News

The number of couples getting married in New Zealand continued to decline in 2025, with new Statistics New Zealand figures showing a 3 percent drop from the previous year. A total of 17,481 marriages and civil unions were celebrated in 2025, down from 18,033 in 2024, maintaining a

Environment Southland has adopted new rules requiring farmers to get approval before grazing stock on flood banks during winter months. The new Flood Control and Drainage Management Bylaw introduces stricter controls on stock grazing between June 1 and August 31, when wet conditions increase the risk of damage to flood

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

Invercargill City Council is looking to introduce number plate recognition technology for parking enforcement, following concerns about public behaviour towards parking wardens. The council has put out a tender for vehicle-mounted technology that would work alongside handheld devices to "improve parking accessibility and safety for our officers". The

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'

Two new trustees of the Southland Warm Homes Trust visited local delivery partner Awarua Synergy this week as part of their induction programme. Councillor Lisa TouMcNaughton from Invercargill City Council and Councillor Donna Bruce from Gore District Council toured the Awarua Synergy office to see firsthand how warm homes programmes

Southland Police are urging users of dating apps to take steps to protect themselves when meeting up with people they’ve only spoken to online. Southland Area Prevention Manager acting Inspector Mel Robertson says Police have been made aware of two incidents in the last week where people have been