An opponent of raising the drinking age says if John Key was 18 right now, he would be unlikely to support it.

Drunks could be charged $250 for a night in police cells or a ride home in a police car.

Party politics still rule when it comes to tangling with the vested interests of the liquor and hospitality industries.

Closing times at 4am could put a dampener on RWC festivities but the Government says any changes would likely come in after 2011.

Opponents of the Search and Surveillance bill say it overturns important aspects of civil liberties.

An increase in excise tax is among likely recommendations of a report into alcohol to be released next week, the Bill English says.

A report on child witnesses in criminal courts has identified concerns about the systems aimed at protecting them.

Police have said today they support proposals to increase the minimum drinking age and close bars earlier.

A bottle store has opened next to the Newmarket Railway Station despite objections from residents of nearby apartments.

Concerns about the implications of evolving technology are reflected in a spike in the number of complaints to the Privacy Commission.

Parliament's repeal of the use of provocation as a partial defence for murder does not have widespread support from the legal community.

The defence of provocation, which can be used to reduce murder to manslaughter, has been abolished.

The Justice Minister wants to stop the emerging "special class" of high-profile people using their status to get name suppression.

Court proceedings should be more open and transparent, the Law Commission says.