Tracey Roxburgh

The Department of Conservation says ''nature is in charge'' when it comes to carving a new track through the Dart Valley - which will probably remain closed until next year.

More than $136,000 of Government funding has been granted to help fix four Otago trails damaged by bad weather.

A Queenstown housing trust says it will not face further tax obligations after the Government announced plans to introduce new tax legislation, giving certainty to community housing providers.

More changes to the labour market test process for employers in the Queenstown Lakes District were announced last night, and will come into effect tomorrow.

Nine years after investigations began to establish a community sports facility in Arrowtown, the trust tasked with turning the dream into reality has cleared its biggest ''high jump'' yet.

Hypothermia and gravel burn went hand in hand in Queenstown yesterday during the winter festival's annual Day on the Bay, where the bravest put their bodies - and dignity - on the line.

Police say they are frustrated at the behaviour of Queenstown's winter revellers after almost 30 incidents, most involving alcohol, at the weekend.

It was to have been about aviation, but instead, the focus of yesterday's business lunch seemed to be about Queenstown's proposed convention centre.

Despite objections from Queenstown Airport's lawyer, Remarkables Park Ltd was allowed to raise some safety arguments in an Environment Court hearing in Queenstown yesterday.

Five questions with Queenstown Winter Festival director Lisa Buckingham:

If Housing and Building Minister Nick Smith was looking to pick a fight with Arrowtown residents, ''he's not going to get one'', the town's elected representative says.

He is tall and broad; a Guinness world record-holder; a magician on the basketball court; and, I concluded after spending 15 minutes with him, an all-round good guy.

A $10 million, 195-berth marina on Lake Wakatipu has been given the green light by the Environment Court.

Less than a week after St John Wakatipu took possession of three new 4WD ambulance response vehicles, two were put to use in Dunedin.

Last month, former Queenstown resident Cassie Chow had a dream night.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council looks to be stuck between a rock and a hard place, as its Gorge Rd site is deemed not fit for purpose.

Deciding to cross a swollen creek on the Milford Track in "biblical" rain was a "significant contributing factor" in the death of 21-year-old Sydney student Yessica Asmin last year, the Mountain Safety Council says.