Well, there were some goodies under the Government's Christmas tree after all. Wellington got a $2 billion highway and some tunnels, for which Transport Minister Steven Joyce has been duly thanked.

Wellington, Dec 20 NZPA - Children are wagging school more and starting from a younger age, a report shows.

Wellington, Dec 16 NZPA - A leaked Education Review Office (ERO) report described by Education Minister Anne Tolley as "alarming" is not as bad as the minister is making out, education sector union NZEI says.

Wellington, Dec 16 NZPA - Councils that run polytechnics will be cut to eight, with four appointed by the minister of education and four by the councils themselves, under a bill passed by Parliament today.

Wellington, Dec 16 NZPA - A leaked Education Review Office (ERO) report described by Education Minister Anne Tolley as "alarming" is not as bad as the minister is making out, education sector union NZEI says.

Wellington, Dec 15 NZPA - Prime Minister John Key has ruled out a trial period for national standards in schools, saying 20 percent of young New Zealanders leave with poor skills and the new system is needed to fix the problem.

Wellington, Dec 14 NZPA - There won't be any delays or trial periods for the new national standards in schools, Prime Minister John Key says.

Wellington, Dec 14 NZPA - The national standards row has heated up even further with Education Minister Anne Tolley saying she will fire primary school boards which allow teachers to boycott national standards.

Wellington, Dec 8 NZPA - The number of international students coming to New Zealand is increasing, Education Minister Anne Tolley says. There was a steady decline from 2003 to 2008, Ms Tolley said today, but latest figures showed the trend had reversed.

Wellington, Dec 8 NZPA - Finance Minister Bill English broke the law, Labour alleged in Parliament today. Prime Minister John Key confirmed this morning that rules requiring ministers to keep their self-drive cars in their electorates were changed in May this year.