Debbie Porteous

Landlords should simply not include access to their internet account in rental agreements, an adviser on tenancy and property management issues says.

The way a civil defence emergency in Dunedin would be managed has changed, with improvements informed by lessons learned in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes.

The Oamaru and Balclutha courthouses will be closed, possibly for the next year, while remedial earthquake strengthening work is carried out, and the Dunedin courthouse is being assessed to see if it needs work.

A Dunedin bar owner has criticised the police over what he says is bias and a lack of consistency in punishing licensees for selling alcohol to minors.

Seven Dunedin and Mosgiel liquor licences or business operations were suspended this year after employees sold alcohol to people as young as 15 in a series of undercover police stings.

He was not sure if he should wear a tie - he is meant to be a truck driver after all - but Les McIntosh was sure he would step up with pride to receive the Highway Heroes supreme award yesterday.

Dunedin's cycling community is in shock after a cyclist was killed in the central city yesterday, on a section of road they had warned was dangerous.

Two recent incidents where cyclists were knocked from their bikes by heavy trucks highlight Dunedin's issues with heavy vehicle traffic and the need to explore a wider range of prevention measures, cycling advocates say.

An anonymous political pamphlet distributed in at least two Dunedin suburbs at the weekend, has the National Party considering whether to lay a complaint with the electoral commission.

The bereaved brothers of a cyclist killed in Dunedin last week say they are disappointed with the attitude and disrespect of some North Dunedin residents after a skip they hired was filled while they were at their brother's funeral on Saturday.

Cars belonging to about 80 families and car enthusiasts leave Tahuna Park in Dunedin yesterday as part of a charity cruise around Dunedin yesterday to raise money for Otago Community Hospice.

Two years of "life-reaffirming" work will bear fruit this weekend when 150 ex-servicemen and women from Otago receive their service medals at a ceremony in Waikouaiti.

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull says the Dunedin City Council is "taking each day as it comes" with regards to what to do about the protesters camping in the Octagon.

A senior Dunedin police officer has spoken out about the police decision not to evict protesters from the Octagon, saying local police are "between a rock and a hard place", and it would be irresponsible of police to risk having to pay out thousands of dollars of public money to the protesters.