Rebecca Fox

The Otago conservancy is to be split in two under a restructuring proposal announced by the Department of Conservation yesterday that will cut 140 jobs nationwide.

A cut of 19 tonnes has been made to Otago's lobster fisheries commercial quota for the coming season after last year's low catch.

The Otago Regional Council has held off releasing its long-awaited water quality plan change recommendations to ensure staff and councillors are ''singing from the same song sheet''.

A leading global warming sceptic, Lord Christopher Monckton, will speak in Dunedin next month. His visit is part of a national ''Climate Freedom Tour'' and will include a lunch and an evening function on April 23.

Time for a walk, cycle or just curling up with a book eludes most Otago women.

''Marmegeddon'' ended yesterday as Marmite lovers flocked to supermarkets to pick up a jar of their beloved yeasty spread.

A management group will soon be formed to ''convert the good work and intent'' of the Pukekura reserves management plan at Taiaroa Head ''into action'', Department of Conservation Coastal Otago manager Robin Thomas says.

Moves to beef up measures to combat air pollution in Lawrence are backed up by the latest monitoring results.

A significant number of bores in North Otago are continuing to leak because of ''chemically aggressive'' water, despite Otago Regional Council policies seeking to prevent uncontrolled seepage.

Many proposed legislative changes flowing out of the Government appear to be a ''sustained attack on local democracy'', Otago Regional Council chairman Stephen Woodhead says.

It is hoped greater international protection for New Zealand's native green geckos, including Otago Peninsula's jewelled gecko, will deter would-be wildlife smugglers from ''pilfering'' the country's wildlife.

The rain expected early next week will not be enough to solve all the problems of the prolonged dry spell, but it will set up Otago to benefit from the next rainfall, hydrologist Dave Stewart says.