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North OtagoOctober 31

Oamaru father sentenced for ‘violent’ assaults on infant daughter

A young father left his baby daughter bruised and battered after shaking her “violently” and squeezing her rib cage, a court has heard.

Nic Duff

NationalOctober 31

Shock as deputy mayor dies in freak fall at home

Tributes are pouring in after the death of Porirua deputy mayor Kylie Wihapi, aged 45.

North OtagoOctober 31

Waitaki’s ‘hidden’ crisis as homelessness triples

Too many people in Waitaki are “falling through the gaps” because homelessness services readily available elsewhere “simply” do not exist in the district, the mayor says

Charley-Kai John

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QueenstownOctober 31

Council pauses playground closure following community backlash

Queenstown council is under fire for plans — since suspended — to permanently close a popular lakeside playground following a safety audit.

Philip Chandler

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QueenstownOctober 31

‘It’s been a hell of a ride’: Restaurant owner sells up after 20 years

Philip Chandler

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BusinessOctober 30

‘I was going to transition or I was going to end my life’: Dunedin influencer turns lessons learnt into beauty business

Tim Scott

QueenstownOctober 31

Victim stomped in Queenstown bar assault

Brianna McIlraith of Open Justice

ODT QuizOctober 31

ODT quiz: November 1

Dunedin

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DunedinOctober 30

UBS shaping up for opening ‘early next month’

Staff at the University Book Shop (UBS) are fully booked for the next couple of weeks, stacking shelves in preparation for the store’s reopening.

John Lewis

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DunedinOctober 30

Dunedin motel owners ‘blindsided’ by high rate rises

Dunedin motel owners are up in arms about what they perceive as “excessive” and unexpected rates rises.

Matthew Littlewood

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DunedinOctober 30

Claws for concern? Council asks public how it should manage Dunedin cats

A proposal attempting to bring in some measure of control around Dunedin’s population of household cats will be put before the public.

Grant Miller

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DunedinOctober 30

‘Excitement’ at Ronald McDonald House progress

The parents of a cancer-affected toddler say news of the Ronald McDonald House coming to Dunedin is a big relief.

Matthew Littlewood

Latest News

1

OtagoOctober 31

Wind warning for inland Otago as front bears down

2

WorldOctober 31

Clashes in France as tensions erupt after peaceful marches

3

FootballOctober 31

Manchester United's nightmare winless run continues as City also slump

4

NationalOctober 31

Shock as deputy mayor dies in freak fall at home

5

LeagueOctober 31

Ruthless Kiwis bury Fiji to reach Rugby League World Cup semis

Otago

OtagoOctober 31

Wind warning for inland Otago as front bears down

Forecasters are warning of strong winds which may become severe gales in inland Otago on Sunday.

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QueenstownOctober 31

A year in, Glover wants a council tune-up

Queenstown mayor John Glover’s had a good look under the bonnet of local government over the past 12 months and reckons he knows what needs fixing.

Guy Williams

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QueenstownOctober 31

Grammar clamour: Queenstown apostrophe decision put on hold

Queenstown’s council’s asked for more time to consider a proposal to remove the apostrophe from Hanley’s Farm.

Tracey Roxburgh

QueenstownOctober 31

Queenstown lawyer makes ‘elite’ list

A Queenstown employment lawyer’s just been named one of the Australasia ‘elite women in law’.

Tracey Roxburgh

Editor's Picks

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DunedinOctober 28

Fall of a beauty queen: Pageant runner-up involved in ugly Octagon assault, luxury hotel rip-off

A former pageant queen racked up a $2700 bill at a five-star Queenstown hotel then scarpered without paying, a court has heard.

Rob Kidd

DunedinOctober 28

‘Seriously dangerous’: Warning copycat Tunnel Beach jumps will end in tragedy

Steve Hepburn

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WānakaOctober 27

‘Dressed like they’re working in a strip club’: Wānaka gym owner hits back at ‘sexist’ review

Ruairi O'Shea

Canterbury

ChristchurchOctober 30

Prisoner to be disciplined after lighting fire in Christchurch cell

A prisoner will be disciplined by Corrections after lighting a fire in his cell at Christchurch Men's Prison.

ChristchurchOctober 30

Nurse Maude inspiring young people to enter the healthcare sector

Canterbury home care provider Nurse Maude has gifted a book about healthcare heroes to primary schools across Christchurch to inspire the next generation and mark the organisation’s 130th anniversary.

South CanterburyOctober 30

Second Mackenzie solar farm pauses plans

A second solar farm planned for the Mackenzie District has voluntarily suspended its fast-track application, following an earlier suspension from another developer over environmental concerns.

