News

Ambulance services will get $35 million over four years to tackle rising demand, with emergency calls expected to jump by 95,000 incidents over the next four years to 735,000 annually. The Budget 2026 funding targets immediate problems: more frontline crews, better technology, and stronger support systems. Two new

Welcome to your Weekend Gig Guide Bluff Oyster Festival Edition! Looking for the perfect way to spend your weekend in Invercargill? We’ve got a lineup of live music, sport, and entertainment from Friday through Sunday. And don’t forget, Saturday also features the iconic Bluff Oyster Festival—just make

Two hunting organisations have launched a coordinated push to funnel more wild venison to Southland families struggling with food costs. The Game Animal Council and Wild Game Recovery Trust unveiled Game Changer NZ this week, combining donation coordination with a digital tracking system that follows meat from hillside to dinner

Presbyterian Support Southland has sold Resthaven Village to Phantom Eldercare, with the family-owned care home operator taking over on July 1, 2026. Phantom Eldercare runs multiple aged care facilities across Otago. The sale finalises a conditional agreement signed in March. "For 50 years, our organisation has had the privilege

New Zealand has 260 separate regulatory bodies creating what Regulation Minister David Seymour calls a "twisted spaghetti" of overlapping bureaucracy that costs taxpayers millions and strangles economic activity. The first comprehensive mapping of the country's regulatory maze reveals 95 regulators in central government, 79 in local

An incredible performance by SPLIT ENZ. The playlist: The Choral Sea Shark Attack History Never Repeats Poor Boy Nobody Takes Me Seriously Give It a Whirl Dirty Creature Time for a Change One Step Ahead Missing Person Message to My Girl Double Happy (costume design visuals) Stuff and Nonsense Matinee

Southland rugby fans can now vote for the greatest players and moments in 50 years of National Provincial Championship history, as New Zealand's 14 unions launch NPC50 today. The nationwide campaign lets supporters pick their provincial heroes before a national vote later this year crowns the ultimate top

Nine Southland Rotary clubs have joined forces for the first time to raise $15,000 for The Grace Street Project through their support of the PlaceMakers Southern Scooter Challenge. The donation was presented to the project on Friday, along with an offer to bring Rotary's Youth Development programme