Stories by Ian Telfer

Otago regional council has agreed to go against its own policy and step in to keep four Dunedin school bus routes on the road.

Labour's water tax policy is giving National and other parties something solid to fight as they try to blunt Labour's rapid resurgence. Video

A gang member who tried to hide a bag of meth on Dunedin's airport roof has told a court his addiction made him feel invincible.

Brett Paterson, 32, who grew up in the resort town, is among those who have tried but failed to buy a section as prices spiral out of reach. Audio

A Southland town that welcomed hundreds of freedom campers into its main domain is split on whether to expand the area.

Farmers in flood-hit Otago are to get extra government support including rural assistance payments.

Three people are on the shortlist to replace the disgraced Southland MP Todd Barclay after a prominent farmer was rejected.

The cost of a new Dunedin hospital could blow out to $1 billion, three times the previous estimate, a Labour MP says.

The future of a council-owned holiday park is under review, but foreign workers say they can't afford to live anywhere else in the town. Video

A $100 million project to double the size of Queenstown's landmark gondola ride has been challenged as a deadly fire risk. Audio

Public health teams are visiting five primary schools after the discovery of raised lead levels.

The government and a Central Otago council are challenged to do more to stop an invasive water weed investing Lake Dunstan.

New homes in South Dunedin will have to be built up to a metre higher above the ground because of the area's 2015 flood.

They sit next to each other at council meetings, but Horowhenua's mayor says he can only talk to his CEO about work within a new committee.

A red tape tangle has delayed the release of a much-anticipated new strain of rabbit virus by at least a year.

Dunedin's council is launching a public campaign to have the government commit to keeping the hospital in the inner city.

Much of South Dunedin housing will be at sea level or below in just 17 years, an Otago academic has warned.

The biggest-ever Dunedin Fringe Festival has kicked off with almost twice the number of acts it had two years ago.

A cheese factory is just one of the latest expansions for Oamaru's manufacturing industry, and its population growth is defying predictions. Video

Cromwell families are living in motor camps, tents and caravans because they cannot find a house to rent, locals say. Video

First Person - The Auckland Islands show what a predator-free New Zealand could be like. Reporter Ian Telfer travelled there and found native plants and animals thriving in an inhospitable climate.

The main breeding colony of New Zealand sea lions has had a bumper year, after two decades of decline,

Workers at the country's fastest-growing video-gaming studio have unlimited leave, no middle managers and share in the profits - "it's not just about being altruistic or anything, it's just good…

A union official who stole almost $55,000 from a meatworkers members' fund told friends he was making the money from horse-racing.

A push for Dunedin to be run by a unitary council is gaining momentum, and might spark a full review of local government across Otago.