Rebecca Fox

More than half the Otago and Southland groups that applied for funding from the Department of Conservation's new partnerships fund failed in their bid.

Giving young Australians a ''noble, patriotic story'' of their country's overseas wars is providing a good cover for its ''shameful'' history of killing its indigenous population, leading Australian historian Prof Henry Reynolds says.

Four Otago conservation projects have been granted $475,000 to help further their work, Associate Conservation Minister Nicky Wagner announced today.

If new ''high productivity'' trucks are to be able to use the roads between Dunedin and Queenstown, some bridges along the route will need to strengthened.

Nearly 1000 Otago and Southland health workers will join others nationwide to take strike action after being offered a 0.7% pay increase.

A 67-year August temperature record for Dunedin melted yesterday as strong northwesterly winds buffeted the region, bringing down powerlines and trees, lifting roofing iron and fuelling a grass fire.

Fifty-six jobs will be created when fast-food outlet Wendy's opens in South Dunedin next year.

As long as today's solid-fuel burners are the main form of home heating in Otago, it's unrealistic to expect the region to meet national air quality standards, Otago Regional Council scientist Deborah Mills says.

Windmills similar to those used to fight frosts in vineyards and orchards have been suggested as worthy of investigation as a solution Central Otago's air quality woes.

Markers have been installed in Marlow St to further deter drivers from entering the St Kilda street from the Royal Cres end, further angering residents.

Conservation Minister Nick Smith praised a Dunedin-based trust yesterday as he announced $200,000 of Government funding, but the money will not meet its bottom line.

A Berwick farmer who sued the Otago Regional Council for negligence feels vindicated after the local body pulled out of court action at the last moment and apologised.

More water could soon be available from the Cromwell aquifer.

In a blow to Dunedin's travel and tourism industry, direct flights to and from Sydney and Melbourne this summer have been dropped.

Horrified motorists rushed to the aid of four seriously injured people after two cars collided head-on last night in the southbound lane of Dunedin's Southern Motorway, near Green Island.

Further land development in the Upper Clutha Valley will increase the risk from hazards, the Otago Regional Council says.

Job losses and the early closure of Macraes Mine could be the consequence of proposed changes to groundwater allocation in Otago, Oceana Gold representatives told a hearings panel in Dunedin yesterday.

Only 36% of the descendants of the matriarch of Otago's New Zealand sea lion population are still known to be alive.