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SouthlandJuly 30

Mystery over true size of power-hungry Southland data centre

The amount of electricity needed by a hyperscale AI data centre in Southland remains a mystery.

Mary Williams

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DunedinJuly 30

Cracks appear as Otago mayors accused of ‘meeting in the shadows’

Two Otago mayors have been accused of “meeting in the shadows” as the wheels come off the region’s united front on amalgamation.

Ruby Shaw

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DunedinJuly 30

Push to save University Book Shop at emotional public meeting

Reactions to the Otago University Students’ Association’s downsizing of the University Book Shop (UBS), were strong at a public meeting in Dunedin last night.

John Lewis

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DunedinJuly 30

Failed DCC candidate appears in court on violence charges

A former Dunedin City Council candidate has appeared in court charged with serious violence.

Felicity Dear

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DunedinJuly 30

‘Blindsided’: Dunedin Arts Festival dropped by national funder

Tim Scott

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QueenstownJuly 30

Controversial Arrowtown development labelled ‘a folly of history’

Tracey Roxburgh

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DunedinJuly 30

Smooth Hill assumptions to be re-examined

Grant Miller

ODT QuizJuly 30

ODT quiz: July 31

Dunedin

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DunedinJuly 30

No gig scheduled under roof yet but money for other events

The wait goes on for an act to be scheduled at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Steve Hepburn

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DunedinJuly 30

‘Pretty brutal’: Dunedin man describes choking smoke and evacuations in France wildfires

A Dunedin man caught up in the chaos from the fires raging in southwestern France has described choking thick smoke and midnight evacuations.

Laine Priestley

DunedinJuly 30

Call for Dunedin stylists to help families in need

Many Dunedin families will be choosing between a trim and a heated home this winter — one woman is trying to change that, but she needs help.

Laine Priestley

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DunedinJuly 30

Most satisfied with buses — when they turn up

Buses running late or not turning up is the number one concern for bus travellers.

Steve Hepburn

Latest News

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OtagoJuly 30

Voters back Labour as more capable of fixing NZers' top five concerns - survey

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DunedinJuly 30

Cracks appear as Otago mayors accused of ‘meeting in the shadows’

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DunedinJuly 30

Push to save University Book Shop at emotional public meeting

4

NationalJuly 30

Rush to desex rehomed wild boars previously owned by alleged murderer

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NationalJuly 30

English to become NZ’s third official language

Otago

OtagoJuly 30

Voters back Labour as more capable of fixing NZers' top five concerns - survey

The Labour party is considered most capable of managing all of the top five concerns for New Zealanders - including the economy, the latest Ipsos Issues Monitor has revealed.

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Central OtagoJuly 30

Brigades benefiting from Santana cap craze

As more support flows in behind, Santana Minerals says it is getting into the cap business - all for charity.

Steve Hepburn

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OtagoJuly 30

Don’t-come-Monday looms but council keeps planning for future

They may be heading for extinction but the Otago Regional Council is still planning for the future

Steve Hepburn

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South OtagoJuly 30

Clutha approves potential ‘head start’ amalgamation with Central Otago and Queenstown

An 11th-hour opportunity potentially to amalgamate with Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes district councils has been seized by Clutha District Council.

Richard Davison

Canterbury

SelwynJuly 30

Big Rolleston subdivision plan under the microscope

New images have been released showing what a huge subdivision in the south of Rolleston could look like.

Daniel Alvey

SelwynJuly 30

Selwyn district says no to merging with Christchurch

The Selwyn District has shut the door on a merger with Christchurch.

Daniel Alvey

ChristchurchJuly 30

Consortium’s bid to run Lyttelton Port rejected

Christchurch City Holdings Ltd has rejected a proposal to lease out the operation of Lyttelton Port.

Kees Chalmers

ChristchurchJuly 29

Bakery owner rises to the challenge

Ten years ago she got her first baking job, in a supermarket. Now Nakesha McDouall is ready to take the reins of a Christchurch hot spot.

Anna Sargent of RNZ

National

NationalJuly 30

Rush to desex rehomed wild boars previously owned by alleged murderer

An animal rescue charity is rushing to desex 42 female pigs due to frisky wild boars breaking through electric fencing and into their enclosure.

