Latest news with #Dunedin
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Deans 13th in 1500m freestyle
Caitlin Deans. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON Dunedin Olympian Caitlin Deans has made a sound start to her big week. The Neptune swimmer finished 13th overall in the women's 1500m freestyle on day two of the world championships in Singapore yesterday. She clocked 16min 13.16sec in the second heat, her fastest time on the international stage at the distance. Kiwi Eve Thomas, who was part of the 4x200m relay alongside Deans in Paris, finished 16th in 16min 28.10sec. United States great Katie Ledecky, who has been a dominant force in the distance for over 10 years, was the top qualifier for the final with 15min 36.68sec. Looking to defend her 400m freestyle title on Sunday, former Dunedin swimmer Erika Fairweather was disqualified for moving on the blocks during the heat. Canadian Summer McIntosh stormed home to win the title in 3min 56.26sec. China's Bingjie Li claimed silver in 3min 58.21sec and Ledecky took bronze in 3min 58.49sec. It was a tight battle — Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus skipping the world championships again — and the top four all went under 4min with Australian Lani Pallister coming fourth in 3min 58.87sec. Fairweather is back in the pool this afternoon in the women's 200m freestyle, alongside Milana Tapper making her Aquablacks debut. Olympian Lewis Clareburt will also get his world championships under way in the men's 200m butterfly. Semifinals for both events are scheduled for late tonight (NZ time). Deans is back in the pool on Friday, racing alongside former club-mate Fairweather in the women's 800m freestyle.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
More being priced out of Dunedin rental homes, says charity head
First published on By Laine Priestley , Otago Daily Times Salvation Army Dunedin community ministries manager Captain Logan Bathurst. Photo: Otago Daily Times / Tracie Barret Climbing rents have brought housing insecurity in Dunedin close to a "tipping point", a charity leader says. Salvation Army Dunedin community ministries manager Captain Logan Bathurst made the statement after statistics released by Cotality showed rents had climbed by almost 9 percent in the year to May. Bathurst said the numbers tracked with the struggles he was seeing. He said more people in Dunedin had been priced out of rentals over the past 12 months. "I'd say it is getting worse. I think we're close to tipping point ... I don't think much is being done about it, to be honest. "It's lots of talk, but no real action at the moment." He believed people elsewhere in New Zealand were still struggling, despite the numbers showing rental prices were going down. Housing prices were still taking up a large portion of people's income, he said. "The amount ... is still huge - yes, around the country it has come down, but it is still a significant portion. "Energy costs and power costs have gone up as well over the last 12 months, so even if there is a saving in terms of accommodation, there's still higher costs of just cost of life and living." Cotality's report came from an update from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, which showed national median rents in the three months to May were down 0.3 percent from the year before. However, Dunedin was an outlier with an 8.7 percent rise. Cotality chief economist Kelvin Davidson said there was a sharp rise in rents post-Covid as borders reopened and net migration spiked. At the same time, rental supply was tighter, and investor activity dipped due to rising mortgage rates and tax rule changes. "This affordability ceiling is now acting as a natural brake on further rent increases." This story was first published by the Otago Daily Times .
