ODT.co.nz | Otago Daily Times | Latest South Island News

QueenstownOctober 6

Massive Walter Peak blaze grows to 1200 hectares

Fire crews are braced for forecast winds as they fight a huge vegetation fire which has now spread to 1200 hectares on shores of Lake Wakatipu.

DunedinOctober 6

‘Critical injuries’ send Dunedin street into shutdown

A central Dunedin street was forced to close after a driver received “critical injuries” in a two-vehicle crash.

Tim Scott

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DunedinOctober 6

‘I feel so stuck’: Otago renters grapple with high costs

A schoolteacher whose adult son is sleeping on her couch because of the high cost of rent says she feels “stuck” and cannot find anywhere cheaper to live.

Tim Scott

SouthlandOctober 6

‘Killed my will to live’ — victim hits back as tormentor jailed for nearly five years

A woman who was subject to a Southland man’s terrifying five-year campaign of domestic violence says the ordeal “shattered my soul”

Rob Kidd

DunedinOctober 6

Winners and loo-sers: Dunedin student on mission to rank NZ’s public toilets

Matthew Littlewood

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BusinessOctober 6

From footballer to candlemaker: How a sports injury changed a Dunedin man’s life

Tim Scott

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DunedinOctober 6

Dunedin aged care centre crowned South Island’s best

Laine Priestley

ODT QuizOctober 6

ODT quiz: October 7

Dunedin

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DunedinOctober 6

Vaccine hunt underway in face of ‘tragic’ hoiho decline

An Otago-led virus vaccine hunt is underway as part of the last-ditch quest to save New Zealand’s “tragic” decline of yellow-eyed penguins.

Mary Williams

DunedinOctober 6

One hospitalised in crash near Dunedin petrol station

One person sustained moderate injuries after a crash between a van and a motorcycle outside a Dunedin petrol station this morning.

Tim Scott

DunedinOctober 6

Bus hub stabber to have ‘urgent’ Supreme Court appeal

A teen’s latest appeal after stabbing a Dunedin schoolboy to death at the city’s bus hub has left the victim’s father fuming.

Rob Kidd

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DunedinOctober 6

Dunedin cannabis candidate facing violence charges

An election candidate is on active assault charges but says he was “wrongly arrested” and continues to stand.

Felicity Dear

Latest News

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DunedinOctober 6

‘Critical injuries’ send Dunedin street into shutdown

2

OtagoOctober 6

Southerners high in NZ First party list

3

BusinessOctober 6

Finance debate: What major parties agree on and what they don’t

4

BusinessOctober 6

National plans to cut compliance costs for small businesses

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ChristchurchOctober 6

Learner driver didn’t stop to check on cyclist after fatal crash

Otago

OtagoOctober 6

Southerners high in NZ First party list

New Zealand First could potentially have two southern MPs in the next Parliament, given the rankings in its party list released Wednesday.

Mike Houlahan

WānakaOctober 6

World-renowned Wānaka health leader dies

Doctor, educator and advocate for Māori health Emeritus Professor Colin Mantell, of Wānaka, has died.

North OtagoOctober 6

Oamaru petrol station closes following ‘issues’ with stormwater infrastructure after July floods

A service station in Oamaru has been temporarily closed.

Charley-Kai John

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QueenstownOctober 6

Long-awaited regional deal finally signed

Queenstown’s traffic congestion made its own point to the government minister sent to sign a deal aimed at addressing the pressures of growth in the region.

Guy Williams

Editor's Picks

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DunedinOctober 2

‘We have nowhere else to go’: Taxman blamed as small Otago town loses only pub

A small Otago town has lost its only pub and its owner is blaming Inland Revenue.

Tim Scott

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DunedinSeptember 28

Dunedin lawyer’s courthouse theft leaves career in tatters

Rob Kidd

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North OtagoOctober 5

Otago school at centre of student ‘sextortion’ allegation revealed

Jules Chin

Canterbury

ChristchurchOctober 6

Learner driver didn’t stop to check on cyclist after fatal crash

A learner driver was travelling more than 30km/h above the speed limit before he fatally hit a Christchurch multisport athlete who was cycling on the Port Hills earlier this year.

Kees Chalmers

North CanterburyOctober 6

Fears eating disorder facility will close without govt funding

A Canterbury eating disorder residential facility says it still can't attract government funding despite saving the lives of those admitted there.

ChristchurchOctober 6

Copper thieves ‘taking their lives into their own hands’ when stripping large farm irrigators

A Canterbury irrigation specialist is worried the thieves targeting large pivot irrigators for their copper wiring may end up getting themselves killed.

