Highlanders lock Fabian Holland works on his rehabilitation at team headquarters yesterday. Photo: HighlandersFabian Holland has never met the new All Blacks coach but is hoping to take a trip to South Africa with him later this year. Holland confirmed his hope was to be fit and firing by the time the All Blacks left for the Greatest Rivalry tour of South Africa in early August. "We’ve been doing a bit of planning and we’re aiming to be ready for selection for the South African tour. "Everything’s going good.

PHOTOS: SHAWN MCAVINUEThe Wānaka A&P Show is a must-attend event for three generations of a Maniototo merino breeding family. New Zealand Merino Stud Breeders’ Society chairman Simon Paterson said Wānaka A&P Show was the feature event on the merino showing calendar. The Patersons continued a long-held family tradition of renting a crib and entering merino sheep in show competitions last week. More than 20 Armidale merino sheep, a mix of ewes and rams, were entered in livestock competitions this year. He was the third generation of his family to take merino sheep to the show, beginning with his grandfather Bruce.

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 court heard that the defendant was a handyman at the care home and the sex attack came near the anniversary of his wife’s death. Yesterday, the victim’s son told the court his mother’s illness made her the "perfect victim" for Cameron’s assaults.

Photo: RNZLabour leader Chris Hipkins says he did consider his future in politics after his ex-wife levelled claims at him on social media, but he remains "absolutely committed" to staying on. Hipkins appeared on a suite of morning media shows on Wednesday - including Morning Report - where he again flatly denied all the claims, but said he would not be litigating them in public for the sake of his children. The claims are not criminal and relate to a lack of support for his ex-wife Jade Paul during and after their relationship. Speaking on Morning Report, Hipkins acknowledged he had considered stepping down, noting the impact on his family. "Social media certainly has emboldened a lot of people, and, you know, we have a virtual vigilante approach on social media that anybody in a public profile role now has to contend with.

Dunedin’s average home value increased by 2.6% over the summer to $652,147, bucking the national trend. "It’s interesting to note the relative strength of property values across much of the South Island compared with the North Island. Nationally, he said the housing market remained in a state of "steady as she goes" for now. "Listing levels and buyer demand are relatively well balanced, helping to keep property values broadly stable for the time being. "This will inevitably have implications for the housing market in the year ahead, as interest rates, employment trends and overall economic conditions continue to shape housing market activity."

During his evidence, the doctor said Smith may have benefited from an air ambulance transfer to Hutt Hospital. The national burns unit takes patients who have burns to 30% of their bodies. Shaw also asked Fullarton whether burn patients received suboptimal care because of the lack of a co-located burns unit and ICU. "I would say if you had to redesign the unit now, you would have the burns unit next to a major trauma centre. She said they would have liked it if he had been sent to Hutt Hospital straight away, but she couldn’t say what difference it would have made.

“Higher interest rates now would not prevent the oil-related rise in inflation already in train.”Meanwhile, hiking interest rates sooner would likely compound any downturn in economic activity caused by the rising cost of living. So, even with a substantial lift in the inflation outlook, Westpac still expects the RBNZ will be hesitant to hike rates sooner than previously anticipated. Last week, I answered a question about why the Reserve Bank continued to cut interest rates even though inflation was rising last year. There has to be some sense of realism about how high interest rates can go without utterly crushing an economy. Too much can inflate an economy and flatter economic growth, which won’t look so good on a per capita basis.

Photo: RNZSeven Oranga Tamariki workers are accused of bashing two teenagers - or failing to stop them being hit - in a tiny phone room at an Auckland youth justice facility. Prosecutors said the staff had gratuitously assaulted the boys after the teens had barricaded themselves in the two-by-1.5 metre room for more than an hour. The investigation that led to today's charges was not sparked by a complaint from the boys, but other case workers had noticed their injuries. Shannon Withers, defending one of the men with name suppression, said the Crown case was "inferences at best, guesses and speculation at worst." Emma Priest, for another with name suppression, noted the text messages the Crown was relying on for some of its case should be taken with a grain of salt.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis. Photo: RNZFinance Minister Nicola Willis might be being optimistic if she thinks inflation at 3.7 percent is a "worst case scenario", one economist says. "My instinctive reaction to the number from the Finance Minster yesterday of 3.7 percent being a worst-case scenario ... it felt too light to be a worst-case scenario." Westpac said it now did not expect inflation to get below 3 percent until the end of the year. ANZ said it did not think the change to the outlook for inflation would affect its official cash rate predictions yet.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.