Entries open for creative festival
Winners of the 2025 Mountain Film and Book Festival show off their awards. PHOTO: SUPPLIEDEntries for the NZ Mountain Film and Book Festival are now open. NZ Mountain Film and Book Festival director Whitney Oliver says the opening of entries is always a highlight in the annual calendar. ‘‘This year’s programme is bound to raise the bar once again.’’Entries for the NZ Mountain Book Competition close on March 15, entries to the NZ Mountain Film Competition close on April 15 and Adventure Film School registrations close on April 1. ‘‘Supporting homegrown creatives is central to the mission of the NZ Mountain Film Festival Charitable Trust, which champions New Zealand arts, culture, environment and outdoor lifestyles,’’organisers said.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 31, 2026 15:03 UTC
Powerhouse arts benefactors
Since the Chicago couple started summering here in the early 2000s, they’ve become major local arts philanthropists. They funded global consultant Adrian Ellis to prepare a strategic plan for arts in the Queenstown-Lakes district, out of which the Three Lakes Cultural Trust was established, with their support. They then put several million dollars into getting Queenstown arts and cultural centre Te Atamira established in 2022, while stressing it was also a group effort with founding director Olivia Egerton playing a pivotal role. Explaining their support for the arts, Abby’s stated: ‘‘The arts soothe our souls and add so much richness and vitality and dimension to our individual lives as well as to the community as a whole. ‘‘In these uncertain and challenging times, we need the arts more than ever.’’As to how they discovered Queenstown, Carroll says ironically when he was just nine his family almost moved from California to Nelson.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 31, 2026 15:03 UTC
New role after closure
Back on point: Queenstown acupuncturist Daisuke Hiratsuka and new hire Jingying ‘Jazmin’ Woo. PICTURE: AYAKA MORITAQueenstown acupuncturist Jingying Woo has been thrown a lifeline by a fellow practitioner of the traditional Chinese therapy. Woo’s future in the resort was placed in jeopardy in November after her employer, Queenstown Health, was suddenly closed and put in liquidation. She told Mountain Scene last month she’d been ‘‘thrown in a hole’’ by the clinic’s collapse, as she’d been on a sponsored five-year visa. However, when he later heard she hadn’t had any luck securing a new job, he began thinking about sponsoring her himself.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 31, 2026 15:03 UTC
Mount Maunganui landslide: Rotorua grandmother's remains identified
Rotorua woman Susan Knowles has been formally identified as a victim of the Mt Maunganui landslide. Photo: SuppliedThe remains of Rotorua property manager Susan Knowles have been formally identified by the coroner. Susan Doreen Knowles, from Ngongotahā, was one of two Rotorua women who were victims of the deadly Mount Maunganui landslide. The significant landslide took in its wake tents, caravans and structures when it swept through the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, and the Mount Hot Pools, on Thursday, January 22, at 9.29am. However, that soon became a recovery operation, which remains ongoing, as Disaster Victim Identification and Search and Rescue teams work to recover the remains of those lost.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 31, 2026 13:47 UTC
England cricketer admits lying about nightclub incident
England whiteball captain Harry Brooks. The Daily Telegraph had reported Brook, Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue were at the nightclub. The New Zealand tour was Brook's first as captain of England's whiteball side. In an interview with BBC Sport last week, Brook said some players had gone with him to get some food in Wellington. When he apologised to the England team and fans last week, Brook rejected suggestions the side had a drinking culture.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 31, 2026 13:47 UTC
Thousands turn up to protest in Auckland, Destiny Church bridge walk blocked
The Freedom and Rights Coalition, an umbrella organisation created by Destiny Church, gathered at Victoria Park. Photo / Dean PurcellAround 1200 people crowded Victoria Park to listen to Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki before making their way down to the motorway entrance. Police said the roads around Victoria Park were closed to motorists as a “precautionary measure”. The crowd gathered at 11am, before making the short walk up Beaumont St at midday, following a speech from Tamaki. Brian Tamaki and his protesters turn back after police block them from accessing the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 31, 2026 12:27 UTC
Army bomb squad called to Auckland beach after dangerous device spotted in water
Members of the NZDF responded to the scene, at Okoromai Bay, on the Whangaparāoa Peninsula, in Auckland early this evening. “After establishing a cordon around the beach at Okoromai Bay to prevent public access, the NZDF Explosive Ordnance Disposal team destroyed the item via a controlled demolition,” a spokeswoman said. A resident near Okoromai Bay, Auckland, said their house shook after an explosion just before 6pm. Image / Google“It shook our house and we were in a bit of a shock. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 31, 2026 12:11 UTC
