World surfing champion Kelly Slater tees off on the 18th hole at St Andrews during the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship last year. Photo: Getty ImagesInternational surfing great Kelly Slater almost ruled himself out of the 105th New Zealand Open on Monday night. Slater, 54, is one of the ambassadors playing in this year’s golf tournament at Millbrook, which officially tees off tomorrow. Despite some back pain, Slater tested out Millbrook’s greens for the first time yesterday, although he went through two-thirds of his round on borrowed clubs. In the South Island for the first time, he planned to play a couple of holes at neighbouring The Hills course today.

Another New Zealand Rugby heavy hitter is leaving the organisation. Lendrum will finish in May but stay on in a consultant role with some professional rugby projects until the end of the year. He has served on the NZR executive since 2020 with responsibility for men’s and women’s high performance, national tournaments and competitions, professional player management and Super Rugby clubs. Interim NZR chief executive Steve Lancaster paid tribute to Lendrum’s long-standing contribution to the game. Lancaster will assume the chief rugby officer role, which oversees all professional and community rugby, once a new chief executive has been appointed.

Former Alexandra woman Colonel Lisa Kelliher is the New Zealand Defence Force’s defence adviser to Australia, based in Canberra. Colonel Lisa Kelliher is as Central Otago as they come. Born in Clyde, she grew up on the family farm and attended St Gerard’s, then Dunstan High School, in Alexandra. Today she is serving as the New Zealand Defence Force’s Defence adviser to Australia, based in Canberra. As a girl growing up on the family farm she could not have imaged where her career would take her.

A New Zealander who has left for Australia says he's been hit hard by Inland Revenue "annualising" his income to claw back Working for Families credits. Chafic Georges received about $208,000 in personal payments from the Working for Families Tax Credits. (Source: 1News)He said the issue was also clearly connected to the abatement level, at which Working for Families credits are removed. ADVERTISEMENTWhen households earn more than $42,700 a year, their Working for Families entitlements are cut at a rate of 27%. ADVERTISEMENTThe Government last year announced a review of Working for Families intended to avoid households getting into debt.

A patient at Dunedin Hospital waiting more than six months for a diagnosis of stage four cancer came as wait times for specialists were 14 times longer than recommended. There were significant delays in the diagnosis of the patient’s colorectal cancer and systemic issues contributed to this, Health and Disability Commissioner Morag McDowell said in her report released yesterday. HNZ Southern chief medical officer Dr David Gow acknowledged waiting times for first specialist assessment were outside expectations. "This is yet another patient and their family facing a terminal diagnosis because of clinically unsafe delays after being declined care." "These improvements include the introduction of dedicated staff to provide additional surgical colorectal clinics, ensuring patients with higher-priority needs can be seen more quickly."

Photo: Supplied / Genesis EnergyGenesis Energy cannot guarantee its customers won't receive further price increases this year. It comes as customers are told their electricity prices will increase at the end of March. Despite Johns saying there wouldn't be any, England-Hall said he couldn't guarantee there would be no further price increases in 2026. England-Hall said "no one was very happy or thrilled" about price increases but inflation was driving it and it was beyond their control. "Over the last few years we've had price increases that we've tried to hold.

PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSHContractors take a close look at the Municipal Chambers building in the Octagon, Dunedin, yesterday. Two streams of work are under way on the town hall and Municipal Chambers complex — one is an exterior heritage restoration project and the other involves seismic investigation. The exterior project involves restoration of stonework, lead and copper flashings, timber repairs and paintwork and is likely to take until at least 2028. The Municipal Chambers is a category 1 heritage building.

The Ōtepuni Gardens in Invercargill is home to not only heritage vegetation, but also the Ōtepuni Creek and floodbanks. Photo: Matthew RosenbergA warning has been made about protecting assets at an Invercargill park that was once considered the city’s finest. Located near the centre of town, the Ōtepuni Gardens stretches about 1km from Clyde St on the west to Elles Rd on the east. Ōtepuni Creek is a tidal stretch of water which runs between Kennington in the east and the Waihopai River in the west. The council said the Ōtepuni Gardens was considered the city’s “premier park” prior to Queens Park.

Photo: ODT FilesDunedin firefighters helped free a trapped driver who crashed into the side of a house this evening. A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokeswoman said crews went to the scene at 8.23pm and helped remove a person stuck in their car following the crash at a Helensburgh Rd, Halfway Bush, property. Firefighters from Roslyn, Willowbank and Lookout Point attended. After the person was freed, they were checked over by Hato Hone St John staff, and the scene was handed over to police. A police spokeswoman said there was damage to the house and one person had received minor injuries.

Photo / Red BullHorner also claims it “wasn’t his choice” to swap Liam Lawson for Yuki Tsunoda after two races last season, a decision with which Verstappen disagreed. “I was always pushed to take drivers from the [Red Bull] young driver programme,” he says. Wolff and Horner have a combined 14 of the last 15 world championships. The tension between Horner and Jos Verstappen, which erupted at Silverstone a couple of days before Horner got the bullet. The booing of Horner at the season launch at the O2 Arena in episode one, New Kids on the Block.

Nicola Flint. Photo: File imageAlleged Christchurch fraudster Nicola Flint has been arrested in Wales nearly two years after an arrest warrant was issued in New Zealand. Alleged fraudster Nicola Flint fled to Wales. Using the name Annie Curry, Flint is listed as director of a company called Anderson Frank, the Herald reported. The company website says it provides debt advisory and brokerage, as well as commercial advisory and consultancy services.

Summer 2022-winter 2023: Ukrainian counter-offensivesFrom the summer of 2022, Ukrainian forces launch a string of counter-offensives. On November 21, 2024, Russia targets Ukraine with a new nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile, nicknamed Oreshnik, hitting a Ukrainian military factory. Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators meet in Abu Dhabi then in Geneva in January and February 2026. Photo / Getty ImagesWhere do Ukraine and Russia standThe state of the conflict and some of the consequences for both countries:DestructionThe war has resulted in widespread destruction in Ukraine. The Kremlin is pushing for full control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and a ban on Western military support for Kyiv.

Westpac has released new data that shows Canterbury and Otago are top of the savings stakes - in both regions 28 percent of Westpac customers are making monthly payments into savings, and they have the highest median savings balance of $4200. Those regions also had the highest proportion of customers with savings of $15,000 or more, at 32 percent. Auckland and Northland were at the opposite end, with only 20 percent of customers making monthly payments into savings and median savings balances of less than $1500. "We know costs are typically higher in Auckland than in other regions and that's reflected in this savings data," she said. But taking some time to review your overall spending and making small savings commitments can have a big impact over time."

Brent Andrews of Parkers Campers told the Herald the campervan was initially forced to drive through roadworks after the road came down to a single lane. “Being the first vehicle through the roadworks a lapse in concentration saw the driver fail to return to the left-hand side of the road when exiting the roadworks,” he said. A campervan driving on the wrong side of the road narrowly avoided a head-on collision. “They are very remorseful of the situation they have caused.”Andrews said the company remained committed to ensuring those renting vans fully understand New Zealand’s road laws. “We have an extensive handover process where we go through basic road rules,” he said.

Adrian Pani appears in Auckland District Court in December 2025 after he was charged with murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Photo / Jason DordayThe second person allegedly attacked by Pani, a 51-year-old who required surgery but survived, entered the bus at 8.09pm. Pani is alleged to have then started an unprovoked fight with that passenger, again using a knife. The 51-year-old, another passenger and the driver fled the bus near the bus stop at Coates Ave and Kepa Rd, police said. Photo / Hayden WoodwardPani has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.