Wellington, March 11 NZPA - The Government says it will re-hash existing budgets to provide up to $21 million over five years to set up four centres for food and beverage development at Manukau, Hamilton, Palmerston North, and Lincoln.

Wellington, March 9 NZPA - Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee has approved electricity retailers pushing ahead with the widespread introduction of "dumb" smart meters which a parliamentary watchdog has warned will primarily benefit retailers rather than help householders cut their energ

Wellington, March 4 NZPA - Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee says the Maari Oil Field is proving a success story of the petroleum sector, having produced 6.5 million barrels of oil for export in its first year of production.

Wellington, March 2 NZPA - Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) are defending the Government's $347 million home insulation scheme against criticism it isn't good enough to help those who live in the coldest parts of the country.

Wellington, March 2 NZPA - The Government's home insulation programme isn't good enough to keep houses in colder parts of the country warm, a new report says.

Wellington, Feb 26 NZPA - A report prepared for the Government proposes opening 500 million hectares of conservation land to mining, it was reported today.

By Maggie Tait and Ian Llewellyn of NZPA Wellington, Feb 25 NZPA - Prime Minister John Key is not ruling out Phil Heatley returning to Cabinet, but is waiting to see if a high level investigation clears him.

(Pix avail ex nzpa images.co.nz) By Maggie Tait of NZPA Wellington, Feb 25 NZPA - Phil Heatley resigned his ministerial roles after Prime Minister John Key asked him about a claim for bottles of wine.

Wellington, Feb 25 NZPA - An emotional Phil Heatley resigned as minister this morning over misspending the taxpayers' money. He has now given all his accounts to the Office of the Auditor General to investigate.

Wellington, Feb 25 NZPA - The Government lost its second minister today when Phil Heatley resigned over misspending the taxpayers' money.