"There is no need for this, " John Mercer from the NFU told me.

BBC: Fears over sheep tagging 'folly'

John Hawkins of Mercer, an actuarial firm, reckons that premiums have fallen by 10-20% over the past 18 months and Paternoster, a new specialist insurance company, puts the drop at about 8% in the first quarter alone (though premiums rose again by 3% in April).

ECONOMIST: Pension buy-outs

The eastern suburbs have been home to many of Seattle's wealthy residents since the late 1800s, but the software boom in the 1990s sparked new interest in Medina, Bellevue and Mercer Island, says John Deely, principal managing broker at Coldwell Banker Bain based in Seattle.

WSJ: Luxury Real Estate's Ritziest Gold Coast

Parliamentarians were allowed a conscience vote, and, crucially, the reform had the backing of both the Prime Minister John Key and leader of the opposition David Shearer, the BBC's Phil Mercer in Sydney reports.

BBC: New Zealand legalises same-sex marriage