Matthew Theunissen of RNZ

NationalJuly 30

Asian community leaders condemn Peters' remarks

Leaders of the country’s Asian community have condemned Foreign Minister Winston Peters for telling a Chinese-born New Zealand MP to “go back to your own country” during a parliamentary debate.

NationalJuly 30

English to become NZ’s third official language

English will join Te Reo Māori and sign language as an official language of New Zealand, after the English Language Bill passed its third and final reading at Parliament.

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NationalJuly 30

Quakes hit Kermadec Islands area

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake has struck the Kermadec Islands region, Earth Sciences NZ says.

Southland

SouthlandJuly 30

Gore district survey backs two-council amalgamation option

An overwhelming majority of responses back a two-council future for Southland, according to a  Gore District Council survey.

Gerrit Doppenberg

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SouthlandJuly 30

Local dancers rock ’n’ roll their way to success

Invercargill rock ‘n’ roll dancers Sebastien Fabre and O’Leah Peterson have achieved transtasman success at the World Freestyle Competition over Kings Birthday Weekend.

Tayler Mutton

Sport

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RugbyJuly 30

NPC turns 50: Recalling Otago’s memorable games

The NPC turns 50 this year. To mark the occasion, reporter Adrian Seconi revisits 10 memorable Otago games.

Adrian Seconi

RugbyJuly 30

South Otago club rugby: Talent and reliability in team of the season

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RugbyJuly 30

Central Otago club rugby: Our team of the season

Bob Howitt names a team of the season from the Central Otago premier club rugby competition.

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RugbyJuly 30

North Otago team of the year

Kayla Hodge — with a little help — names a North Otago club team of the year.

Lifestyle

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Home & GardenJuly 30

It’s all in the cone…

Conifers can be confusing and difficult to identify, especially within a plant family.

Robyn Abernethy, Rock, Water & Alpine Collection curator

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EntertainmentJuly 29

Music lecturers take to the stage determined to have a great time

As three of the University of Otago’s most senior performance academics step on stage this weekend, it will be a celebration of skill, endurance and history.

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EntertainmentJuly 29

It’s almost like “painting with smoke’’ for Dunedin artist

Puffs of charcoal fly into the air as Rob Foote wields his trusty make-up brush across the paper.

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EntertainmentJuly 29

Art Seen

RDS Gallery is filled with Wesley John Fourie. The artist has reproduced multiple self-portraits via screen print, the resulting stark images staring from the walls, as though the viewer is the exhibit and Fourie is watching.

James Dignan

Business

BusinessJuly 30

Feds new leader draws on South Canterbury arable, dairy background

South Canterbury farmer Colin Hurst can add dairy farmer to his arable and livestock pedigree in his leadership as the new Federated Farmers national president.

Tim Cronshaw

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BusinessJuly 30

Channel deepening welcomed to accommodate container vessels

Port Otago has officially reached 14-metre chart datum in the Otago Lower Harbour channel, providing options for shipping lines.

BusinessJuly 30

Retirement age would need to rise ‘very high’ to keep pension spending affordable

Economists say two new Treasury papers make it clear there's no easy fix to keep New Zealand's pension affordable.

BusinessJuly 30

Ex-All Black Mehrtens signs last-minute deal to avoid bankruptcy

A law firm had sought to bankrupt Andrew Mehrtens over an undisclosed debt.

Rural Life

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Rural LifeJuly 30

Teen dairy cattle fitter takes skills from Canada to an European young breeders school

Canterbury teen Patrick Aitken is in North America preparing for the trip of a lifetime at the European Young Breeders School in Belgium next year.

Tim Cronshaw

Rural LifeJuly 30

Christchurch auction’s sharp price drop for strong wool raises concerns of further volatility

The strong wool market will face its next test at the national auction in Christchurch on July 30 after a sudden drop below $7 a kilogram ended a dream run.

Tim Cronshaw

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Rural LifeJuly 30

Big farmer spend quickly follows $1.4b of repaid debt

Farmers are swinging between paying more debt off and adding more land to their farms on the back of strong meat and milk prices.

Tim Cronshaw

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DairyJuly 29

Teaching inmates skills is rewarding work on prison dairy farm in South Otago

The cows are back home on a South Otago prison and inmates training for a brighter future will help deliver their calves soon.