Otago Daily Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Players from Japan, Dunedin in Herden's Old Golds mix
Kenta Iemura, pictured in action during the Town v Country game at Maheno on Saturday, is a newcomer in the North Otago squad. Photo: Masi Photography Some old, some new, some borrowed, some Blue Revs. New North Otago coach Luke Herden has spread the net widely to name his first Heartland Championship squad. Herden has named a bumper 35-strong squad containing four Japanese players, a handful of potential loan players from Dunedin and some intriguing newcomers from the local ranks. Significantly, he and assistant coaches Kilifi Fangupo and Ralph Darling will welcome back seasoned forwards Hayden Tisdall, Kelepi Funaki and Junior Fakatoufifita, all of whom are proven Heartland performers and were sorely missed last year, when the Old Golds broke a record 25-year streak and missed the playoffs. "They're X-factor players," Herden said. "They also do a lot of the gruntwork and give us a lot of go-forward, and they've also got a lot of experience. "Tizzy's just a workhorse, Kelepi could play at a higher level, and Junior as well. When we get them going, they'll be very good." The newcomer with the highest pedigree is Danny Tusitala. The 33-year-old halfback has played five tests for Samoa and has extensive NPC and Major League Rugby experience. Another feature of the squad is the selection of front-rower Gaku Shimizu and versatile back Kippei Taninaka, who played for Valley this year, and inside backs Kodai Okazaki and Kenta Iemura, who spent time in Dunedin with the Harbour club. The Valley link is from coach Barry Matthews' relationship with former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, now guiding Toyota Verblitz, while the Harbour players hail from Shizuoka Blue Revs (Yamaha), where former Old Golds trainer Adam Keen now works. Iemura and Okazaki, in particular, will be keenly monitored, as last year's regular 9-10 combination, Jake Matthews (shoulder surgery) and Greg Dyer (Southland), are absent. "They've got a great skillset, and a very quick catch-pass, things that will benefit our squad and how we want to play," Herden said. North Otago have suffered in recent years from not being able to find some stability with their loan players. They largely looked outside Dunedin in 2024 but Herden, a Dunedin teacher who is immersed in the local rugby scene, is confident two Zingari-Richmond players, flanker Flavius Roberts-Vili and centre Ben Fakava, and University prop Steve Salelea will provide good value. "I think it's important, when we get loan players, that they understand their role and are committed to North Otago. "In the past, we might get a player in for a couple of weeks and then Otago might want them back and we have to start again. "We're looking for players on the pathway to playing for Otago, and our goal is to develop them and have them hit the ground running." All-rounder Ben McCarthy returns to the squad, but the St Kevin's old boy is no longer listed as a player of origin. That system has been dismantled and Heartland squads will now be allowed a maximum of four loan players — previously three plus an origin player — in their match-day squad. Interesting newcomers from Citizens Shield rugby include Kurow forward Mitch Morton, Valley flanker Robbie Lailvaux and Athletic Marist lock Asaeli Ngahe, while Maheno first five Lachie Kingan returns to the Old Golds after a long absence. Experienced loose forward Cameron Rowland, a co-captain with Mat Duff last year, is being looked at as an option at hooker. New father Duff has made himself unavailable, while the other major loss from last year is classy centre Hayden Todd. The Old Golds have one preseason game, against Otago Country in Wānaka, before their Heartland opener in Whanganui on August 16. North Otago Heartland squad Forwards: Cam Rowland, Hayden Tisdall, Gaku Shimizu, Jake Greenslade, Kelepi Funaki, Mateo Qolisese, Paea Pala, Steve Salelea, Temesia Bolavucu, Anthony Docherty, Asaeli Ngahe, Epineri Logavatu, Apenisa Tuiba, Faran Poasa, Mitch Morton, Flavius Roberts-Vili, Junior Fakatoufifita, Robbie Lailvaux, Sailosi Vea, Savenaca Rabaka. Backs: Danny Tusitala, Kippei Taninaka, Kodai Okazaki, Seru Cavuilati, Isaac Clunie, Kenta Iemura, Lachie Kingan, Ben Fakava, Matia Qiolevu, Posiano Kamoto, Tini Feke, Ben McCarthy, Ben Paton, Hopoate Finau, Seva Druma.
