Firm to help in council CEO hunt
Photo: ODT filesA recruitment agency’s previous interaction with the Dunedin City Council is unrelated to its involvement in selecting a chief executive, the council says. Sheffield South Island has been appointed by the council to help in the hunt for a chief executive and advertising is expected to start on Monday. Ms Graham started a five-year contract as chief executive in 2020 and the council ended up offering her a one-year extension last year. Any previous engagement between the council and Sheffield was unrelated to the chief executive recruitment and selection process, a council spokesman said. The council undertook an open-market process to choose a recruitment agency, which resulted in Sheffield’s selection, the spokesman said.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 20, 2026 15:40 UTC
Crash rescue impeded by live wires
Two people were stuck in a vehicle for more than two hours surrounded by live power lines after a crash at Milburn closed the road for most of the morning yesterday. However, rescuers had to stand well back due to a plethora of live wires surrounding the crash on the Waihola Highway, south of Dunedin. The crashed vehicle was a removal truck with two occupants inside, one of whom had to be airlifted to Dunedin Hospital. He said the crash site was a "complex" spot in terms of power. Emergency services prepare to extract the occupant of a truck after hours of them being stuck inside the cab while injured and surrounded by live wires.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 20, 2026 15:39 UTC
Rivers will be roaring during race
Four-time world champ Canadian Gord Humphrey, pictured burning up Alberta’s Peace River, will take on local rivers this weekend. For some thrilling jetboat racing at close quarters, the banks of Queenstown’s lower Shotover River will make a good viewing spot early afternoon this today. River Racing NZ’s Otago Series River Race takes place on Glenorchy’s Dart River, from 9am, then in the afternoon the boats will race — from about 2pm — down the Kawarau River, from Kelvin Heights, up the Shotover, then back, before repeating the course. The unlimited class will include four-time world champion Gord Humphrey, from Canada, who will race his 1650 horsepower turbine-powered boat, Unnatural Disaster. ‘‘The water’s good, actually, at the moment and the weather’s looking good for the weekend, so hope for the best.’’For details on race times, see River Racing NZ’s Facebook page.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 20, 2026 15:33 UTC
Sewage plant failure: air trapped in pipes, report says
Photo: RNZThe catastrophic failure of the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant may have been caused by air trapped in the pipes, a report reveals. The Wellington plant failed on February 4 this year, flooding the facility and sending millions of litres of raw sewage into the sea each day. Wellington Water commissioned the engineering report the day after the failure to understand how the plant could be operated during the recovery. "The report found that air can become trapped in the wastewater bypass pipeline, particularly when there is a high flow of wastewater passing through the plant. He described what could have happened: "Sometimes you pull the plug out of your sink, and it doesn't go down as fast as you think, because it starts going glug, glug, glug, glug, glug... it's that type of effect.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 20, 2026 15:27 UTC
Landlords sought to plug in to solar
The Queenstown Electrification Accelerator’s about to start a ‘solar for renters’ trial in the Queenstown-Lakes. The Queenstown Electrification Accelerator (QEA) is about to kick in to a solar trial, aimed at ensuring residential and commercial renters can benefit from solar power, despite not owning the roof. While landlords participating in the trial will still have to pay for the solar system — which could range from $10,000 to about $30,000 — she says it’ll be a ‘‘shared benefits model’’. ‘‘The landlord purchases the solar system [and] the tenant has lower-cost energy — so they still pay for any kilowatt hours that they’ve consumed from solar, for example, but it’s at lower costs than the grid. QEA’s looking to close off applications for the ‘solar for renters trial’ within the next two months and expects it, once systems are installed, to last about a year.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 20, 2026 15:12 UTC
How one meeting erased pay equity claims for thousands
Photo: E Tū UnionHow pay equity became lawTo understand the impact of that March meeting, it helps to step back. Pay equity specialist Amy Ross, the former head of the pay equity taskforce, said those briefings exposed what she said was a long-held, ideological view among the agencies: that pay equity was nothing but a risk to the government. Officials responded with a screenshot from MBIE's website explaining that pay parity and pay equity were two different things, and both were legislated requirements in the Equal Pay Act. Van Velden's advisory followed up with questions wanting to know the broader "consequences" of the interaction between pay parity and pay equity. Taken together, the changes fundamentally reshaped how pay equity claims could be brought in New Zealand.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 20, 2026 09:46 UTC
'Worst it's ever been': Call to involve public in deer control
There are increasing complaints around the deer population in Westland. One board member yesterday described it as "the worst it's ever been in South Westland". The board called on more public help in controlling deer numbers. "There is a huge public interest in controlling deer numbers. The deer numbers are going up and everybody's complaining about it, but I think there is an obligation to involve the public," Mr Wilson said.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 20, 2026 09:07 UTC
Why travelling to America in 2026 is still worthwhile
In 2022, jet-lagged and travelling with my family, I made a sarcastic remark to a border agent. When I visited LA in June last year, solo, I tried the new Mobile Passport Control (MPC) app. It’s available for Australian and New Zealand passport holders travelling on an electronic system for travel authorisation (ESTA). Later at the Cody Rodeo, a bloke in a red cap sitting beside me explained rodeo rules for two hours. Because of Nino, Katia, my rodeo friend, and the countless others like them who just want to share their country.
