Auditing requirements for councils were one of the reasons staffing levels increased along with costs, the Central Otago District Council heard last week.
It is a long way from Ranfurly to Las Vegas but a Maniototo Area School teacher will soon be making the journey as part of a new initiative at the school.
The British couple found dead in a suspected murder-suicide at a property in the Wellington suburb of Roseneath on Monday night were Ben and Claire Anderson.
OceanaGold has applied for its Macraes mine extension without a cultural impact assessment, a matter "reluctantly" acknowledged by iwi representatives.
Oceana Gold has understated the environmental risk posed by its proposed expansion of Macraes mine, a senior consents planner at the Otago Regional Council says.
If pastels make you think of smeary, slightly smelly school artwork you are in for a shock when the national pastel artists exhibition opens in Alexandra at the end of next week.