RNZ News
22-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Dunedin councillors flooded with 'highly orchestrated' emails after supporting Green Party bill
Each elected member of the Dunedin City Council has received more than 2200 emails. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Dunedin's mayor and councillors have been flooded with thousands of emails after declaring their support for the Green Party's proposal to sanction Israeli politicians. Each elected member of the Dunedin City Council has received more than 2200 emails in what has been described as an orchestrated backlash to their support for the Unlawful Occupation of Palestine Sanctions Bill. Chlöe Swarbrick's members' bill would direct sanctions at Israeli ministers and Knesset members as well as military leaders who support the occupation of Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem - similar to sanctions imposed on Russian leadership for its illegal war on Ukraine. Dunedin councillor Christine Garey said the emails, which arrived over several hours on 7 July, appeared to be a campaign from a group based in the United States. The broad, impersonal emails - seen by RNZ - criticised "anti-Israel resolutions that unjustly vilify Israel", and asked recipients not to call for a "financial and military aid boycott of Israel". They began flooding in from about 1:30am, each with a slightly different subject line, Garey said. While only sent to the mayor and councillors, they also featured a CC list of New Zealand and United States leaders. "They were all quite carefully crafted - it was highly orchestrated," Garey said. She reported the emails to the council's IT staff, who she said blocked the senders later that morning. Two and a half weeks earlier, Dunedin City Council's Community Services Committee voted in favour of Mayor Jules Radich writing to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters asking government MPs to back Swarbrick's bill. Half of those around the council table were opposed, but a casting vote from chair Marie Laufiso broke the tie. Garey, who introduced the motion, said the bizarre email response had galvanized her to keep using her voice and influence on behalf of Dunedin's Palestinian community. "It says to me that we have made an impact... we touched a nerve and, to be honest, it's a badge of courage because it attracted this attention. It just reminds us how important this issue is.... the plight of our Palestinian community in Ōtepoti Dunedin," she said. The council previously called for a ceasefire in Gaza and for special humanitarian visas for the families of New Zealand's Palestinian community. Those resolutions had triggered some email traffic but nothing like the most recent onslaught, Garey said. In a statement, Dunedin City Council chief information officer Graeme Riley confirmed each councillor received a total of 2284 emails between 4 and 14 July, relating to the Unlawful Occupation of Palestine Sanctions Bill. The council was not taking any further action, he said. "It is not uncommon for council to receive bulk emails when considering contentious issues, but this example would be at the extreme end of the spectrum in terms of volume." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
21-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
The famous Dunedin Study gets world-wide attention
The Dunedin Study. Photo: Dunedin Study/University of Otago The landmark Dunedin Study of babies born in the early 1970s has caught the eye of the OECD. The study followed the lives of 1037 babies babies born at Queen Mary Maternity Hospital, Dunedin, in 1972. The participants were assessed every two years, then as adults every five to seven years. Using over 52 years of data, the Dunedin researchers identified eight different pathways strongly linked to early factors like mental health, childhood trauma, and cognitive skills. The OECD plans to use these findings to help policymakers around the world understand how early life experiences shape futures that thrive or struggle. Dorothy Adams, an independent adviser who worked at the OECD on secondment from the NZ Ministry of Social Development, told Morning Report the collaboration was "incredibly valuable". While there are other overseas longitude study, with a couple done over a similar timeframe, the Dunedin Study is unique, partly due to its very high retention rate of about 90 percent. "The OECD, in their view, it [the Dunedin Study] is world leading in many regards," Adams said. She said a particularly interesting finding from the study was the role IQ plays throughout an individual's life. "Young ones found to have good, or high IQ were more likely to do better in life then those with low IQ," she said. She said IQ is amenable to intervention, and research findings are starting to be implemented in programmes. For example, the study found ages three to four were critical for development of self regulation - how you think, behave and feel. "The Dunedin Study didn't necessarily give the answer about what to do, but it really narrowed down the search," Adams said. In response, a programme called Engage was developed, a game that helps develop cognitive skills in children, and was implemented in about half of New Zealand's Early Childhood Education (ECE). "It's being measured, it's being monitored and we are seeing results," Adams said. "I think that is a really lovely example of how these research findings are starting to be used in intervention." She said researchers are starting to look at how the Dunedin Study could be used more for contemporary challenges and to guide intervention development.