Source:New Zealand Herald
March 20, 2026 08:12 UTC
Mira Sorvino Thinks She Would Have Had ‘Bigger’ Career If She Wasn’t Blacklisted by Harvey Weinstein
Mira Sorvino has suggested that she would have had a “bigger” Hollywood career if she hadn’t been “blacklisted” by disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein. “I was blacklisted for 20 years,” Sorvino alleged on the Wednesday, March 18, episode of Sophia Bush’s “Work in Progress” podcast. While she followed up her Oscar win with appearances in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion and Mimic, Sorvino told Bush that she paid a price for turning down Weinstein’s advances. She told the New Yorker that Weinstein actively sabotaged her career when she rejected his advances multiple times in the 1990s. Advertisement Advertisement“There's a second wave of that sorrow and broken-heartedness right now because of the Epstein Files,” the actress said.
Source:Stuff
March 20, 2026 08:11 UTC
Serious crash in Kawarau Gorge
Map: NZTAA person has been critically injured in a crash affecting a major highway in Central Otago. Police said they received a report of a single-vehicle crash on State Highway 6 (Gibbston Highway), near the Roaring Meg Lookout in the Kawarau Gorge, about 5.20pm today. "One person received critical injuries." A Fire and Emergency NZ crew from Cromwell attended and a rescue helicopter was sent to the scene also. A spokesman for the New Zealand Transport Agency said the crash was near the Cardrona-Roaring Meg Pack Track intersection.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 20, 2026 07:52 UTC
The Bachelorette canned after star’s violent video emerges
The video, obtained by entertainment outlet TMZ, shows Paul lashing out at Dakota Mortensen, her partner at the time. In the footage, apparently filmed by Mortensen on a mobile phone, Paul rains abuse on him, kicks him and gets him in a headlock. Taylor Frankie Paul was arrested in February 2023 on multiple charges, including domestic violence in the presence of a minor. Paul, a social media influencer, went viral in 2022 after revealing she and her then-husband had been “soft-swinging” with other Mormon couples. “She is currently exploring all of her options, seeking support, and preparing to own and share her story.”– Agence France-Presse
Source:New Zealand Herald
March 20, 2026 07:20 UTC
Family’s anger after man who killed nearly three decades ago kills again
She told RNZ she was “p***ed off” with the system, had many questions, and wanted an independent inquiry into the mental health system. Parr was not seen again by mental health services until April 15, 1997, after he was found semi-conscious in a carport at Maulolo’s property. In the weeks leading up to his mother’s death, his mental health was “rapidly declining”, Justice Karen Grau said. In May 2024, after an altercation with a relative, he was admitted to a mental health facility. When RNZ first revealed the case, she called for a royal commission of inquiry into forensic mental health facilities.
Source:New Zealand Herald
March 20, 2026 06:17 UTC
Anxiety and poorer outcomes: How Kiwi parents’ phone use impacts our children’s mental health
How future relationships or connections might be impacted by seeing the person biologically programmed to focus on you, focusing on a phone instead. I didn’t want my son to remember me as a mum who had her face buried in a phone. I also wanted to understand how this perceived lack of presence could impact him and a future generation of Kiwi kids. Parents spoke to children less, responded more slowly, and showed less emotional sensitivity when a device was present. Wallace says the current generation of parents has been a bit of a “social experiment”, and the results are only starting to play out, but parents need to be far more aware of the impact interruptions with tech have.
Source:New Zealand Herald
March 20, 2026 06:03 UTC
Former mayor caught speeding five times
Dame Kerry Prendergast. Photo: LinkedInA former Wellington mayor has admitted to having her driver's licence suspended after being caught speeding five times. Prendergast admitted it while discussing whether speeding fines should be raised to reduce road deaths. "I've learnt my lesson and I won't be speeding because I cannot go through the trauma of losing my licence again." Her grandchildren were "shocked to find that their grandmother had been caught speeding not just once but five times".
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 20, 2026 05:53 UTC
Four-year-old praised after emergency call helps save mum from seizure
Nichols managed to contact Alan, who was only a few minutes away, while keeping Asher on the phone. Alan rushed home to discover Asher on the bed alongside his mum with the phone in his hand. “I’m just super proud of Asher.”Asher dialled 111 after his mum, Rue Kessell, suffered a seizure and fell unconscious. “We taught him to dial 111 and when the person answered to say his name, where he lives and the house number,” Rue said. The way he answered questions and checked on his mum was in a class of its own.”
Source:New Zealand Herald
March 20, 2026 05:32 UTC