Paige Turner

Applications close November 6. Community groups, iwi and not-for-profits in Southland can apply for $500-$5,000 to fund one-off preparedness projects.

Guy Fawkes is less than four weeks away — and NZ First says retail sales, manufacture and imports would all stop, while approved public displays carry on.

Seymour says NZ pays over $1 million an hour in interest on govt debt — ACT's plan aims to wipe $12.4b of it in four years, no new taxes.

PowerNet is putting $210,000 into its St John partnership over the next three years, keeping free mental health training running across Southland and neighbouring regions while shoring up community access to defibrillators. The electricity lines company has renewed its sponsorship of St John for another three-year term. The money

Five Southland landmarks are going pink this month, and for the first time, ILT Stadium is joining them. The Gore Brown Trout Sculpture, Invercargill's Band Rotunda, Feldwick Street Gates and Gala Street Fountain are all part of Breast Cancer Foundation NZ's Global Illuminations campaign through October

Voting places for the 2026 General Election are confirmed, and there's a hard enrolment deadline Southland voters need to know about. More than 2,300 voting places will be open across New Zealand on election day, Saturday November 7. Advance voting opens Monday October 26. In total, 2,

10.15am, Thursday 8 October from Fire & Emergency. More positive news. The first flight this morning found no visible flames around the perimeter. The fire hasn't grown noticeably overnight. The fire is not out yet, so we have crews back on the ground supported by helicopters, targeting

The Walter Peak fire has grown to an estimated 1,200 hectares, and firefighters are warning it could get bigger. Operations resumed at 7am this morning, with four helicopters running monsoon bucket runs to cool hotspots and dampen the perimeter. A fifth is up as an aerial platform directing the