More than 40 rescued before tourist boat capsizes
Chris Friedman and girlfriend Alona, after the boat they were on sank in Akaroa. Photo: Chris FriedmanA passenger aboard a tourist boat that ran aground outside Akaroa Heads on Banks Peninsula on Saturday says some on board were panicked and crying, when they realised the vessel was in trouble. More than 40 passengers and crew were evacuated to nearby boats, when the Black Cat Cruises catamaran ran into difficulty at Nikau Palm Valley Bay about 12.20pm Saturday. "We put on our life preservers and we saw that a number of other vessels, private vessels, were surrounding us. Black Cat Cruises said it's the first time in more than 40 years that anything like that had happened.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 31, 2026 11:11 UTC
Scott Watson denied parole for fifth time
Photo: Pool / John Kirk-AndersonConvicted double-murderer Scott Watson has been declined parole for a fifth time, with the parole board suggesting he address a number of their concerns ahead of his next appearance later this year. Dressed in a standard-issue prison uniform grey tracksuit, Watson sat alongside his lawyer Kerry Cook at the hearing on Friday. "If I disregarded my safety plan, I think in no time I would just fall over, flat on my face." She said specialised assessment would help to better understand the personality aspects of Watson's risk, which informed what he was capable of and the approach taken for his release. Watson is due to reappear before the parole board in November.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 31, 2026 11:09 UTC
One in five schools scrutinised by ERO needs support or intervention
ERO is unable to tell RNZ if it's making more recommendations for support or intervention in schools than in the past. Photo: Getty ImagesOne in five schools recently scrutinised by the Education Review Office needs external support or intervention. ERO was unable to tell RNZ if it was making more recommendations for support or intervention than in the past. However, it said it was "building a tracker" to indicate what types of support or intervention it recommended most. Among the 21 review reports recommending support or intervention, 17 called for new action and five recommended continuing existing measures.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 31, 2026 09:56 UTC
Wellington night sky lit up by ‘meteorite’ flying overhead
“Everyone’s calling it a meteorite.”The International Meteor Organisation shared to Facebook early this morning that an 11-tonne Chinese rocket re-entered the atmosphere at 12.39am UTC (1.39am NZT). The rocket re-entered the atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean, 800km south of New Zealand, according to the US Space Force. “I thought I was going a bit insane.”Carl saw green and red in the sky. “It had a really long green tail.”On popular Facebook group Vic Deals, one user posted, “I just saw the most mental-looking shooting star over Wellington”. Sammy Carter is a journalist for the New Zealand Herald covering news in the Wellington region.
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 31, 2026 03:01 UTC
General Debate 31 January 2026
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Source:New Zealand Herald
January 31, 2026 01:54 UTC
Community pays tribute to 'true Southern girl'
Police are continuing to investigate the incident that took place at the Adams Flat Rd home shared by Dr Clark and her partner Malcolm Duff. The Otago Daily Times understands Dr Clark was allegedly stabbed multiple times in the back during the incident. Dr Clark was community minded and was always willing to take student vets under her wing. Police had completed a scene examination and were appealing to the rural community for information on the suspected homicide of Dr Clark yesterday. "It’s a rural community, so most people in the rural community know each other.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 31, 2026 01:11 UTC
Suspect-catching chef puts company in liquidation
Glenn Manning has put his barbecue-style food truck The Smokin’ Que in liquidation. PHOTOS: SUPPLIEDA Christchurch chef who helped police catch a suspected car thief has put his business owing $247,000 in voluntary liquidation. The Smokin’ Que co-owner Glenn Manning handcuffed and restrained one of two youths on the run after they were spotted in a stolen vehicle. The company, registered in 2020, was placed in liquidation by Mr Manning and joint shareholder Hannah Comyns. Mr Hunt said the director took professional advice before placing the company in voluntary liquidation.
Source:Otago Daily Times
January 31, 2026 00:15 UTC
Can the NZ Left win the 2026 Election? Should it win?
With the rise of NZ First making a Labour/Green/MP Government less likely (thanks to Eru, Doc, Mariameno and alienating woke identity politics inside the Greens), the question this election year, can the NZ Left win, and should it? NZ Labour have lost their mojo and aren’t sure what they stand for any longer. They also recognise the need for a united front with the Māori Party in any post election negotiations with Labour which will force Labour away from being incremental. There is still a scenario where the Māori Party hold onto 4 Māori electorates and with a low Party vote generates an MMP Overhang. So what are the best, worst and most likely outcomes this year for the NZ Left in the 2026 Election?
Source:New Zealand Herald
January 30, 2026 23:58 UTC