SelwynOctober 6

State highway speed limit changes to take effect soon

Lower speed limits will be introduced on state highways in Canterbury’s Selwyn district within the next few weeks.

Daniel Alvey

Election 2026

BusinessOctober 6

Finance debate: What major parties agree on and what they don’t

Barbara Edmonds and Nicola Willis agree on renewables and education, but differ on how to ease household costs.

BusinessOctober 6

National plans to cut compliance costs for small businesses

The National Party has unveiled a plan to support small businesses by cutting compliance costs.

Russell Palmer of RNZ

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DunedinOctober 6

The battle to be Mr Relevant

In American football there is a player every year called "Mr Irrelevant’’ — the last man selected in the NFL draft.

Mike Houlahan

NationalOctober 6

Opportunity remains kingmaker in latest poll

Both National and Labour are stuck in the 20s in the latest 1News Verian poll - while the Opportunity Party continues to hold the balance of power.

RNZ

National

NationalOctober 6

‘I hurt my mother’: Son’s surprise confession during murder trial

Initially, Phillip Beale tried to say he was having a "mental breakdown" and couldn't remember the prolonged beating that killed his 84-year-old mother.

NationalOctober 6

No retrial for Tamihere over Swedish backpackers’ deaths

David Tamihere had his convictions for the 1989 deaths quashed this year.

NationalOctober 6

Council knew of dangerous intersection for years before pregnant woman killed

Official information shows that since 2019, the Napier City Council has received 12 reports of near-misses, incidents, safety concerns and hazards such as lights malfunctioning.

NationalOctober 6

Woman's body found after pair jumped into river to evade police

The body of a woman who was missing after jumping into a river while evading police in Ōpotiki on Sunday has been found.

Southland

SouthlandOctober 6

Didymo found in remote Fiordland river

Didymo has been found in a previously pristine Fiordland river.

SouthlandOctober 6

'Decades behind': wilding conifer concerns aired

Environment Southland has sharpened its feedback for a national wilding conifer strategy after several councillors aired concerns at a meeting.

Matthew Rosenberg

Sport

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RugbyOctober 6

Frizell ‘not there yet’ but eager to be back in black

Shannon Frizell turns 33 early next year but he still feels he has plenty of good rugby left in him.

Hayden Meikle

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RugbyOctober 6

Otago’s injury concerns lift ahead of NPC quarterfinal

The injury ward has emptied out.

Adrian Seconi

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RugbyOctober 6

Plenty to be proud of from Spirit season

There is a sour taste that is lingering from not making the Farah Palmer Cup Championship final.

Kayla Hodge

SportOctober 6

Queenstown administrator makes top table at world ice hockey

A Queenstown connection has made history on the world ice hockey stage.

Lifestyle

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TravelOctober 5

Across Continents With Nana: A journey of legacy, love and African wildness

Some journeys begin as a dream, but mine began with my Nana. At 90 years old, she announced - to her family’s horror - she was heading back to Africa,

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The MixOctober 2

Show employs humour to explore Māori identity

Īhaka Martyn is returning to where it all began with his show exploring the nature of identity, he tells Tom McKinlay.

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The MixOctober 2

Reb Fountain is singing songs for now

Reb Fountain is back with a new album, and touring with a five-piece band.

The MixOctober 2

Communities are putting up green shoots

Communities standing up for nature are benefiting from the seeds they have sown, writes Scott Willis.

Business

BusinessOctober 6

Pain at the pump: Kiwis choosing not to drive

Fuel prices have reached a tipping point where they start affecting New Zealanders' driving decisions - and the longer they stay high, the more the effect is likely to be felt.

BusinessOctober 5

Business confidence rises to highest point in over as year

Business confidence has improved markedly despite the uncertainty of the US war with Iran and soft trading conditions as firms loom ahead to recovery.

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BusinessOctober 5

Pensioners huddling in their beds, struggling on poverty line

Elderly tenants unable to pay all of their bills on a single pension are living below the poverty line in Christchurch.

Tim Cronshaw

BusinessOctober 5

Petrol price hits highest level since start of Iran war

Petrol prices have hit their highest level since the start of the Iran-US war.

Rural Life

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Red MeatSeptember 30

Six-figure sire hits Southland after North Otago stop to collect genetics

An $100,000 black bull is now in his new home in Southland after a stop in Otago to harvest semen to sell to underbidders.

