Jane Patterson

Within 48 hours of becoming Foreign Minister, Gerry Brownlee has called the New Zealand co-sponsored UN resolution on Israel 'premature'.

Until just a few years ago, the SIS security clearance systems were not secure enough, the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security has found.

Power Play - The traditional relationship between New Zealand and Australia is under severe strain, as the Prime Minister questions the very fabric of the trans-Tasman bond, RNZ's Jane Patterson…

New Zealand is "pretty unhappy" but would rather keep relations sweet than start a tit-for-tat over citizens' treatment, the Prime Minister says.

A former member of Robert Mugabe's secret police who admitted to rape and murder has left New Zealand, after the Immigration Minister refused him a work visa.

Power Play - With Budget Day looming and the election following fast on its heels, the spending and policy promises are starting to roll in, Jane Patterson writes.

Two men who were found to have a conflict of interest while working for CERA were the ones who raised the alert about other possible cases.

Former TVNZ presenter Shane Taurima looks likely to contest the Auckland seat of Tāmaki Makaurau for the Māori Party.

The government says it is under pressure to provide emergency housing for people, but it is doing all it can.

A new potential privacy breach relating to client information and the Ministry of Social Development has been revealed.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters described provisions for iwi involvement in resource management legislation as "koha for consent", as a spat erupted in Parliament.

A global anti-corruption group has added its voice to calls for an inquiry into allegations relating to an SAS raid on an Afghan village.

It is "not enough" to accept civilians might have been killed during an SAS raid in Afghanistan, former defence minister Wayne Mapp says.

Lawyers acting for villagers claiming they were caught up in a raid involving New Zealand troops have formally asked for an independent investigation.

It is impossible the Defence Force carried out a simultaneous raid on a separate Afghan village the night that civilians were killed, the authors say. Video, Audio

Free trade agreements should cover most of New Zealand's exports by 2030 according to a new trade strategy launched by Prime Minister Bill English.

Wayne Mapp has declined to be interviewed about allegations about a New Zealand SAS raid in Afghanistan during his time as Defence Minister. Audio

Power Play - It is untenable for the NZDF to refuse to answer specific questions about NZ's involvement in alleged attacks on civilians in Afghanistan in 2010, writes Jane Patterson.

The NZDF is rejecting a new book's claims that SAS soldiers led a raid which killed and injured civilians, including a three-year-old girl, in Afghanistan. Video, Audio

New legislation governing New Zealand's spy agencies has been passed by Parliament.

Government ministers will host a family violence summit in June in response to what they say is an horrific form of abuse in New Zealand.

Labour's Māori MPs are not exactly rushing to back up the claim by party leader Andrew Little that they've asked for low list spots so they can fight it out in the Māori seats.

Former Prime Minister John Key and Labour MP David Cunliffe have struck a deal so they can both leave Parliament without having to wait for the September election.

Lawyers, accountants and real estate agents will now be covered by anti-money laundering legislation, if a government bill is passed.