A Gloriavale man who whipped his daughter 12 years ago with a computer cord till she fainted said the punishment was intended to deter her from a romantic relationship with another young member of the Christian community. The girl had become romantically involved with a young man at Gloriavale, but relationships outside of marriage are not permitted there. Judge O’Driscoll said the relationship became widely known among members, leading to Courage feeling pressured to “put an end to it”. Judge O’Driscoll said it was unlikely the incident would have come to light if Courage had not volunteered it. “You were under peer pressure to get your daughter to conform.”Three current Gloriavale members gave evidence in court on Wednesday.

Shaneel Lal was a central figure in the protest against the visit by Keen-Minshull, known as Posie Parker. MANY New Zealander’s thought Marama Davidson’s bewildering woke war on White Cis Males was a stupid thing to say. The Left can’t get dragged into a culture war we will lose! Sean Plunket is back on Twitter, so that attempt to cancel him was not only petty, but it actually provides ammunition to the Political Right. If you can’t contribute but want to help, please always feel free to share our blogs on social media

The Northern Territory is a masterclass in immersive Indigenous culture, of course, but it’s so much more than that. Aboriginal land is private, and much of it requires a permit to enter – and even to pass through. He started Saltwater Cultural Tours Darwin in 2020 with the tagline, “Culture. On the SEIT Uluru tour, discover its ancient lore in the form of its Creation Stories of Liru (poisonous snake) and Kuniya (python). On a SEIT Uluru tour, learn why Uluru remains an important place for educating young Aboriginal people.

By Mike Blackburn*Like so many industries, the residential construction sector is subject to external market influences (things that happen and effect your business that you have no control over). Over the past 30 years, the residential construction market here in Canterbury has seen several boom, then bust, then boom cycles. So, what happens to residential construction during a recession? The end result is that the number of new residential construction activity will fall. So, in fact, the residential building sector is already in a recession and probably has been for most of the past year.

“There is no policy, there’s no framework, there’s no real regulatory mechanism, there’s no best practice, and there’s no legal oversight,” Dr Hattotuwa told RNZ News. “Every institutional mechanism and framework that was established during the pandemic to deal with disinformation has now been dissolved. There is nothing that I know in the public domain of what the government is doing with regards to disinformation,” Dr Hattotuwa said. Dr Hattotuwa said Ardern had led the world in her own rhetoric around the problem, but real action now needed to be taken. There has been no translation into policy around that which she articulated publicly, so I think that needs to occur.

Such is the impact of South African imports on New Zealand cricket that the Black Caps could select a competitive team made up entirely of them. It includes five players who have already represented New Zealand – Chad Bowes, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rippon and Neil Wagner. Bowes, a hard-hitting opener, became the Black Caps’ latest SA-born cricketer when he made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka last month. Former Northerns Titans fast bowler Wagner has taken 258 wickets for the Black Caps in 63 Tests since making his debut in 2012, but opening batsman Conway is undoubtedly New Zealand’s best South African import. New Zealand’s South African-born XI: Chad Bowes, Devon Conway, Brad Schmulian, Dean Foxcroft, Glenn Phillips, Dale Phillips, Cole Briggs (wk), Michael Rippon, Neil Wagner, Travis Muller, Ray Toole.

Or are they? It’s the end of the start of the year, it’s just six months to the election, and it’s time to revisit the party leaders’ big picture scene-setting state of the nation speeches. Not all leaders gave one, but we won’t let that stop us from coughing them ...

Tina Catlow continued to run Weavers Restaurant & Functions in Mosgiel, following the death of her father Blackie. PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSONAfter nearly six years of working seven days a week, Tina Catlow has cooked her last meal at Mosgiel institution Weavers Restaurant & Functions. The recent closure of the business marked the end of two eras; the demise of Weavers — its name a nod to the Mosgiel Woollen Mill — after more than 25 years, and the Catlow name in hospitality in the area. After many years of operating the Wingatui racecourse function centre, and then Mosgiel Station Restaurant and Function Centre, he moved to Weavers in 2017. Weavers was home to a large amount of woollen mill memorabilia which was destined for the Taieri Historical Society, she said.

