Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully has emphasised NZ's security and development role in the Pacific in a speech to the United Nations.

If problems are found with Momentum Consulting's recruitment of Stephen Wilce, then its other public sector appointments should be checked, Labour says.

The company that recruited a Defence scientist who made false claims in his CV also put forward an accountant who ripped off her employers.

The recruiter which appointed a top-level Defence staffer, despite his false CV claims, says a review shows its appointment process was correct.

John Key has ordered an inquiry into how former top defence scientist Stephen Wilce was given top security clearance by the SIS.

NZ's spy agency is expected to be drawn into the saga of a top defence official who has quit after claims he falsified his CV.

Stephen Wilce, head of the Defence Technology Agency and NZ's chief defence scientist, has quit over allegations he falsified his CV.

One of NZ's top Defence officials is under investigation after it was alleged he told "massive porkies" - including that he was an Olympian - and embellished his CV.

US troops yesterday found themselves battling heavily armed militants assaulting an Iraqi military headquarters in the centre of Baghdad.

The wild winds forecast for Canterbury tonight are unlikely to reach full force in Christchurch.

Safety first is the message authorities want to convey as many displaced locals face a second night away from their homes.

Some residents in the earthquake zone may be without power until the end of the week, says lines company Orion.