Shawn McAvinue

Food & Wine

North CanterburyJuly 29

New life among the vines for old library

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Food & WineJuly 28

One of first Wānaka craft beers to return

Ric Oram

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Food & WineJuly 24

Winter meal prep: Why parsley deserves centre stage

Penelope Maguire

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Food & WineJuly 21

Love of great outdoors and fishing inspire chef’s work

World

WorldJuly 30

Salman Rushdie stabber found guilty of terrorism charges

The man who stabbed and partially blinded author Salman Rushdie in the US in 2022 has been found guilty  of terrorism charges.

Reuters

AustraliaJuly 29

Search for baby called off after mum, toddler found dead off SA coast

A search for a missing baby has been abandoned, as police confirmed the child's mother visited police the day before her body was found alongside her toddler's in a suspected murder-suicide.

WorldJuly 29

Inside Japan's shopping mall disaster

Workers in a mall in southern Japan described being thrown to the floor by a massive quake this week. They were the lucky ones. Just over an hour later, a deadly disaster struck.

WorldJuly 29

Anthony Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment at US Senate Covid hearing

Anthony Fauci, the former top US infectious disease expert, has declined to answer questions at a Senate hearing, invoking his constitutional right against self-incrimination.

West Coast

West CoastJuly 30

Slip near controversial landfill follows Greymouth rainstorm

Dire predictions of a landslip on the terrace near a controversial industrial landfill built opposite Greymouth's water treatment plant were realised on Friday as a torrential downpour hit.

Vihan Dalal, Local Democracy reporter

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West CoastJuly 27

TV violence believed behind hoax callout

A violent TV programme is thought to be responsible for the bogus report of a large-scale attack involving deadly weapons in Westport on Saturday.

Arianna Stewart

Video

DunedinJuly 30

Dogs in the clouds

Dogs were flying over the Taieri on Wednesday.

Laine Priestley

DunedinJuly 30

The battle to hang onto Dunedin’s heritage

Dunedin has New Zealand’s richest heritage building legacy, but holding onto that heritage is not easy.

By Bill Morris for Frank Film

QueenstownJuly 29

Climber scaled Mt Aspiring in dark believing companion had fallen to his death

A climber spent three hours battling to the top of Otago's highest peak believing his companion had plummeted to their death.

Laine Priestley

DunedinJuly 29

Dunedin students unite to protest end of fees free scheme

Tertiary and secondary students protest about the scrapping of the tertiary fees-free scheme at the University of Otago on Wednesday.

Laine Priestley

Opinion

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OpinionJuly 30

Wagons derail in South . . .

Seven wagons of a mixed train from Tuataporc to Invercargill were derailed near Orepuki this morning.

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OpinionJuly 30

Today in History, July 31 2026

Today is Friday, July 31, the 212th day of 2026.

OpinionJuly 30

The case for an Otago powerhouse

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OpinionJuly 30

Teachers and doctors are losing the ability to self-regulate. What are the risks?

Until recently, New Zealand legislation has recognised teachers, doctors and nurses as self-regulating professionals, but several recent law changes will change all that.

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OpinionJuly 30

Where’s the harm in free speech?

WHY IS THE LEFT so angry with the defenders of free speech? It is almost as if it sees them as a large and very effective roadblock to its plans.

Chris Trotter

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OpinionJuly 30

Racing this time?

RACING has a long and proud history in New Zealand, but it is unlikely the sport has had worse weeks than the one it has just endured.

100 Years Ago

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OpinionJuly 29

17 wagons derailed

AUCKLAND, July 29: Advice received at midnight states that 17 wagons on the Auckland-Wellington express goods train have been derailed at Pokeno, 40 miles from Auckland. A relief train is being despatched. No details are available.

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NewsJuly 28

Church builds new council room

Another step forward in the history of Roslyn Presbyterian Church was taken when the foundation stone of the new vestry and session house was laid by the minister the Rev E.J. Tipler.

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OpinionJuly 27

Water, water everywhere

All railway traffic between Wanganui and Marton was suspended this morning owing to the flooded state of the country side at Whangaehu,

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OpinionJuly 26

Minister focused on maternal deaths

The Minister of Health (the Hon J.A. Young), referring to the infant mortality deaths under one year, said that the rate for 1925 was 39.9 per 1000 births, which was again the lowest figure in the history of the Dominion.