Mother to 40 wins award for care
Foster care award-winner Donna Illingworth says keeping a cool head and being well organised is key to looking after her young charges. The 54-year-old Dunedin Hospital part-time registered nurse was recently given a prestigious Excellence in Foster Care Award, for her caregiving of more than 40 vulnerable children from Oranga Tamariki over the past 25 years. She has six children in her care — all under 10. "These kids need something positive in their life, they need that support and that help and they need good role models." "Some of them can’t talk or won’t talk and others, they don’t know how to eat or use a toilet.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 17, 2026 19:35 UTC
Pakūranga shooting: More than $6m of cryptocurrency transferred to accounts linked to 35-year-old man charged with murder of Tuipulotu Vi in Auckland
The 26-year-old was charged with Vi’s murder in October 2024. Two other men from Auckland have also been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting. The 23-year-old was jointly charged with Vi’s murder and granted name suppression at his first appearance in the Manukau District Court. Defence lawyer Scott McColgan represents the two Auckland men charged with Vi’s murder. Operation Mexted led to three US citizens being arrested for possession of the illegal firearms and subsequently charged with importing methamphetamine.
Source:New Zealand Herald
March 17, 2026 19:01 UTC
Crusaders captain David Havili set to miss up to four weeks with foot injury
The Crusaders will be without their captain for the next four weeks after David Havili hurt his heel during the their derby win over the Highlanders last Saturday. As Penney noted, the Crusaders are treating the fact he could return in 3 to 4 weeks as a win, given there were initially fears he had done more damage to his foot. The Crusaders went into last week’s match against the Highlanders with 14 players out injured, five more than the next most dinged up side, the Queensland Reds. Their bulging casualty ward includes long term injuries to pivot James White, who will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, and former All Black Cullen Grace (knee). The Crusaders will face Moana Pasifika at 6.05pm Saturday.
Source:Stuff
March 17, 2026 18:49 UTC
US counterterrorism head quits saying 'Iran posed no imminent threat'
Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center. File photo: ReutersA top security official in US President Donald Trump's administration resigned over the war in Iran on Tuesday, saying the country had posed no imminent threat to the United States. Joe Kent, who headed the National Counterterrorism Center, is the first senior official in Trump's administration to resign over the conflict, now in its third week. Some experts have said an imminent threat would be required for the United States to launch a war under the international law of war. Kent is close with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has kept a low profile since the Iran war began.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 17, 2026 18:48 UTC
Father decries law change: 'We just don't want other people to die'
Photo: ODT filesThe father of a University of Otago student crushed to death at a Dunedin flat party says a law change would stand in the way of his efforts to make the city a safer place. Bede Crestani, who lives in Wellington but has objected to licence applications in Dunedin, said such a change could undermine the work of the Sophia Charter. Alcohol contributed "in a major way" to his daughter's death and he did not want other people to die, he said. Photo: RNZ"Alcohol is responsible for a lot of death and it contributed in a major way to our daughter's death. The change to objections ensured they came from people or organisations with a direct connection to the local community affected, she said.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 17, 2026 18:09 UTC
Coroner: MMA fighter Hakaraia Wilson’s death after Rhythm & Vines self-inflicted
Wilson left the festival in the early hours of January 1 to attend a house party. He made a bed for Mr Wilson on his sofa and last saw him at about 6am on January 1, 2025.”The friend’s mother found him dead at about 8.30am. The coroner also said, “Mr Wilson last saw his general practitioner for a concussion on December 12, 2024. He planned to meet with his coach who intended to refer him to their concussion specialist.”Coroner Duggal said: “Police are satisfied that there is nothing suspicious or untoward in relation to Mr Wilson’s death. “With you always,” the club posted on Instagram after Wilson’s death, alongside a broken heart emoji and a photo of Wilson.
Source:New Zealand Herald
March 17, 2026 17:54 UTC
Domestic assault allegations halt Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season five
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives started as a reality television series following a group of Utah-based TikTok influencers, known as “MomTok,” as they deal with the fallout from the scandal. The same year, Taylor Frankie Paul and Tate Paul separated after she broke the rules of their open marriage and slept with Mortensen. A source close to the cast of the show said other members of MomTok are distancing themselves from her. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives started as a reality television series following a group of Utah-based TikTok influencers, known as “MomTok". “I’ve been criticised, I’ve been judged and I’ve been rejected,” Paul said in a teaser for The Bachelorette.
