News Desk

Southland Mayor Rob Scott has defended spending more than $12,000 of ratepayer money on a six-day trip to Scandinavia, calling it a worthwhile investment. The Southland District Council revealed this week it spent $12,840 for Scott to join an Infrastructure NZ delegation that visited Sweden and Norway from

A new sausage bait designed to target stoats has shown impressive results in field trials, offering hope for protecting kiwi and other native wildlife. The Department of Conservation has been working with pest control developer Connovation for nine years to develop a ready-made bait containing the toxin PAPP (para-aminopropiophenone), which

NZ First Leader Winston Peters has drawn a firm line on the retirement age, describing his commitment to keep it unchanged as a "top line, not a bottom line". His comments on Breakfast this morning came after Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told Newstalk ZB that NZ First and

Invercargill shoppers have scored big after a city centre promotion attracted more than 10,000 entries and boosted local business in April. The Visit, Shop & Explore campaign, run by Great South and Invercargill City Council, offered a $3,000 prize pool to encourage people to shop locally. Seven winners

The cost of hiring an out-of-town expert for Invercargill City Council's water committee has nearly doubled from initial estimates. The council originally reported spending $12,268 to recruit Nelson-based Lee Babe as an independent member of its water committee, but has now revealed the final bill reached $23,

The current National-ACT-NZ First coalition government is strongly positioned to win a second term, according to the latest NZ Herald-Motu Research Poll of Polls. The research shows the coalition has an 88.3% probability of forming the next government, with combined support of 50.2% compared to the opposition'

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has declared the government's fees-free university scheme a complete failure, announcing it will be scrapped in this month's budget. The policy, which covered students' final year of tertiary study, will end for new cohorts from next year, though current final-year students

Vehicle inspection requirements are set to change dramatically, with most cars moving to two-yearly Warrant of Fitness checks instead of annual inspections, saving Southland motorists hundreds of dollars each year. Transport Ministers Chris Bishop and James Meager announced the reforms yesterday, saying New Zealand's current inspection system is