Shawn McAvinue

Legislation should be fast-tracked to protect consumers from loan sharks, Labour consumer rights spokeswoman Carol Beaumont said in Dunedin yesterday.

Forklift-related injuries cost the Government nearly $2 million last year, with the number of claims made the lowest in the past 10 years.

Attempts to recover a sludge truck from a Brighton creek were unsuccessful yesterday, with the damaged vehicle last night still part-way up a steep roadside bank.

A sell-out crowd set a record at the Illuminate Paint Party in Dunedin last night.

A man escaped with minor injuries after the Fulton Hogan truck he was driving rolled about 25m down a bank into a Brighton creek, near Dunedin, yesterday.

Six Dunedin students ''bounced back'' from a disqualification to make the grand finals of the national 48-hour film competition.

Brighton residents protesting against the installation of a 2degrees cellphone tower have heat, shelter and an outhouse to sustain a long stay.

Welcome to arguably the most energy-efficient building in Dunedin.

Tattoos may be more heavy metal than intended.

Otago and Southland building apprentices have made the cut for a national scholarship.

Severe loneliness is spreading across Otago, Age Concern staff say.

The Government message to open a window for ventilation is as old and useful as the mould growing in New Zealand homes and politicians need to ''get real'' about dampness, Dunedin businessman Paul Facoory says.

Rat infestations of Otago homes have kept exterminators busier than ever.

Two Dunedin motorists who fled after crashing their cars have been charged with drink-driving.

Dampness and ''mould dripping down walls'' is a ''respiratory burden'' on children, Child Poverty Action Group spokeswoman Dr Nikki Turner says.

The unearthing of a worm sculpture design in Dunedin yesterday prompted a mixed reaction.

A refugee resettlement centre about to get a $5.5 million upgrade had been a gateway for a starved Cambodian boy to become a successful Dunedin restaurant owner.