Source:New Zealand Herald
March 17, 2026 16:49 UTC
Middle East war: a crisis and opportunity for NZ?
Little sustained relief is in sight, particularly after Iran’s retaliatory strikes on the Gulf states continued. Despite being more than 14,000km away, New Zealand has long-standing links with the Middle East, especially in the Gulf region. Wellington has maintained an embassy in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, since 1984. New Zealand’s embassy in Tehran is even older, having opened in 1975 as one of New Zealand’s first two diplomatic missions in the Middle East. While Wellington may be keen to concentrate its efforts on the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East is once again topping New Zealand’s foreign policy agenda.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 17, 2026 16:37 UTC
Draft plan lays out 11.6% rates rise
An 11.6% average rates rise has been proposed for the Queenstown Lakes District. Councillors will be asked to approve the draft annual plan consultation document, which includes the proposed average rates rise, after allowing for a 3.5% growth in the rating database at tomorrow’s full council meeting,Initially, the proposed rates increase was 19%. Council’s assurance, finance and risk general manager Katherine Harbrow said, in a statement, the proposed average rates rise was consistent with what was proposed for year three of its long-term plan. She noted "significant work" had been required to reduce the rates increase and ensure it remained aligned with the council’s original projection. The draft annual plan being presented to councillors tomorrow also included details of the work to deliver the long-term plan (2024-2034) to date.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 17, 2026 16:27 UTC
Worker who groped dementia patient sentenced
Bernard Edward Cameron leaving court yesterday. Photo: Gregor RichardsonA worker at a Dunedin care facility who groped an elderly woman with dementia has avoided a jail sentence. Bernard Edward Cameron, 71, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after earlier admitting three charges of indecent assault. The victim suffered from severe dementia, struggled to speak and could not hold a conversation, the court heard. Yesterday, the victim’s son told the court his mother’s illness made her the "perfect victim" for Cameron’s assaults.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 17, 2026 16:12 UTC
Council likely $41m short of delivering capital spend
Sandy Graham. Photo: suppliedThe Dunedin City Council is shaping to be more than $40 million short of delivering its budgeted capital spend, as mystery surrounds what it will get done next year. The latest capital expenditure forecast is for $190m in the year to June, against a budget of $231m. Capital expenditure for 2025-26 up until the end of January was $81m, or 35.1% of the full-year budget. In December, the forecast capital spend for the financial year had been $204m.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 17, 2026 16:06 UTC
Head clearer after going cold turkey
PHOTO: SUPPLIEDNorth Otago shearing contractor Willy McSkimming is celebrating having a clearer head and stronger body, two years after quitting booze. The 44-year-old started drinking as a young teen, a trend which continued for nearly three decades, while working in shearing sheds. In King Country, there was more work and bigger crews and plenty of opportunities to "get stuck in" to the drinking scene. He and his wife Tess bought the shearing run in King Country in 2005 and operated it for 16 years. They returned to the South, basing themselves in Oamaru, and he sold shearing gear across the South Island for three years.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 17, 2026 16:03 UTC
Chance to enjoy historic collection
The Southland Shafts & Wheels club is holding a free open day at the showgrounds to show off its collection, some of which will be in four-wheeled action, running from 1pm to 4pm. "We wanted to show people what we’re about, and give people a chance to enjoy some of the collection in action. Visitors on the day would get to enjoy free horse-and-wagon rides, and have a go at "long-reining" small ponies, Mrs Dawson said. "It’s not only the children that enjoy it — we find the grown-ups come off with a big smile on their faces, too." Visitors could drop in at any time during the afternoon, and should enter the open day at the showgrounds’ gate 1.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 17, 2026 16:03 UTC
History revealed during farewell to church
Glenkenich Church community representative Lindsay Alderton, left, and church builder descendant Ian Rhodes display the church’s foundation stone and time capsule during a recent ceremony before the church’s removal to Greenvale. Photo: suppliedA 91-year-old hidden secret was revealed — and a long-standing promise fulfilled — during a recent farewell to a much-loved church building. Former parishioners, heritage stakeholders and local residents came together at the former Glenkenich Presbyterian Church earlier this month, to say goodbye before it moved across the district under new ownership. Local descendants and community members gather at Glenkenich Church for a ceremony before its removal to Greenvale recently. Photo: suppliedThe land on which the church was built was donated by local farmer and Presbyterian, Thomas Crossan.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 17, 2026 16:03 UTC