Work in post-disaster Christchurch has officially swung from recovery and demolition to rebuild, the Government said today.

"Does anyone in Parliament now represent poorer consumers who spend proportionately more on fruit, veg and other foods than richer voters?" asks Norman Gemmell.

Prices would have to go up by 6 to 8 per cent to pay a "living wage" of $18.40 an hour to workers in the lowest-paid sectors - hospitality and retailing.

A deer farm worker who was dismissed after more than 20 animals died from disease has been awarded more than $12,000.

The conversation went something like this: "We, Fran, are a continent. You are an island."

A new free service has been launched by a Warkworth businessman to help close the gap on New Zealand's skills shortages.

House prices and overall sales numbers eased last month but the property market remains much stronger than a year ago, according to figures out this morning.

New Zealand house values continue to soar but the booming market is no longer being propped up by property powerhouses Auckland and Christchurch.

This weekend Prime Ministers John Key and Julia Gillard hold their annual pow-wow in Queenstown.

We cling to the same predictable policy framework while our currency appreciates and the dilemma facing our exporters remains, writes John Walley. The world has changed and New Zealand needs to take notice.

Many of Mainzeal's workforce of 400 staff learned about the collapse of the company on Waitangi Day through the media.

Very weak jobs data from Statistics New Zealand yesterday raised economists' eyebrows.

New Zealand's unemployment rate fell from a 13-year high in the last three months of 2012 as people stopped looking for work and the participation rate shrank.

Auckland's property market had a booming January, with one real estate company selling 78pc more homes worth more than $1 million than the same month last year.

The New Zealand dollar has hit 76 on the Reserve Bank's trade-weighted index, its highest level since at least 1990, writes Brian Fallow.

Employment growth is moderate and wage inflation subdued, payrolls data for the December quarter suggest.

Almost two-thirds of the New Zealand workforce is looking for a new job in 2013.