Otago

A Queenstown principal believes plans to scrap 10 dedicated school buses will have severe impacts on student attendance and could put children in danger. Audio

A Queenstown councillor and a mayoral candidate say the task of finding a new CEO should wait until after local body elections.

Only two submissions supported the Super Liquor outlet.

A new regional council report finds nearly a quarter of monitored rivers, lakes and bays pose health risks from faecal bacteria or toxic algae.

The service on Lake Whakatipu will run hourly including until late at night and has been expanded to seven days.

The whale, estimated to be around eight to 10 metres long, was first spotted at the mouth of the Waitati River around midday Saturday.

A red wind warning has been issued for Canterbury, while orange weather warnings cover much of the South Island and further north, as gale force winds and heavy rains loom.

CPB Contractors will lead the $1.6b project, with measures to ensure deadlines and budgets are met.

The company is accused of failing to properly deal with the rats.

The much-delayed and costly rebuild has been debated since John Key was Prime Minister.

But the power company is asking people to think of its proposal as an "insurance policy". Audio

From world champions to first-timers, NZ athletes are pushing hard for Olympic selection after a tough training season.

Police are looking into whether a man found with serious injuries at a Queenstown intersection last night was injured earlier and dumped at the intersection.

The ban is going into place around the Otago Peninsula to protect the threatened penguin population.

A staff member at a nearby hotel said police have told them the area is a crime scene and have asked them to stay indoors.

Ten tohu whenua have been installed along Te Aka Ōtākou, the walking and cycling path that follows Otago Harbour's.

The 19-year-old critically injured after falling from a roof of a Dunedin flat has been revealed as a promising Southland rugby representative.

Emergency services have rushed to the scene at the city's student quarter.

It took the jury about four hours to reach the unanimous verdict.