Great poverty still affects pockets of NZ, ministers were told yesterday - shortly before their sumptuous three-course lunch.

The British government faces a second Tory backbench revolt over plans to change the rules to delay a general election if the Liberal-Conservative coalition collapses.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is believed to have settled on a poll date.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard appears unlikely to call an election this weekend after she was forced to sidestep a bombshell claim she pulled out of a deal with Kevin Rudd the night before she seized the leadership.

Hundreds of police cars carry gun safes, and central Auckland officers draw weapons from their vehicles nearly twice a week.

Government plans to apply "experience rating" - essentially a no- or low-claims discount on employers' ACC levies - from April next year.

Discounts on ACC levies for businesses with good safety records will encourage some employers to cover up workplace accidents, opponents say.