New Zealand prime minister facing questions as to when she first found out about claims

Pressure is growing on Jacinda Ardern to explain when she was made aware of serious sexual assault allegations in her party after the staffer at the centre of the furore resigned.

The individual remains unnamed but is known to have worked in a senior role in Parliament House and had regular interaction with senior Labour ministers.

Praise for spending on mental health and child wellbeing is tempered with concerns that the economic plan fails to address root causes of inequality

Pensioner Garry Harvey lived in Australia for decades before returning home to a tidy council flat in South Dunedin earlier this year. The socio-economically deprived suburb at the bottom of New Zealand’s South Island is in the crosshairs of the nation’s first-ever “wellbeing budget”, a radical economic plan for the country devised by Jacinda Ardern to improve the lives of the poorest citizens.

For the first time the annual budget puts social wellbeing indicators ahead of GDP when it comes to spending decisions. From now on, the health of New Zealand will not be measured by growth alone, but instead by the overall wellbeing and prosperity of its nearly 5 million people.