Shawn McAvinue

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Red MeatSeptember 30

A hope of higher prices for yearling bulls to continue at southern sales

The outlook is positive as the spring bull sale season nears in Southland and Otago, an agent and vendors say.

Shawn McAvinue

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Rural EventsSeptember 30

Commemorating 65 years of fine wool harvesting in Central Otago

Get set to celebrate a New Zealand Merino Shears milestone for two days in Alexandra from Friday.

Shawn McAvinue

DairySeptember 30

Southland dairy farmer seeks position on Fonterra board of directors

Southland dairy farm owner Peter Moynihan is a candidate vying for two farmer-elected positions on Fonterra’s board of directors.

Food & Wine

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Food & WineOctober 6

Sweet, tender greens mark the beginning of longer days

Food & WineOctober 6

‘Fruity, chocolately, creamy or tangy?’ asks Australian baker

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Food & WineOctober 6

Sauteed Brussels sprouts, leek and crispy kale

In Season: Alison Lambert

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Food & WineOctober 6

Progressive lunch features cheese rolls and pavlova

Rebecca Fox

World

WorldOctober 6

Execution survivor ‘conscious and speaking’

Christa Pike, who survived an attempt to execute her by lethal injection in the US state of Tennessee, has regained consciousness and is speaking, her lawyers say.

WorldOctober 6

Disgraced US televangelist Jim Bakker dead at 86

US televangelist Jim Bakker, who built a multimillion-dollar empire before being disgraced by a sex scandal, a fraud conviction and divorce, has died aged 86.

WorldOctober 6

‘Biggest cut in our history’: Australia’s opposition reveals radical migration plan

Australia's conservative opposition coalition has proposed to slash temporary and humanitarian visas in what it calls the "biggest cut to immigration" in the nation's history.

Reuters

WorldOctober 6

AI's race to transform the world before the money runs out

Never has so much cash flowed into a new technology as is pouring into AI, eclipsing the sums splurged on railways or the internet when those technological revolutions sucked in capital.

Reuters

West Coast

West CoastOctober 6

Truck and trailer rolls in Grey District

Traffic management is in place after a large truck and trailer unit rolled at Taylorville in the Grey District.

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West CoastOctober 6

‘Cokitika’ — Druggy West Coast town gets Class A new nickname

Hokitika locals have dubbed their town “Cokitika” due to its high drug use.

Janna Sherman

Video

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BusinessOctober 6

From footballer to candlemaker: How a sports injury changed a Dunedin man’s life

When a football injury sidelined him for 18 months, Philip Yeardley thought his life was over.

Tim Scott

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DunedinOctober 5

‘Stunning’ splash of colour reflects Otago Peninsula’s natural beauty

A mural capturing the essence of an Otago Harbour sunrise has made for a “stunning” addition to Macandrew Bay Library.

Ruby Shaw

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DunedinOctober 5

‘I'm very conscious of the poverty in Africa’: Dunedin nan racks up 37 years of sponsoring children

Mary McFarlane treasures her memory of a young girl’s delight at being gifted a box of pencils.

Ruby Shaw

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DunedinOctober 5

Onwards and upwards

Less than three months after the first steel column was erected on the new Dunedin hospital  inpatients building site, the facility is rising rapidly from the extensive foundations.

John Lewis

Opinion

OpinionOctober 6

Low productivity is NZ’s economic elephant in the room

Last week’s Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update from the Treasury has given political parties their clearest picture yet of the economy they could inherit after November’s election.

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OpinionOctober 6

Please, no health promises under pressure

It would be good if this election campaign, leaders could resist making up health policy on the hoof.

Elspeth McLean

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OpinionOctober 6

Cartoonist’s view: October 7

Today's cartoon from Shaun Yeo.

YeoCartoonist

OpinionOctober 6

Gearing up for a proper foreign policy debate

New Zealand finally has a foreign policy debate worthy of the name.

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OpinionOctober 5

Cartoonist’s view: October 6

Today's cartoon from Shaun Yeo.

YeoCartoonist

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OpinionOctober 5

Anti-war novel ‘Slaughterhouse‑Five’ remains a target of censorship

Bruce Severy, a full-bearded, idealistic 26-year-old, moved from Southern California in 1973 to the small town of Drake, North Dakota, where he had accepted a job teaching English at the public high school.

Susan Farrell

100 Years Ago

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NewsOctober 6

Otago School wins dance section

100 years ago

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NewsOctober 5

Thousands mourn Mother Aubert

100 years ago

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NewsOctober 4

Church of Christ opens

100 years ago

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NewsOctober 2

Kaitangata wins cup

100 years ago