QDC

The relatively informal atmosphere in the Queenstown District Court has been changed to conform to a national initiative to have all opening, adjournment and closing announcements in all district, family and youth courts spoken in both te reo Maori and English.

Frankton Flats Zones and the Queenstown Airport noise boundaries will be subject to further Environment Court hearings in Queenstown from today following the adjournment of the matters in January and February.

A man wandering around with an air pistol and a radio tuned to the police frequency has "all sorts of sinister connotations", Judge Michael Turner said yesterday.

The Pacific Blue pilot accused of carelessly operating an aircraft at Queenstown in 2010 was "probably the absolute top of the tree in terms of aircraft qualifications", his lawyer told Judge Kevin Phillips in the Queenstown District Court yesterday.

A Queenstown man who allegedly stripped naked and jumped off the historic steamship TSS Earnslaw into Lake Wakatipu yesterday morning will appear in the Queenstown District Court next week.

Troubled developer Dave Henderson appeared in the Queenstown District Court before Judge Michael Turner yesterday, facing nine charges laid under the Tax Administration Act 1994.

An 18-year-old student admitted careless driving when he appeared before Judge Michael Turner in the Queenstown District Court, even though he was a passenger at the time of the incident.

A 50-year-old Wanaka resident was sent to Whangarei to live with his mother by Judge John Clapham in the Queenstown District Court yesterday, after admitting his fourth drink-driving offence.

A drunk Cromwell teenager drove up roads between Queenstown and Wanaka one night at speeds of more than 180kmh and sparked a police chase which only ended when the fleeing vehicle's engine blew up.

A Queenstown man who has more than 200 convictions was sentenced to two and a-half years' imprisonment after being released from prison in September last year.

A Queenstown man appeared in court yesterday after he stole $4195 from his employer to fuel his gambling addiction, even taking the money during early-morning casino binges.

A driver who recorded a breath-alcohol reading more than two and a-half times over the legal limit was found stuck in his car on a traffic island in Wanaka, yesterday.

More charges may be laid against adults involved with a youth ring of burglaries which has targeted vacant holiday homes in Wanaka.

Drugs worth about $35,000 were seized and two Queenstown people arrested after busts involving the armed offenders squad in the resort this week.