1The Government moved today to cut back the incentive payments it makes to exporters, but the incentives will be phased out, rather than simply dropped at once in an effort to keep inflation from rising too quickly.

2New Zealand's 95 Members of Parliament were officially sworn in today, ahead of the State opening of Parliament by the Governor General Sir David Beattie tomorrow. Sir Basil Arthur was unanimously elected Speaker of the House, despite some criticism of Opposition leader Sir Robert Muldoon.

3Two Maori National Party MPs will boycott part of the State Opening ceremony at Parliament tomorrow because they believe it is racist. Winston Peters and Rex Austin say that the traditional Maori welcome of the Governor General is racist against Europeans.

4Social Security Minister Ann Hercus has announced increases in social security benefits from next month.

5The Government has assured Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad that students from Malaysia will continue to be accepted into New Zealand, especially for studies in food and agricultural technology.

6The Meat Board has today called a halt to cutting up carcasses of lower grades of lamb because supply exceeds overseas demand.

7Millions of dollars worth of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) is being burned off in Taranaki because production far exceeds demand. Maui Development says it will need to continue burning off LPG until it can determine whether it is feasible to export the surplus.

8A Government Advisory Committee agrees with commercial fishermen that the Government should contribute towards the cost of buying their boats. In a report released today, the committee also warns that over-fishing is causing a collapse of the in-shore fishing industry and the number of fishermen must be reduced.

9Minister of Transport Richard Prebble plans to break with tradition by nominating Opposition MP and previous Transport Minister George Gair to chair the Parliamentary Committee on Road Safety.

10Two Army Courts of Inquiry have found that the Army was not to blame for the death of Craig McDougal, who collapsed after a forced run at a military detention centre in January.

11Heidi porch, an American pilot en route to New Zealand, is recovering in Hawaii after her single engine plane crashed into the sea and she was rescued by a Soviet freighter.