PRESS DIGEST-New Zealand newspapers - March 2

WELLINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - Following are some of the lead stories from New Zealand metropolitan newspapers on Monday.

Stories may be taken from either the paper or Internet editions of the papers.

Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

DOMINION POST(www.stuff.co.nz)

Tony Abbott blunt in Iraq war message to NZ: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has delivered a blunt message to Kiwis: our geographical isolation will not protect us from the reach of terrorist group Islamic State.

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Insurers to rule on what makes a SME: Insurers are set to decide which businesses will benefit from new, improved protections for people buying insurance when they define what counts as a small or medium-sized business.

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NZ won't match Australia's new 'country of origin' food labels: While Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has threatened to toughen up product labelling in the wake of a Hepatitis A outbreak from frozen berries imported from China, the New Zealand Government has no plans to follow suit.

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NEW ZEALAND HERALD (www.nzherald.co.nz)

Badly needed changes to spy network come slowly: Flaws in the management of New Zealand's spy networks have been exposed, including problems getting intelligence material to the Prime Minister.

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Sanitarium stands to reap windfall from liver drug: Food giant Sanitarium, the tax-exempt manufacturer of Weet-Bix and Marmite, is expected to reap significant financial returns from the sale of a United States-based drug developer's intellectual property to a Nasdaq-listed pharmaceutical firm.

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MyFarm to grow kiwifruit with $5m orchard alliance: New Zealand farm investment company MyFarm, which up until now has specialised in the pastoral sector, has weighed into kiwifruit with the launch of a $5 million orchard syndicate.

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Delegat targets North America to build on record-breaking sales: In a year that brought significant growth and expansion for winemaker Delegat Group, managing director Graeme Lord says the company is poised to bring its wine to the world.

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