ODT.co.nz | Otago Daily Times | Latest South Island News

SUBSCRIBER

DunedinOctober 30

Mentally disturbed Dunedin man told police he was ‘fine’ day before brutal killing with golf club

Police and mental health staff visited a Dunedin man the day before he committed a brutal killing, a court has heard.

Rob Kidd

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

QueenstownOctober 30

Developer eyes hundreds of Frankton Rd units

A “comprehensive” residential development — proposing almost 350 “separately occupiable” residential units — is in the pipeline for an undeveloped section above Frankton Rd.

Tracey Roxburgh

SUBSCRIBER

BusinessOctober 30

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

A Dunedin influencer has turned the lessons she learnt as a transgender woman into a beauty business aimed at everyone from truck drivers to ballet dancers.

Tim Scott

SUBSCRIBER

DunedinOctober 30

Buns of steel: Cheeky vandals force Dunedin council to strip $450k toilets bare

Laine Priestley

SouthlandOctober 30

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

SUBSCRIBER

QueenstownOctober 30

Jason Momoa-owned company caught up in Queenstown restaurant collapse

Tim Scott

ODT QuizOctober 30

ODT quiz: October 31

Dunedin

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

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

Latest News

1

NationalOctober 31

Four parties sign pledge to tackle youth homelessness if elected

2

NationalOctober 31

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

3

NationalOctober 31

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

4

NationalOctober 31

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

5

SouthlandOctober 30

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

Otago

SUBSCRIBER

North OtagoOctober 30

Grim milestone in sight: Deaths of little penguins in dog attacks ‘incredibly frustrating’

The rising number of deaths of little penguins in “entirely preventable” dog attacks are leaving the team at Oamaru’s colony increasingly vexed.

Charley-Kai John

SUBSCRIBER

Central OtagoOctober 30

‘Continuous, intrusive and dominant’: Noise sticking point at gold mine resource consent hearing

Noise was the main point of contention at a resource consent hearing for a proposed alluvial gold mine in Central Otago.

Julie Asher

SUBSCRIBER

South OtagoOctober 30

Obituary: Roaming physio made mark in South

Stephan “Steve” Milosavljevic rarely encountered a problem without wanting to understand it, a person without wanting to know their story, or a new place without wanting to explore it.

Richard Davison

SUBSCRIBER

North OtagoOctober 30

Beat trial for anglers at Ahuriri River as high-country fishing season starts

A “voluntary beat system” is being trialled at the Ahuriri River for the first time from next weekend November 7 to prevent anglers from spoiling each other’s solitude.

Charley-Kai John

Editor's Picks

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

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

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.

SUBSCRIBER

DunedinOctober 30

Hospital pledge highlight of packed Labour meeting

Labour leader Chris Hipkins gave Dunedin what it wanted to hear yesterday: an unequivocal promise to build the region’s new hospital, as promised.

Mike Houlahan

SUBSCRIBER

OpinionOctober 30

One more time with feeling for the standard stump speech

``Labour is going to win.’’

Mike Houlahan

Southland

SUBSCRIBER

SouthlandOctober 30

High-speed runway sprint sets scene for Tour of Southland

A Southland-born cyclist has gone where no others have gone before, racing down the runway at the Invercargill Airport, reaching speeds of 70kmh.

Tayler Mutton

SUBSCRIBER

SouthlandOctober 30

Nice on ice

Gemma Sinclair

SouthlandOctober 30

Law change impacting non-elected members ‘disappointing’: Deputy mayor

Matthew Rosenberg

National

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.

NationalOctober 30

Government shelves proposed system to 'transform' responses to family violence

The Government has shelved a system that would have supported more "timely multi-agency responses" to family violence and alerted staff to "high-risk situations".

Sport

CricketOctober 30

Black Caps smash record total to finally topple India

It was utter brutality from the Black Caps.

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

RugbyOctober 30

Black Ferns look to end bumper year on a high

Whitney Hansen has made one final roll of the dice for 2026.

Kayla Hodge

SUBSCRIBER

FootballOctober 30

‘That victory meant a lot’: Otago Uni ready for next test after first National League win

Otago University coach Hamish Philip set out four goals for his side when they joined the National League.

Kayla Hodge

Lifestyle

SUBSCRIBER

The MixNovember 6

Throwing Muses frontwoman is focused on the songs

Sometimes you have to go it alone.

Matthew Littlewood

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

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.

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

Food & WineOctober 27

Cheddar, potato and caramelised onion focaccia

SUBSCRIBER

Food & WineOctober 27

Grilled asparagus, melted curds and frozen lemon

In Season — Alison Lambert

SUBSCRIBER

Food & WineOctober 27

Harvesting hops at night to enhance the flavour

Beer — Ric Oram

World

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

WorldOctober 30

Life without parole for mushroom murderer after appeal fails

Australian mushroom murderer Erin Patterson has lost her appeal and instead been re-sentenced to life behind bars without parole for her "cold and calculated" offending.

AAP

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.

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

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

SUBSCRIBER

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.

SUBSCRIBER

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

OpinionOctober 29

Say a little prayer for our politicians, and their constituents

For a long time, and even under MMP, we have switched repeatedly between the major political parties.

Faith & Reason

100 Years Ago

SUBSCRIBER

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.

SUBSCRIBER

NewsOctober 29

Champs to take on Victoria regatta

100 years ago

SUBSCRIBER

NewsOctober 28

More land for Port Chalmers

100 years ago

SUBSCRIBER

NewsOctober 27

Games at the Brook

100 years ago