Environment

Environment Southland is using emergency powers to mechanically open Waituna Lagoon to the sea, after water levels stayed dangerously high for weeks. The lagoon has sat above 2.3 metres for the past five days and above 2.2 metres since late July. That sustained high water is hitting nearby

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,

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

A staff member's sharp eyes have turned up a new Old Man's Beard infestation near Dipton — and Environment Southland wants residents to start looking on their own properties. The invasive vine was spotted by an Environment Southland employee during routine work. The site has since been

More than 8,600 native plants are in the ground near Waituna Lagoon, part of a long-term push to restore health to one of Southland's most ecologically fragile wetlands. Whakamana te Waituna Charitable Trust planted 8,625 plants at Webster Block on May 8 — a 48-hectare property it

The Government has created a super-ministry to handle cities, housing and the environment. The new Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport will absorb the Ministry for the Environment, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Transport, and local government functions from Internal Affairs. Legislation passed this week clears

The Government has unveiled a $1.2 billion loan scheme to help thousands of New Zealand businesses move away from dwindling natural gas supplies while protecting local jobs. The Gas Transition Loan Guarantee Scheme will see the Crown guarantee 80% of each supported loan, enabling banks to offer lower interest

A young New Zealand sea lion pup has been killed after being struck by a vehicle on a Catlins coastal road, prompting the Department of Conservation to urge drivers to watch for marine mammals. The five-month-old male sea lion was found dead on Hinahina Road near the Catlins Boating Club