Allison Beckham

Two dogs, one a Rottweiler and the other a German shepherd, were found wandering separately in South Invercargill yesterday and were impounded.

Kerry Kawe says he is "a man on a mission'' after two small dogs were killed by larger dogs, a man was chased, a woman had her hand bitten by a dog and several reports of large dogs wandering unrestrained in Invercargill over the past few days.

It took Southland district councillors just six minutes yesterday to support the Haast-Hollyford highway proposal being sent to the Otago-Southland Regional Land Transport Committee for consideration.

Karen Calder says she knew oysters were going to be her future when she met her husband-to-be Willie more than 30 years ago.

British comedian, writer and conservationist Bill Oddie has written more than 20 books, most of them about bird-watching, so it is no surprise kiwi and kakapo have been the highlights of his two-week visit to New Zealand.

Invercargill city councillor Karen Arnold is already suing Mayor Tim Shadbolt for defamation and now she is after his job.

Discussing a new highway which its main backer maintains would not require any financial input from national or local funders would be a new experience for members of the Otago-Southland Regional Land Transport Committee, one of the committee's co-chairmen says.

The Government has no plans to support the proposed Haast-Hollyford highway unless the project passes through standard land transport planning processes, Transport Minister Simon Bridges says.

Jocelyn O'Donnell was smiling yesterday as her latest transport-themed acquisitions arrived in Invercargill.

Construction of Curio Bay's natural heritage centre has been postponed until next year.

A change to the way the Electricity Authority charges for maintaining and upgrading transmission lines cannot come soon enough in the South, authority representatives heard at a workshop in Invercargill on Thursday.

Three southern councils have been asked to pump an extra $600,000 per year into the Southland Museum & Art Gallery so its huge collection can be properly catalogued.

A decision by the directors of an Invercargill City Council-owned trading company to invest in a forestry management company is expected to bring increased returns for ratepayers.

Plans to replace the ageing wooden jetty at the Ulva Island bird sanctuary, Stewart Island, have received a major boost.

He's been a police officer, a helicopter pilot, an outdoor education instructor and a British junior kayaking champion, and now Cromwell's Duncan Faulkner is turning his attentions to health and safety.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry's grin said it all when she was allowed the rare privilege of holding a large kakapo chick during a visit to the Department of Conservation's chick-raising facility in central Invercargill yesterday.

Importes fodder beet seed contaminated with the seeds of the invasive crop weed velvetleaf entered New Zealand earlier than first thought, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has confirmed.

When you've had your fill of the hustle and bustle of the Sydney CBD and ticked the usual touristy things off your list - the Opera House, Circular Quay, The Rocks, and taking a ferry across to Manly - there's an attractive bush haven a hop, skip and jump away. Allison Beckham and her husband John took some time out there recently.