Mike Sanford

A Southland deer and dairy farming couple have taken out the country's top prize for sustainable farming. Michelle and Tony Roberts, of Merino Downs near Gore, were named winners of the Gordon Stephenson Trophy and 2026 National Ambassadors for Sustainable Farming and Growing at a ceremony in Christchurch

A plan to turn Kingston into a self-sufficient town of 10,000 people — with its own supermarket, healthcare, jobs and public transport — has been…

Invercargill's new council-built elderly housing complex cost twice the rate of a high-spec retirement village unit — and some councillors want to know why. The Miller St complex, which opened in May, is a $2.8 million development featuring six single-bedroom units with mobility-friendly bathrooms and garden beds. It

Your power bill could shrink — but only if you're willing to do your laundry at midnight. New rules took effect today requiring large power companies to offer time-of-use pricing plans to households and small businesses. The Electricity Authority is now mandating what the big generators have quietly avoided

Southland District Council has expanded its community facilities maintenance contracts from 16 to 22, opening the door to more local contractors across the district. The new contracts were awarded after a registration of interest process last year drew 49 tenders. Evaluations ran through February, with further negotiations on scope and

A Tokanui man has been sentenced to 12 months' home detention after being convicted on 35 charges for repeatedly discharging agricultural effluent into the Tokanui Stream. Andrew Wright was sentenced in the Invercargill District Court after the charges — all in breach of the Resource Management Act — arose from the

An Invercargill signage company is doing work at Queenstown Airport, one of the South Island's busiest transport hubs. Creation Signs is currently undertaking signage work at the airport as part of a long track record of delivering projects across New Zealand. General Manager Riki Shuttleworth said regional infrastructure

Construction has started on a new headquarters for the Awarua Satellite Ground Station near Bluff — a $4.55 million project that will expand one of New Zealand's most quietly significant pieces of infrastructure. Space Operations New Zealand (SpaceOps NZ) is leading the build, which includes a multi-purpose headquarters,