Anna Logue

Saturday's the marquee — the Otago Southland Axemen Indoor Woodchopping Comp FINALS hit Waikiwi from 4pm. Axes, sawdust, roaring crowd — genuine Southland winter theatre, and a proper spectacle. Sunday brings Stags v Taranaki live on the big screen at Waikiwi from 5:05pm. Friday runs the usual weekend kick-off

Saturday's the big one — Southbound rolls into town and Level One hosts the Official Afterparty, with DJ Nihilism taking over from 7pm till late spinning NZ music, hip-hop, 140 and drum & bass. If rock's more your speed, head to RIFF the same night for three

Museum of Southland is on track to have its building completed by the end of September, with the project team now setting October 1, 2027 as the target date for full completion, with an opening date to follow. That means not just bricks and glass, but exhibitions installed, staff trained,

The Green Party wants to nationalise 120 supermarkets. The right thinks it's communism. The left thinks it's overdue. Everyone agrees the grocery duopoly is a problem — they just disagree on whether the cure is worse than the disease. The policy, branded KiwiMart, would force Foodstuffs and

Saturday's the marquee night — Craig Adams headlines the Southland leg of the Get Your Country On Tour at the Invercargill Workingmen's Club with Denver and Beyond, plus support from The Rustlers. Tickets $25 at the Club. Sunday is Father's Day — kick off with Ascot

Friday is Daffodil Day — throw on your brightest yellow and back the Cancer Society. Waxy's is leading the charge with Jet Set live from 9pm, Saturday's the big night — Battle of the Bands at Speight's Ale House with Triple Shot going head-to-head with Euphoria.

ACT wants to shut down the Climate Change Commission — and it has a dollar figure ready to justify it. The party's candidate Paul Henry announced this week that an ACT government would disestablish the Commission entirely, folding its monitoring and reporting responsibilities into the Ministry for Cities, Environment,

Sophie Ineson won a $50,000 for tertiary study and a trip to an international science fair in the United States — and she did it by never stopping asking questions. The Year 13 Southland Girls' High School student has spent her after-school hours designing medical products for space, simulating