Mike Sanford

The Prime Minister’s plan to announce a roughly $100 million recovery package for Southland, in the wake of the likely closure of the Tiwai Smelter, was scuppered by New Zealand First at the eleventh hour.   RNZ understands, as a result, there will not be any specific amount of money allocated to th

West to southwest gales for parts of central and southern New Zealand. Heavy snow for the far south of the South Island. A strong westerly flow lies across central and southern New Zealand. A cold front is forecast to move onto the far south of the South Island tonight (Wednesday), followed by a cha

Tarras – a small farming settlement in Central Otago – is being eyed up as a possible location for a new airport.   The current concept idea is to build a 2.2km, jet capable runway on a 750 hectare block of land in Tarras. So far, $45 million has been spent on the project – […]

Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway has been sacked from Cabinet and will not stand again at the election following revelations of a relationship with a former staffer. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it became clear his position as a minister was untenable as it opened up allegations of impr

Analysis – It appears New Zealand First and the Greens have given up trying to hide their true feelings. The unofficial campaign has well and truly kicked off with the party leaders taking the gloves off and going at each other at Parliament today. Green Party co-leader James Shaw has described New

There is one new case of Covid-19 in managed isolation in New Zealand today, the Ministry of Health has confirmed. Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the new case was a woman in her 30s who travelled from London via Doha and Sydney. She tested positive on her third day in a quarant

A free expo later this month will provide much-needed support to Southland’s labour force. Southlanders looking for employment advice and opportunities are being encouraged to attend the Great South Job Search 2020. The event will be held in Gore on Tuesday 28 July and in Invercargill from Wednesday

Move it now, and make Rio Tinto pay later. That’s the message from Mataura to the government after freezing weather burst a sprinkler head at the disused paper mill in the Southland town where 8500 tonnes of potentially toxic waste is stored. The ouvea premix, a waste byproduct from the Tiwai Point