The teacher left her drink bottle containing wine in the classroom. However, the principal at the previous school was alerted by a teacher and four community members about the shoplifting. The woman was on lunch duty during the second half of the lunch break, leaving her responsible for monitoring students. While on duty, she grabbed a bottle of wine from her car and poured it into her drink bottle and then, leaving the wine bottle in her car, sat at an outside table on school grounds and drank several sips from the drink bottle. After the lunch break, she left her drink bottle containing the wine in her classroom while she went on a walk with a class of students.

A Dunedin secondary school band due to support the Foo Fighters next year has still not been paid for the city council-backed New Year’s Eve performance. A council spokeswoman contacted the Otago Daily Times late yesterday to say a curator would pay the band by end of this week. The Otago Daily Times understands neither of the bands have been paid yet. guitarist and vocalist Lucy Hughes said the band had been through the various council channels, but to no avail. A council spokeswoman said the council employed a curator who invoiced the council, and they held the commercial arrangement with the bands.

Coastguard Hawke’s Bay skipper Henry van Tuel said conditions were calm on the night. “We had six on the boat and three in the radio room, so nine of us were involved ... We used our lights and night-vision gear,” he told Hawke’s Bay Today. Napier mayor Richard McGrath said earlier this month the city was affected by the tragedy. “We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss and our thoughts are with the family, friends and wider community of this young child,” he said. Information could also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

When the change was announced, Treasury said it expected 80% of the employer cost to be met by lower-than-expected pay rises. Kelly Eckhold, chief economist at Westpac, said it was likely that all else being equal, pay rises this year would be lower. “In the end, employers will pay a total level of remuneration in line with prevailing supply and demand trends in the market. “ACC charges, potentially fringe benefit tax, you’re going to have training costs, you might have uniforms … as someone who is hiring, you think about what is the total cost to me and my business. She said that until the economy clearly improved, the contribution increase was likely to mean smaller pay rises.

The family started a GiveaLittle page to raise funds to help them through the financial burden of the disaster. Pahl runs a painting business called Sublime Coating Limited. Pahl, who runs painting company Sublime Coating, bought the home eight years ago as a fixer-upper. The house exterior hanging above the slip had a fresh coat of light blue paint, done by Pahl himself. Being a tradie himself, Pahl spent a lot of time hand renovating the home.

The Dunedin City Council is replacing community housing units in Fitzroy St, South Dunedin. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSONSavings of more than $400,000 on a Dunedin community housing project suggest rolling back expansion of the city council’s portfolio was the wrong call, an advocate says. The Dunedin City Council decided last year to carry on with redevelopment at a site in Fitzroy St, South Dunedin, but to pause other plans amid rising building costs. However, expenditure on the Fitzroy St project to replace four units is now forecast to be $406,000 underspent, reflecting savings arising during procurement. A report for the council in January last year said escalating building costs meant the community housing development programme needed to be reconsidered.

Sir Ian Taylor. Photo: ODT filesSir Ian Taylor has changed his tune and now plans to visit Santana Minerals’ proposed goldmine in pursuit of answers. He initially cancelled the visit following the publication of an opinion piece by the Australian mining company that Sir Ian claimed contained ‘‘critical misinformation’’. ‘‘We invited Sir Sam because his public commentary contained concerning inaccuracies untethered to the science and the technical record and Sir Sam is still getting the facts wrong. ‘‘It would be good if, like Sir Ian, he too had a change of heart [and] took us up on a site visit.’’The company did not respond to a request for emails offering Sir Sam a site visit.

