Mark Price

Those who believe South Islanders get a raw deal in a country overendowed with North Island politicians, North Island business owners and North Island welfare beneficiaries might be a little disappointed in new member of Parliament Richard Prosser.

The deadline is Christmas. If by then a deal is not done, then it is goodbye to Milton's 114-year connection with the textile industry.

According to Wikipedia, the Silver Peaks is a "largely uninhabited" area "of rough forest and scrub-covered hill country". According to the Department of Conservation, it is "right at Dunedin's back door". And, according to an accumulation of media reports, it is a place where people often get lost on tramping trips.

Once albatross eggs on Otago Peninsula were fair game, for vandals or perhaps for lunch. But that all changed after "amateur" ornithologist and "citizen scientist" Lancelot Eric Richdale came along. His story is told in a new biography by Dunedin writer Neville Peat. Mark Price reports.

The owner of the former Dunedin chief post office, in Princes St, hopes he will have Dunedin City Council consent by February 7 for the first stage of work required to turn the building into a hotel.

New Zealand taxpayers will spend almost $600,000 over the next three years on a University of Otago academic's study of the links between the stars and ancient Greek religion. At a time when government spending is under pressure and when research funding is hotly contested, is this the best use of so much money?

Earlier this year, Otago Daily Times reporter Mark Price and wife Cathy toured Spain, France and Germany by bicycle, pedalling their way through a northern hemisphere spring.

If you are on holiday but inside sheltering from an Otago summer breeze ... If you are already dreaming of a winter holiday somewhere with a tropical climate ... Mark Price has a suggestion.

Otago Museum director Shimrath Paul is contemplating his future as the winds of change blow through the boardroom of the Otago Museum.

In July 2009, Otago Museum Trust Board chairwoman Margaret Collins described disgruntled former museum staff as "deadwood". In response, "incensed" former staff set up a group called "deadwood central". And, last month, this loose-knit group enjoyed the irony of Mrs Collins herself being "pruned" from the museum board she has chaired for a decade. Mark Price reports.

They're often more expensive and they're often harder to find. But would a New Zealand-made gift, rather than an imported one, be the patriotic choice this Christmas, considering the country already owes at least $61,000,000,000 overseas? Mark Price reports.

Police have confirmed there was an explosion at the Pike River coal mine on the West Coast today and they believe there is no chance any of the 29 miners survived.

Pike River chairman John Dow said yesterday the company did "have to keep the lights on and we do have to keep the company running" when asked about the company's financial future.

The future of the Pike River Coal mine, north of Greymouth, hangs on whether the cause of the explosion that killed 29 miners there can be pinpointed.

It is hoped a machine which has arrived from Queensland this morning will provide recovery teams with their best chance of entering the Pike River Coal mine, but it could be after Christmas before the bodies of the 29 men are retrieved.