Southland

Invercargill residents are ready for a breath of fresh air from their upcoming council by-election after months of turmoil.

Waka Kotahi is warning southern motorists to prepare for heavy traffic in the South Island over the next few days with the long weekend followed by the Burt Munro Challenge next week.

Key players in the oat industry want to capitalise on increasing demand, with the country's first plant-based milk factory on the horizon.

Residents in two East Otago towns are frustrated they do not know when they can drink water out of the tap, not from a tanker.

Things have improved at the council since Clare Hadley took over, but there's still work to do, chief ombudsman Peter Boshier says.

Tonnes of Ouvea premix will be removed from Mataura, but some residents say that after many failed promises, they'll hold off celebrating. Audio

The government will front up another $300,000 of taxpayer funds to address the operations of the aluminium smelter at Tiwai Point.

Southland shearer Megan Whitehead has broken the women's world record for shearing the most number of lambs in nine hours.

The New Zealand government believes its own negotiations with Rio Tinto will be resolved "fairly quickly" now there is certainty about the future of the Tiwai Point smelter.

A large freight train has derailed in Wright's Bush, just outside of Invercargill and repairs to the track will take a week.

MetService is warning of thunderstorms in many parts of the country, and the risk of "large, damaging hail and possibly a small tornado" in eastern parts of the North Island.

Jake Bridson, 23, died during a diving incident at Owaka Heads after he was separated from his group.

A man and a woman are both dead after a two-vehicle crash near Lumsden in Southland this afternoon.

A man has died near Owaka Heads, Hinahina, this afternoon in a diving incident.

A2 Milk is a step closer to taking a controlling stake in Mataura Valley Milk, but says it will be at least a couple of years before it starts making profits.

Labour campaigned on keeping the aluminium smelter at Tiwai Point open for another three-to-five years, but staff go into the holidays uncertain of the future.

The pilot in the 2018 crash entered fog while flying too low, the authority found in its report has found.