Claire Taylor, Local Democracy reporter

ChristchurchOctober 30

City council pays $1250 for Māori spell check

Christchurch City Council paid $1250 to a private company to check the spelling of Māori park names instead of using its own expert staff.

Raphael Franks

Election 2026

NationalOctober 31

Winston Peters to 78-year-old critic: 'You've obviously got memory problems'

NZ First leader Winston Peters has said a 78-year-old woman must have "memory problems", after she challenged the party's record on the cost of living.

NationalOctober 31

Four parties sign pledge to tackle youth homelessness if elected

Four political parties have signed a set of commitments aimed at preventing and ending youth homelessness, following the country's first Youth Homelessness Summit in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.

NationalOctober 30

Can the health system deliver parties' election promises?

Hot on the heels of a hard-hitting flu season, healthcare is shaping up as a major election issue.

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DunedinOctober 30

‘I do see Dunedin as a really important part of our priorities’: Hipkins

Labour leader Chris Hipkins says Dunedin is a really important part of his party’s priorities, and locals can expect to see him back in the city “regularly”.

Tim Scott

Southland

SouthlandOctober 30

‘Blight on city centre’ to finally be demolished after destructive fire

An historic building described as a blight on the Invercargill city centre will finally be demolished three years after it was gutted by fire.

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SouthlandOctober 30

High-speed runway sprint sets scene for Tour of Southland

Tayler Mutton

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SouthlandOctober 30

Nice on ice

Gemma Sinclair

National

NationalOctober 31

Fireworks imports slump as calls grow for sales ban

Fireworks imports have dropped to one of the lowest levels in decades as public opinion mounts in favour of a ban.

NationalOctober 31

Woman ordered to pay ex $200,000 over defamatory Facebook posts

A woman who made serious false allegations about her ex on social media has been ordered to pay him $200,000 for the reputational damage they caused.

Tracy Neal of Open Justice

NationalOctober 31

Fire crews keep blazes clear of billionaire Graeme Hart's Auckland estate

Firefighters have tackled two blazes near the clifftop estate of billionaire Graeme Hart in Glendowie, Auckland.

NationalOctober 31

Police want help to find thieves who stole 300m of copper powerline

Police are appealing for information after about 300 metres of copper powerline wiring was stolen from two power poles.

Sport

LeagueOctober 31

Ruthless Kiwis bury Fiji to reach Rugby League World Cup semis

The Kiwis have delivered a statement performance at the Rugby League World Cup, crushing Fiji 78-0 on the Gold Coast to power into the semifinals.

FootballOctober 31

Manchester United's nightmare winless run continues as City also slump

Manchester United's nightmare winless run reached nine games as they slid to a 2-0 loss at Chelsea

CricketOctober 30

Black Caps smash record total to finally topple India

It was utter brutality from the Black Caps.

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SportOctober 30

The Last Word: Hope for the Highlanders, and bring on a draft

Uh oh. Regular readers of The Last Word have just slapped hands over faces and let out a quiet groan.

Hayden Meikle

Lifestyle

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The MixNovember 6

Throwing Muses frontwoman is focused on the songs

Sometimes you have to go it alone.

Matthew Littlewood

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The MixOctober 30

Community holds the solution to climate change

As a new report underlines the threat of climate change, long-time climate researchers say we already know how we need to respond, Tom McKinlay writes.

By TOM MCKINLAY

The MixOctober 30

Nurturing success at Orokonui Ecosanctuary

It’s been a year of mounting successes beneath the peaks of Māpounui and Mihiwaka, Madison Kelly writes.

The MixOctober 30

Book review: Sombre moments in military, commercial helicopter careers

Lucky You’re Tough is a book of two halves.

Jim Sullivan

Business

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BusinessOctober 30

Dunedin startup giving traditional EAP model a shake-up

Validation on the world stage is a great result for a small startup “from the bottom of the world”, Givenwell founder Jonny Mirkin says.

Sally Rae

BusinessOctober 30

Lower mortgage rates helping offset fuel price hikes

The cost of living for the average household has eased marginally as falls in mortgage rates partly offset more expensive petrol.

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BusinessOctober 29

Plastic fantastic certification for Dunedin manufacturing firm

You could say it’s fantastic for their plastic.

Sally Rae

BusinessOctober 29

Dreamliner here, but no nap beds

Skynest, a new lie-flat bed product for economy customers, was originally scheduled to launch in December

RNZ

Rural Life

DairyOctober 29

Improving demand boosts milk price forecast

Fonterra has lifted its forecast farmgate milk price for the current season by 25 cents.

RNZ

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DairyOctober 28

Eastern Southland dairy farmers collect supreme award as they seek to progress

Eastern Southland contract milker Jippy Singh is using his recent award success as fuel to take the next step in his dairy industry career.

