cricket team to abandon next month's tour of Zimbabwe. 30 July: Shelley Mather, the New Zealand woman killed in the 7 July 2005 London bombings, has her funeral at St Matthew-in-the-City in Auckland. Prime Minister Helen Clark attends. August 3 August: Staff at several universities continue to take strike action in support of their five per cent wage claim. The University of Otago is the only major university to have settled with their staff. 3 August: Radio New Zealand staff stopped work for two hours in support of their claim for a five percent wage increase and an extra week's annual holiday. (Stuff) 4 August: The Labour Party specifies 2008 as the deadline for claims to the Waitangi Tribunal, and settlement completion by 2020. The National Party requires claims to be filed by next year and all settlements completed by 2010. (Stuff) (Channel News Asia) (BBC) 11 August: Two minor parties succeed in forcing TV3 to include their leaders in an election debate for the New Zealand general election. United Future leader Peter Dunne gained much of his party's current standing at the previous election's equivalent debate. 13 August: Former Prime Minister David Lange dies from complications of diabetes and renal failure. (Newtalk ZB) 14 August: The Green Party launches its election campaign. Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons offers a Labour-Green coalition, and promises free annual health checks for all New Zealanders. 14 August: The Progressive Party launches its election campaign calling for a three-way coalition with Labour and the Greens. The party is proud of its achievements in the last three years, including the formation of Kiwibank and the introduction of four weeks annual leave. 19 August: Two police officers and a civilian driver are convicted on driving charges after a high-speed convoy in July 2004 carried the New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark to Christchurch airport. Clark claimed not to be aware of the speed involved, but most New Zealanders are sceptical. 20 August: United Future New Zealand launches its campaign with attacks on the New Zealand First and Green parties. United Future will not continue its support for Labour if it is in a coalition with the Greens. 21 August: Don Brash launches the New Zealand National Party election campaign saying that lower taxes and better incentives are the key to reigniting a spirit of enterprise and making New Zealand again a land of opportunity. 21 August: The New