Southland

Police have received more than 50 calls from people offering information about the disappearance of Amber-Lee Cruickshank, since a $100,000 reward was offered a fortnight ago.

The group from Thornbury Vintage Tractor Club will set off on Sunday from Invercargill in a 1983 Massey Ferguson 20D tractor to complete the 1200 kilometre round trip to Christchurch.

Work is already under way to have Fiordland recognised as a Dark Sky Park, with hopes it would bring domestic and international visitors to the region.

Late autumn chills have set in for Otago and the lower South Island, with a further bite on the way.

Environmental experts checking on contamination at Tiwai Point aluminium smelter are looking at 400 samples from 200 sites.

A decision to let a friend drive him home left a Southland man and his family needing to rebuild their shattered life.

Fire fighters spent last night battling two small vegetation fires in high winds, and much of the South Island and parts of the lower North Island are being warned to prepare for severe weather today.

One person has been taken to hospital with burns after a house fire in Bluff this morning.

A rāhui has officially been enacted today to help protect the Foveaux Strait oyster fishery from the potential spread of a deadly parasite.

Almost two-thirds of senior doctors and dentists in Otago and Southland feel burnt out, according to a survey from a union representing the salaried workers.

A post-mortem has confirmed that a body found in a wooded area of central Invercargill last week is that of missing man Raymond Horn.

A body found in a wooded area of Invercargill is believed to be that of missing man Raymond Horn.

A Rahui will be placed on an area in Foveaux Strait following the discovery of a deadly parasite that could put the entire bluff oyster trade at risk.

An inner-city revamp of Invercargill is helping to future proof a regional centre, Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash says.

"Catastrophic" consequences of environmental damage and even loss of life is being forecast from sea level rise breaching a giant landfill including toxic waste at Tiwai Point aluminium smelter in…

The smelter which produced toxic waste that eventually ended up stored in a small Southland town says the material is still being moved, despite reports to the contrary.

The government has suspended talks over the Bluff aluminium smelter until it gets environmental commitments over cleaning up its landfill and spent cell-liner waste.