A 1080 poisoning plan is being developed by the Department of Conservation so it can be prepared if the population of rats and stoats gets out of control and threatens endangered species in Operation Ark programmes in the Catlins and Dart-Caples areas.
A Dunedin legal tradition continued yesterday as six second and in some cases third generation lawyers were admitted to the bar.
The "Brockville Battler" is giving up his "battle of wills" with the Dunedin City Council to take more of a back seat in his work standing up for the working man.
Two brooches made of human hair, gold and enamel have been stolen from Constance de Bathe Brandon's boudoir at Larnach Castle, on Otago Peninsula.
A request from the Dunedin City Council for a 35-year term for broad-coverage resource consents for routine road maintenance work has drawn opposition from Otago Regional Council staff.
Four yellow-eyed penguins have died following dog attacks along Otago's coast in the past six months, prompting the Department of Conservation to issue a warning to dog owners to keep their pets under control on beaches.
Fishing folk will take a nostalgic look at the industry in the lower South Island when the Port Chalmers Fishermen's Co-operative Society celebrates its 100th year.
Rainbow lorikeets, distinctive multicoloured parrots with a blue head, which threaten native birds and the horticultural industry, have been sighted in the wild in Dunedin.
The Ministry of Fisheries is proposing to cut eight management jobs in Dunedin as part of nationwide changes to its "organisational design" to "better meet the expectations of a new Government".
Former Dunedin man Simon Pierre has gone into "self-imposed exile" in his apartment in Mexico City as he tries to avoid catching swine flu.
Healthy duck numbers could lead to a "vintage" opening weekend for Otago shooters, but only if the forecast for settled weather changes.
Residents keen to see a commuter rail service operating in Dunedin arrived by train at Dunedin Railway Station yesterday to present a petition to Otago Regional councillor Michael Deaker.
University of Otago vice-chancellor Prof David Skegg, author Ian Church and researcher George Griffiths attended the launch of Gaining a Foothold, a 467-page book which provides "Historical Records of Otago's Eastern Coast 1770-1839" and was published by the Friends of the Hocken Collections Inc.
The huge array of reports which look as "dull as dishwater" but have major impacts for Otago residents, need to be better communicated to the general public, the Otago Regional Council says.
A "full rethink of land use" in Otago is needed following the news that a quarter of the region's dairy farms did not comply with their consents this season, Otago Fish and Game operations manager Ian Hadland says.
Temperatures on the Taieri reached a record high for April of 27degC on Sunday and hit 24degC yesterday, but be warned - by Thursday, Otago is expected be plunged again into cold southeasterlies.
Despite possibly suffering "submission fatigue", people are being urged to have their say on the Otago Regional Council's 10-year plan outlining what it intends to do and how it should be funded.
No mercy will be shown to users of outlawed frost-fighting smoke pots, Otago Regional Council chief executive Graeme Martin says.
Dairy farm pollution of a "magnitude and scale a lot higher" than found last season, with effluent finding its way into waterways, has been described as "disgusting" by Otago regional councillors.
Who will benefit from any proposed flood protection work on the Taieri is to be assessed so Otago Regional Council targeted rates can be adjusted accordingly.
