The Prime Minister says it's "disappointing" the Pike River Coal receivers have asked the Government for aid and that it is unlikely to pay their legal bill during the Royal Commission of Inquiry.

Labour Department investigators are asking for more time to decide whether to prosecute over the fatal Pike River Mine explosions.

In the high-stakes game of oil exploration New Zealand is frontier country.

A substantial petrol price rise is expected to increase the cost of living for earthquake-hit Christchurch residents in the coming days.

Labour leader Phil Goff has accused John Key of "passing the buck" on whether to permanently seal the Pike River coal mine. Receivers have been given until 5pm today to come up with a plan for stabilising the mine.

Sealing the Pike River mine could see vital evidence lost, the lawyer for the families of those killed says.

The Pike River mine will be sealed and there is little or no chance of the bodies of 29 men killed being recovered in the near future, says Prime Minister John Key. He said it was "not an issue of money or time or commitment."

Closing the Pike River coal mine and handing the land back to the government is the worst-case scenario, according to the company's receiver.

The Pike River Mine will be handed back to the company's receivers, Police Commissioner Howard Broad announced yesterday.

Petrol prices are likely to remain stable over 2011 but will slowly creep up, say analysts.

The Pike River mine will not be handed over to receivers while the operation to recover the bodies of the 29 workers continues, police say.

Families of the 29 miners who died at Pike River Coal mine have been given a chance to spend Christmas near the bodies of their loved ones after police offered to take them to the mine on December 25.