The Government has kicked off moves towards oil and gas exploration across huge areas of New Zealand and the surrounding oceans by consulting with iwi and local authorities in affected areas.

The Government has today announced a timeline for the Meridian float, in which it hopes to raise around $2.3 billion.

New Zealand's Catholic Church says it will "reflect" on a decision by Auckland Anglicans to sell out of all fossil fuel investments within two years.

Five months after the first share float of Mighty River Power a referendum on asset sales is to go ahead - news accidentally tweeted by the Greens co-leader.

Profits are up a notch at Vector, as its technology unit bolstered sagging earnings from traditional energy streams.

Meridian Energy - the jewel in the Government's portfolio of crown assets - may be worth nearly $2 billion less than it was valued at a year ago when it is finally listed.

A big questionmark remains as to the wisdom of rushing another and bigger float in a state-owned generator so soon after Mighty River Power, writes John Armstrong.

The Government has turned up the sweeteners to attract retail investors to the Meridian Energy sharemarket float but analysts say punters need to remain wary of the potential downsides.

Markets writer Tamsyn Parker says details for Meridian Energy's share market float provide both a huge incentive and the potential for a huge disaster for investors, writes Tamsyn Parker.

Details of the Meridian Energy share float have been released, and new shareholders will only have to pay 60 per cent up front for a stake in our biggest power company.

Funding generated by the Government's asset sales programme now extends to the $40 million bill for the Mighty River share loyalty bonus scheme.

Meridian's deal with New Zealand Aluminium Smelters is a good short term solution to create certainty around its share market listing, says one analyst.

A $30m subsidy from the government has helped Meridian resolve its negotiations with Rio Tinto to keep the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter running until 2017.

With widespread use of smart meters it should be possible to make the demand side of the wholesale market more price-elastic, writes Brian Fallow.

Big projects protect people (and the environment). They deliver to communities and build infrastructure, writes Antonios Papaspiropoulos.

Forest and Bird says efforts to rehabilitate the Stockton Plateau after open-cast coalmining has missed the point, with bright green grass sown rather than restoring the natural tussock landscape.

Infratil and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund stand to at least triple their money on Z Energy in next month's IPO.

Z Energy has set an indicative price range of between $3.25 and $3.75 a share for its initial public offering next month.