A word from

People who volunteer live longer.

There has been plenty of politics in the news lately: amalgamation, the build-up to the central government elections, no shortage of noise from every direction.

Some readers of the CO News may be familiar with the Netflix travel documentary/road trip comedy Travels with My Father.

Budget 2026 is about fixing the basics and building the future.

Central Otago’s early miners, small farmers and their families went to nearby towns to buy their bread and biscuits if they were not making their own.

It feels like every week there’s a new announcement from the government, and local government reform is firmly back in the spotlight.

It’s great to see the political process working for the Gore community.

The argument that the Queenstown-Lakes District should be getting more from the International Visitor Levy (IVL) is a valid one.

Over the past few weeks I’ve had some great meetings with a wide range of folks from around Central Otago.

Clyde Primary School’s amazing office manager Chrissy Ramage is being farewelled by the school on May 1.

History sometimes happens much sooner than you might think, and history nearly always tells us something.

Congratulations to everyone from the Gore community who helped make last month’s Southern Field Days such a standout event.

March is here, which officially means autumn, and the end of what has been a pretty incredible events season for Gore District.

It was great to be at the Gore A&P Show again on Saturday.

Sister city relationships are understandably an easy target.

January loves a fresh start.

It has been a busy last couple of months for many in the Gore District with calving and lambing.

The response of the Gore and wider Southland community has been amazing following the destructive winds that ripped through on October 23.

Like many, when I was in my teens I did a lot of different of jobs, including stacking hay, tailing, picking apples, digging ditches and more.