David Loughrey

Labour's new Dunedin North candidate Dr David Clark says he sees the retention of key services, including neurosurgery at the Dunedin Hospital, as one of his major roles.

After almost two years of hearings, petitions, public meetings and heated opposition, a Christchurch developer has been given approval to demolish a group of historic buildings in Princes St, Dunedin

The ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) roofing material that will by April next year cover the Forsyth Barr Stadium is beginning to be put in place on trusses high above the stadium site.

Stop the Stadium (STS) was formally liquidated yesterday in the High Court at Dunedin, ending its status as an incorporated society, amid terse exchanges between Associate Judge Rob Osborne and STS president Dave Witherow.

It verged on stand-up comedy and contained a strong element of amateur theatre, but Dunedin's mayoral aspirants each did their best to woo voters at the Otago Daily Times/Otago Chamber of Commerce Dunedin mayoral candidates forum.

A plan to change speed limits on Dunedin roads has prompted almost 2000 signatures in three petitions, as residents move to keep speeds down on their local roads.

Steve Price took a step into Dunedin rugby league at its grittiest level on Saturday.

At the last local government election, in Dunedin and across most of New Zealand, voter figures dropped below 50% for the first time since the re-organisation of local government in 1989. Dunedin City Council reporter David Loughrey asks why the public is turning away from the action at the very heart of our system of government, what is behind the problem, and how it can be fixed.

Concerns the build-up of candidates for October's election could split the vote of those challenging the status quo are unwarranted, University of Otago political studies lecturer Associate Prof Janine Hayward says.

Dunedin City Council candidates, in the newly created central ward, at least, will face a serious struggle to get their voices heard above the din of the 37 others vying for 11 seats.

The recent Christchurch earthquake seems to have shaken Dunedin heritage-building owners, who have been calling the Dunedin City Council, asking what they need to do to earthquake-proof their buildings.