Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce says that while the closure of one paper machine at the Kawerau mill was a consequence of the fact that newsprint making was a “declining industry”. Speaking this weekend on TV3’s “The Nation” he rejected claims from the mill owners, Norske Skog, that the high New Zealand dollar was a factor in the closure. Asked …

Blowing in the wind … John Key grapples with the problems of ownership. Photo / Mark Mitchell Mr Speaker, I rise today in this House to introduce legislation to vest all natural resources – water, geothermal steam, airwaves, aquifers and, for the avoidance of doubt, all minerals, ironsands, magma, rare earth deposits, coal, lignite, methane and uranium in this country …

New Zealand has proposed a special agricultural co-operation chapter should be injected into the free trade agreement (FTA) with the Russian-led customs union to help overcome fears by Russian farmers. Trade Minister Tim Groser dispatched New Zealand’s chief negotiator Vangelis Vitalis to Moscow this week to make progress on issues blocking the successful completion of the FTA with Russia and …