Councils

The Civic Theatre is turning 120. The Invercargill theatre opened on November 14, 1906, when Governor Lord Plunket and Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward cut the ribbon on what was then called the Invercargill Town Hall and Theatre. Invercargill City Council manager venues and events Ryan Sycamore said the Civic

Gore residents have a month to shape how their district grows. Gore District Council is seeking feedback on proposed changes to its Subdivision and Land Development Bylaw, with consultation running from June 1 to July 3. The bylaw sets standards for how land is subdivided and developed across the district,

Gore District Council wants residents to weigh in on the rules that govern their water supply. The Water Services Bylaw is up for review as part of the council's regular statutory cycle. The bylaw sets out who is responsible for what when it comes to drinking water — from

Non-elected members will lose voting rights on council committees. Local Government Minister Simon Watts announced changes to the Local Government Act that will restrict voting to elected councillors only. "Councillors are directly accountable to voters for their decisions. We are amending the Local Government Act 2002 so only elected

Invercargill Police are unable to directly access the new $2.3 million CCTV footage that was finally implemented across the city in April. The revelation came last week before the Invercargill City Council meeting, when councillor Steve Broad asked Southland Area Commander Mike Bowman if the process was working effectively.

New government funding for wilding conifers will not solve Southland's problems. Environment Southland biosecurity team leader plants Jolie Hazley welcomed the $79 million nationwide boost announced this week but warned it had limits at a committee meeting last Wednesday. "I'm not expecting that any new

Environment Southland is buying hybrid utes despite one breaking down during testing in remote hill country. Last week a committee approved replacing up to four vehicles with three BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrids, even after a test drive went wrong. Hydrology specialist Michael McDonald was testing the ute when its

Gore District Council has resolved two code of conduct complaints against councillors. The complaints were dealt with internally and are now closed, ending weeks of community speculation about what had happened behind closed doors. Mayor Ben Bell said the process worked as designed. "The Code of Conduct exists for