New Zealand's booming migration and tourism set new records in November, with arrivals continuing to increase and departures steadily lower.

Less than half of young renters voted at the last election, and more than 90 per cent of property owners over the age of 50 voted.

Bill English delivered a few surprises in his first media appearance, including poetry, a u-turn on gay marriage and a nod to the trade unions.

Water supply levels in both Franz Josef and Fox Glacier are being monitored as the tourist season ramps up again.

COMMENT: Targeted immigration can be good for an economy. It can bring in new ideas, cultures and increased entrepreneurship.

Eighteen per cent of GP clinics closed their books to new patients

Almost all of New Zealand has had a "hotspot" feeling to it this year, but one part of Auckland is about to boom with 254 per cent growth.

New Zealand is growing at the fastest rate since the 1970s with the population expanding by 2.1 per cent a year. Tristram Clayton talks to NZ Herald property editor Anne Gibson for further information.

Auckland is falling off the pace in its natural tendency to produce disproportionately more economic output than the rest of the country.

Rising employment, low inflation and a recovery in the dairy sector point to robust economic growth.

Political Roundup: Will next year's general election be shaken up by rising populism?

Hospital admissions for intentional self-harm rose 4.6% from 2004 to 2013.

What is political populism? Here's an explanation of the new anti-Establishment politics, as well as ten reasons why a popular revolt could happen in NZ.

COMMENT: New Zealand has so far escaped the issues faced by other countries with large influxes of people coming across their borders.

Experts say house crisis is driving us towards a tale of two Aucklands, where the only homeowners will be those who are left the family home by parents.

New Zealand's unemployment rate fell below 5 per cent for the first time since December 2008.

COMMENT: Two high-profile collapses from NZX-listed companies lately won't do wonders for the way bystanders perceive share investing.

Crime is on the up in New Zealand, with latest figures showing an increase in burglaries, assaults, abductions and sex offences over the last year.

Auckland is bracing itself for an additional 700,000 people in the next 30 years.

New Zealand's population is predicted to hit 5 million in about 2020 and could reach this milestone sooner.

Bill English announced a bigger surplus than expected as a growing economy underpinned by population delivered a bigger tax take than anticipated.

Investors need to consider the increasing debt being taken on by some retirement village operators, according to a report.

Rural New Zealand is facing a GP shortage as the current workforce ages.

An infestation of rats has hit Australia's biggest city, and it's human's fault. We created the conditions for them to thrive.

New Zealand's net migration rose in the year through August, returning to the record set in the June year.

As all the jobs and big-smoke buzz centres on Auckland, the regions are trying to find a way to carry on, writes Russell Blackstock.

COMMENT: NZ better than many, but future is clouded says visiting scholar

COMMENT: Every generation feels misunderstood by the generation that preceded it. At the moment it is the turn of Millennials.

Professor Stephen McGarvey talks about his recent breakthrough establishing a link between Samoan populations and obesity.

Booming migration and tourism arrivals set a new record - but economists say the net migration trend may be close to a peak.