays, a review has found. Audio

Today, the government revealed its plan for combating climate change. It's already being condemned as "toothless" by environmentalists and "cruel" by farmers. Video

Public health officials struggled to give effective advice in a mass illness incident at a Wairarapa primary school last year, according to a new report from officials.

MPs have been deluged with thousands of submissions on the fast-tracked gun legislation, but there are concerns about the pace of change.

Hundreds of thousands of New Zealand children are still living in poverty because of housing costs, according to new figures released today.

Spending on lawyers in the Family Court has rocketed, despite reforms five years ago aimed at slashing the court's running costs.

KiwiRail's plans to upgrade its network are running into funding obstacles, with some bids to the Provincial Growth Fund being rejected.

Newly-released documents show the government forced KiwiRail to backtrack on its decision to ditch the electric locomotives on the North Island's main trunk line.

A Wellington primary school has suspended music lessons that used tutors without police background checks.

Politicians have been told pressures on the mental health system are not sustainable and demand is overwhelming.

The government is looking at having more than half of children walking, cycling or scooting to school by 2030.

KiwiRail has confirmed plans to replace its three ageing Cook Strait ferries with two new, larger, purpose-built rail ferries.

A report into the country's mental health services describes patients and families pleading for help from a failing system. Audio

The cost of installing seven bus hubs in the capital has blown out to more than $14 million.

Pharmacists have been told to restrict the number of paracetamol tablets they give out because of a national shortage of the country's most dispensed medicine.