Five members of a Lake Hawea family were considered lucky to be alive last night after a runaway people mover crashed into their lounge.

A North Otago dairy worker had to be rescued from his motorbike in chest-deep floodwaters in Kakanui Valley yesterday.

The University of Otago needs to target international students more "aggressively" after having the largest decline in international numbers of any New Zealand university this year, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce says.

Hayden Donnell hops on a bicycle to explore the newest trails around Queenstown.

What are believed to be the first prosecutions over Central Otago's rabbit problem are set to go to court next week.

Tallies from the annual Great Easter Bunny Hunt in Central Otago must have embarrassed the Otago Regional Council, as they revealed the ineffectiveness of its pest management, submitters said this week.

A Matakanui farmer hunting on his property at dusk lined up a shot, was alarmed by hearing two gun shots nearby then spotted a suspected poacher through his sights when a man ran across his potential field of fire in what police are calling a "near-miss".

An Otago woman and her family are "gutted" the killer of her teenage daughter will appear before the New Zealand Parole Board again next year, despite being denied parole earlier this week.

A driver in a crash that killed a young Otago man has been sentenced to two years and eight months in jail and disqualified from driving for four years.

A Milton woman has received an apology from the Inland Revenue Department after claims it ignored her pleas that her name and ID were being used fraudulently.

A life ban for a lawyer accused of stealing $3 million from clients was "the only appropriate penalty", the Law Society says.

A resource consent application to finish Bluff oysters in Otago Harbour has been rejected by the Otago Regional Council.

A holocaust survivor and one of the last remaining Jews to be saved by Oskar Schindler hopes her story can help prevent the horrors she witnessed happening again.

Upset locals opposing a housing development by movie star Sam Neill will find out next week, whether their mountain views and idyllic lifestyle will be disturbed.

Viva wine editor Jo Burzynska traverses plains, valleys and rivers on a pinot noir safari in Marlborough.

Drunk university students who set couches alight after being turfed out of parties are blaming police for inflaming tensions.

A mix-up in medication dispensed by a pharmacy may have contributed to the death of an elderly Otago man but it was hard to determine to what extent, a court heard.

The Otago Regional Council has launched a fresh attack on the $100 million waterfront hotel proposed for Dunedin, saying a lack of information means resource consent for the project should be rejected.