Latest News

The 2026 NZ Bird Conference and Birds New Zealand AGM will be held in Wānaka on King’s Birthday weekend at the Lake Wānaka Centre. About 200 ornithologists and bird enthusiasts are registered to attend Aotearoa New Zealand's largest annual conference on birds and bird research, which has been held in a different location every year since 2005 (except 2020).

Police say it’s extremely fortunate that they weren’t dealing with a fatality in a three-car vehicle collision late yesterday afternoon (20 May) at Arrow Junction, where there have been a number of accidents recently.

Battle lines are being drawn over the country's energy future, with Labour promising to pull the plug on a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal if it wins the next election. MPs and leaders from six parties clashed over fossil fuels, blackouts, power prices and whether the country's biggest electricity companies should be broken up at an energy debate in Queenstown on Monday afternoon.

People head into council offices for many reasons: to register a dog, attend a meeting, report an issue, or get advice in person. But which location best suits the future needs of our community, and why?

The two victims of an alleged grievous assault at a Hallenstein Street address just after 11pm on 8 May – one who was in a critical condition and one serious, have both been discharged from hospital, one facing further surgery, Police say.

Weeks before ski field lifts usually start spinning, Queenstown's Coronet Peak has flipped the switch on a $2 million "snow factory" to lay down the first coat in Autumn. Crews have started producing snow from a high-tech fridge-like machine housed in shipping containers that can operate in temperatures of up to 20 degrees.

The fast-track referral of a sprawling gondola and housing proposal - despite council warnings about missing details and limited benefit - is being described by a Queenstown councillor as a real disappointment.

An expansion to Lakes District Hospital's emergency department in Queenstown will begin within months as part of a $180 million boost to healthcare in the Otago Central Lakes area.

Emergency services are warning motorists to take extra care heading into the season of “frosty mornings and slippery roads” after a concerning number of traffic crashes around the Wakatipu recently before winter even arrives.

From speeds clocked at up to 140km/hr to festival-going drink drivers allegedly well over the legal limit, some driving only a short distance to get home, Police say they were out in force “with a razor-sharp focus” these past few weeks.

Kiwi Park Queenstown is delighted to announce and celebrate a new arrival! A baby kiwi hatched at our site on 26 March. This is the first successful hatching at our park for two years.

Brazen thieves have continued to hit local tradies hard targeting expensive tools, this time in nighttime smash-and-grab-style vehicle break-ins on work vehicles parked outside their homes.

Five local men have been arrested by the Queenstown CIB on alleged cocaine charges in the last two weeks, with Police warning such activities will not be tolerated. Sergeant Blair Duffy says the five men were arrested for the alleged sale and supply of cocaine – a Class A drug.

With a spate of property fires around the Wakatipu Basin in recent months, the most recent destroying a tiny house at Glenorchy last Wednesday, Fire and Emergency NZ staff are warning people to take basic precautions.

Construction is progressing well on Coronet Peak’s new SnowFactory as NZSki gears up for a guaranteed early start to winter. While temperatures in Queenstown reached freezing levels this week, Coronet Peak and TechnoAlpin crew have been busy up the mountain installing the $2million-plus SnowFactory, which will eventually be capable of producing 200 cubic metres of snow each day. For perspective, the SnowFactory could cover an entire rugby field with 10cm of snow in just over three days.

Burglars have been targeting newly completed Jack’s Point homes and construction sites nabbing spray painting equipment and paint worth nearly $17,000 recently, prompting Police to warn tradies and homeowners to beware.

Fire completely engulfed and destroyed a sleepout-tiny house in Birley Rise, just outside Glenorchy, yesterday afternoon (15 April), with two volunteer Queenstown Fire crews and a Glenorchy Fire crew all involved in fighting the blaze, which started about 2.30pm.

In a positive step for Queenstown's event scene, Ayrburn's 2026 series including the Ayrburn Car Classic, Carl Cox, and The Dudes has achieved an average of 80% diversion from landfill. This means that four-fifths of the waste generated at these popular gatherings was kept out of dumpsites through recycling, composting, or other reuse methods, rather than being buried and forgotten.

The conflict in the Middle East has prompted increased interest in multi-million-dollar New Zealand properties, the head of a luxury real estate company says. Changes to the so-called Golden Visa came into effect a year ago, and Immigration Minister Erica Stanford recently updated the investment that had been made so far.

Australians warned – Sling shot fired: two young Australian men were arrested for wilful damage and formally warned after Police received a report of what sounded like a possible shot being fired through a glass window at 9pm on Tuesday, 7 April, following a parking dispute at a downtown Queenstown Airbnb property.