Shawn McAvinue

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HorticultureOctober 28

Orchard workers arrive to good-looking fruit crops set up by favourable spring conditions in Central Otago

The season has been favourable so far but it may face a blight of rising freight costs, tighter retail margins and a staff accommodation shortage, Central Otago fruit growers say.

Shawn McAvinue

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Red MeatOctober 28

Sodden paddocks spike sheep nut sales in the South

A soggy start to spring sparked a record-breaking sheep nut sale spike in the South, a Gore stock feed manufacturer says.

Shawn McAvinue

Food & Wine

Food & WineOctober 27

Healthier and more equitable food system needed from political parties

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Food & WineOctober 27

Cheddar, potato and caramelised onion focaccia

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Food & WineOctober 27

Grilled asparagus, melted curds and frozen lemon

In Season — Alison Lambert

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Food & WineOctober 27

Harvesting hops at night to enhance the flavour

Beer — Ric Oram

World

WorldOctober 31

Clashes in France as tensions erupt after peaceful marches

Scuffles broke out in Paris and other French cities at the end of nationwide demonstrations driven by anger over living costs and strained public service.

WorldOctober 30

Survivor of botched execution says she is in constant pain

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike said she was in constant physical and mental pain and largely isolated from other people.

Reuters

WorldOctober 30

Hackers steal $11.2 billion in record heist blamed on North Korea

Hackers stole $US6.3 billion ($NZ11.2b) from Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, in a theft that analysts blamed on North Korea and said could be the largest financial heist of all time.

WorldOctober 30

Bayer wins Roundup cancer trial as $7.25b settlement awaits

Bayer has won a trial over claims by three women that its Roundup weedkiller caused their cancer, while awaiting a broader ruling from a separate court on the company's $US7.25 billion effort to settle other Roundup cases.

Reuters

West Coast

West CoastOctober 29

WorkSafe seeks witnesses to ‘serious incident’ where teens plunged 12m to ground from Ferris wheel

A teenager has had nightmares since watching her friend fall 12m from a Ferris wheel at a West Coast agricultural show after a seat broke.

West CoastOctober 29

Rising riverbed risks Franz Josef disaster

A leading NZ hydrologist says Franz Josef is only one flood away from disaster as the Waiho (Waiau) Riverbed continues to rise at an alarming rate.

Vihan Dalal, Local Democracy reporter

Video

SouthlandOctober 30

‘Blight on city centre’ to finally be demolished after destructive fire

An historic building described as a blight on the Invercargill city centre will finally be demolished three years after it was gutted by fire.

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DunedinOctober 30

‘I do see Dunedin as a really important part of our priorities’: Hipkins

Labour leader Chris Hipkins says Dunedin is a really important part of his party’s priorities, and locals can expect to see him back in the city “regularly”.

Tim Scott

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DunedinOctober 30

Artist gets Ong-spired after being slapped in the face by a massive flying political billboard

Getting battered by a giant flying Benedict Ong has smacked some political aspirations into a Dunedin artist.

Laine Priestley

DunedinOctober 29

‘Time bomb waiting to explode’: Delusional killer beat Dunedin man to death with golf club in suburban street

A Dunedin man beat his victim to death with a golf club, believing he was auditioning for a role as a killer for the Secret Service, a court has heard.

Rob Kidd

Opinion

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OpinionOctober 30

Are you for them, they, those, or the others?

How often do we hear party leaders say they are only interested in the poll that counts – the election itself?

Civis

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EditorialOctober 30

A glimmer of hope for democracy?

Might we be seeing the first signs of rocks crumbling beneath authoritarian and far-right leaderships across the world?

Editorial

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OpinionOctober 30

One more time with feeling for the standard stump speech

``Labour is going to win.’’

Mike Houlahan

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OpinionOctober 30

Cartoonist’s view

Today's cartoon from Shaun Yeo.

YeoCartoonist

OpinionOctober 29

The centre (right & centre left) is dead, long live the centre

The current election may be marking a clear water-shed in the minds of the community.

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OpinionOctober 29

Vote for what you really want

With only one week to go (thank goodness), there is a lot of chatter about how to vote strategically.

Metiria Stanton Turei

100 Years Ago

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NewsOctober 30

Catholics mark new feast day

To celebrate the newest feast-day in the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church — a day set apart in honour of Jesus Christ as a spiritual King — October 31, 1926 was fixed by his Holiness Pope Pius XI, on which date all the Catholic Churches of the world were to join in common worship.

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NewsOctober 29

Champs to take on Victoria regatta

100 years ago

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NewsOctober 28

More land for Port Chalmers

100 years ago

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NewsOctober 27

Games at the Brook

100 years ago