Members of Temuka Tractor Club took three days to chug 292km from their homes in South Canterbury to Wanaka, via Kurow, to take part in the Wheels at Wanaka Show this weekend. Tractor enthusiast Andrew Davey (right), of Temuka, was embarrassed to break down in Wanaka's busy main street just on noon yesterday. Mr Mulligan told the Otago Daily Times the problem was with the gear selector. Tractor enthusiasts (front from left) Margaret King, Graeme Urquhart, Kelleigh Urquhart, all of Temuka, Russell Mulligan, of Darfield, and Wayne Loomes, of Temuka. Mr Mulligan said the unscheduled main street display was nothing compared to getting to the show in 2021.

Photo: GettyWhile the Ministry of Social Development is adamant it does have "emergency housing available" in Queenstown-Lakes, that claim is being disputed locally. Last week, Queenstown mayor Glyn Lewers told Mountain Scene there was no emergency housing in the area — something the ministry denies. In a statement, MSD Southern regional commissioner Steph Voight says not only is emergency housing available there, but "emergency housing special needs grants" are paid to those who meet eligibility criteria and are subject to an income and asset test. Emergency housing, MSD says, is typically short-term solutions in motels, backpackers or boarding houses. "The government does not have emergency housing in this district.’’She says while emergency housing is available as a safe house for those fleeing a domestic violence situation, that’s "very short term" and "very different" to housing people living and working in the district.

With trust in NZ Media at an all time low, I wondered what was the list of topics that you simply are NOT allowed to discuss on NZ mainstream media. Here were my thoughts over 30 years in NZ media. Palestine: You can not talk about the brutal occupation of Palestine by Israel in NZ media. It’s never climate change for this catastrophic weather event: Catastrophic weather event after catastrophic weather event but it’s never connected to global warming! Scoops: No NZ media will ever acknowledge another medias scoop despite a united front being able to generate more exposure and better journalism.

Photo: NZ HeraldSix people have been arrested as two Auckland dairies were the target of ram raids overnight. Police took the teenagers, aged from 13 to 16, into custody after a ram raid on a Rothesay Bay dairy on Beach Rd in the city’s north early this morning. The helicopter crew had been looking for an unrelated vehicle when they saw a car speeding away from the ram raid at 3.55am, police said. The youths will appear in Youth Court at a later date.”Another superette, this time in Howick, was targeted at 5am. "A second car, believed to have also been used by the offender/s, was located on fire in Ōtara,” a police spokeswoman said.

nzherald.co.nz published this video item, entitled “Generosity continues with kids’ swimming lessons | Local Focus” – below is their description. Students from Eskdale School have been enjoying free swimming lessons at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Aquatic Centre, one of many local organisations stepping in to support children unable to use their usual extracurricular facilities due to damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. Full story: https://bit.ly/lf1553Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. Subscribe and be notified of breaking news: https://goo.gl/LP45jXCheck out our playlists: https://goo.gl/Swd249Like NZ Herald on Facebook: https://goo.gl/tUC4oqFollow NZ Herald on Instagram: https://goo.gl/oLicXeFollow NZ Herald on Twitter: https://goo.gl/Wi6mbvnzherald.co.nz YouTube Channel

Hey Uncle Dave, Tried to take a ferry lately?A.R.D FerryburnHi there A.R.D. Seems like a distant dream now, the days when you would have a ferry turn up on time all day long and you just got on and glided. Been taking them as little as possible and certainly not ...

Photo: ODT filesA Dunedin man who left his friend for dead in a pool of his own blood has been declined parole again. Jason Karl Blackler (53) saw the Parole Board last month where he told them he was intent on completing anti-violence rehabilitation. He made a phone call to her in which he said he might have killed his friend, the jury heard at trial. The Parole Board, however, was unimpressed with his release plan. He was urged to reconsider that stance before his next parole hearing in September.