More than 1500 union members braved bitter weather at Christchurch's Addington Raceway this afternoon to call for stronger work rights and higher wages.

Reserve Bank Governor Allan Bollard has come out in defence of monetary policy, promoting the view that there is really no other way.

The Insurance Council is predicting the severe storms that have recently hit New Zealand may see insurance payouts reach $50 million.

AMP NZ Office Trust (ANZO) assures its unit-holders that the announcement made by AMP Capital Investors today regarding one of its other property funds has no bearing on ANZO's performance, operations, investments and the ability of investors to freely trade in its listed securities.

New Zealand's Zest Gelato will be served at tonight's Coronation dinner for the Tongan King Tupou V, where Prime Minister Helen Clark and NZ Governor-General Anand Satyanand will dine alongside many distinguished guests from around the world.

McDonald's Restaurants (NZ) walked away with both the Morton Estate Wines Retail Award and the Fairfax Supreme Award for marketing excellence at the 2008 TVNZ/NZ Marketing Magazine Marketing Awards, held at the SkyCity Convention Centre on Thursday 31 July.

LONDON, July 31 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -

SUMMARY

SIX MONTHS RESULTS 2008 2007 Change

- unaudited

Revenue GBP5,457m GBP4,725m +15%

For the 10th year running, New Zealand Post is making free postage-paid envelopes available for community organisations across New Zealand through its annual Community Post programme.

AUCKLAND, July 31/Medianet International-AsiaNet/ --

The management of FleetPartners New Zealand, one of the country's largest fleet solutions companies, today announced it was poised for long term growth following an agreement executed for its sale.

31 July 2008 - NetSafe, New Zealand's cybersafety organisation, and InternetNZ have called on New Zealand telecommunications firms and Internet Service Providers to implement a full self-regulatory framework for the good of the Internet and its users.