Hattrell (Otago) qualified for the men’s senior single sculls A final — alongside Dunstan rowers Fynn Allison, Sam Barnett, Charlie Manser and Lewis Meates — and the men’s club single sculls A final, alongside Oamaru rower Paddy Spillane. Dunstan’s Dylan Acton and Ben Thompson are in the men’s club double sculls final and then join Jed Tisdall and Jacob Harrison in the men’s club coxless quad sculls final. Amy Paterson and Lucy Clark and Katharina Hoffmann and Emer Bryant qualified for the women’s club double sculls final, and Jemma Mead and Maria-Theresia Schrems are in the women’s intermediate double sculls final. Dunstan rower Isla Westlake qualified for the women’s intermediate, club and senior single sculls. Fellow Dunstan rower Olivia Key will also line up in the senior sculls and Aiden O’docherty qualified for the men’s intermediate single sculls.

Even this could have been taken as a starting point when contemplating a kava policy at Otago. As an institution, Otago is well within its rights to adopt a kava policy for reasons it articulates in the communication. In my 15 years at Otago, kava has sporadically been used in ceremonial and social settings. The social use referred to here should not be confused with the popular understanding of the term nor the consumption of kava in kava bars and kava clubs. I urge leaders leading the kava policy proposal to facilitate a dialogue or talanoa over kava or any other non-alcoholic beverage of choice.

Members of the public had reported the man walking into the road on State Highway 1 near Waitati. Photo: Google MapsA Dunedin man wandering in the dark along the northern motorway was ‘‘clipped’’ by a truck after walking out into the open road. When asked by police what he was doing, the man told officers ‘‘he wasn't sure how he'd got there’’, Snr Sgt Dinnissen said. The man was taken to Dunedin Hospital with moderate injuries, Snr Sgt Dinnissen said. Earlier in the night, members of the public had reported the same man walking into the road on State Highway 1 near Waitati.

All outdoor fires will be banned in Central Otago from tomorrow amid "very dry" conditions. Fire and Emergency New Zealand district manager Craig Gold said the slow start to summer had been "quite deceptive". The prohibited fire season begins at 8am tomorrow, banning all outdoor fires until further notice. Central Otago was predominantly a grassland area with a lot of fuel for potentially disastrous fires that would be extremely difficult to control. "A ban on all outdoor fires will reduce the number of callouts and allow Fire and Emergency crews to manage other fires that may occur."

Fecal matter in sea spray on a home on Wellington's Esplanade. "It's residue from all that sewage that's floating up and down the coast. And how can we have the head of Wellington Water, Nick Leggett, just resign and think he's just going to walk away from this? Photo: RNZChris said he would be billing Wellington Water for his time washing the houses if the toxic sea spray continues to plague the coast. Wellington Water was still unsure what caused the Moa Point failure and how long the plant would be out of action.

Photo: SuppliedDonations have been pouring in for the family of Canterbury 10-year-old Alex Bennett. Alex was tragically killed two weeks ago after being struck by a vehicle just outside his Leeston Rd home while checking the mail. “Alex was a beautiful, clever beyond words, amazingly kind boy who shared a special bond with mine,” Batchelar said on LinkedIn. “We are grieving tremendously for the loss of his life and for the pain and devastation his family are feeling.”Community-donated groceries collected at Leeston FreshChoice for the family of Alex Bennett. Photo: SuppliedIn addition to the Givealittle fundraiser, the community has also donated a large amount of groceries, vouchers and cash through Leeston Fresh Choice.

That’s a wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Raising the OCR won’t change any of that. Just remember that mortgage rates tend to move before the OCR does. 2 years – Over the next two years, the OCR is expected to drift back to around 3%. “But I think inflation is going to be higher!”I was scrolling through the Stuff.co.nz comments (dangerous hobby, I know).

Retiring Dunedin Botanic Garden curator Marianne Groothuis walks through her favourite section at the garden on Wednesday evening. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSONI have had a lifelong career working at a job I love in the Dunedin Botanic Garden. The aviary was moved from the lower garden to the warmer north-facing slope of the upper garden. This enclosed the last part of the lower garden from busy traffic areas creating a true oasis in our city. I had the honour of attending the 2012 Camellia Conference in China to accept the International Camellia Garden of Excellence Award for Dunedin Botanic Garden.