Timothy Brown

Daily Covid cases have jumped sharply today - 105 new community cases recorded, with Omicron beginning to spread throughout the country.

The ultra infectious variant has ripped through the Australian… Audio

The holiday season is upon us, but Covid-19 is in the community and Omicron is at our doorstep.

So should be people be considering the vaccination rates of the areas they intend to visit?

Timothy… Audio

There are fears Queenstown's hurting hospitality sector may be brought to a screeching halt if a Covid case occurs among workers.

The resort's hospitality sector is unique in its tight-knit nature… Audio

In Central Otago some of New Zealand's most endangered animals have long called the country's coldest and driest climate home.

[embed]… Video, Audio

A proposal to build an international airport in the small Central Otago settlement of Tarras has reopened a divide in the town.

Almost a decade ago, a proposal for an irrigation scheme split the… Audio

In Central Otago, a former gold mining town is undergoing another boom.

Cromwell is bursting at the seams, but one of the first projects to receive approval under the government's fast track… Video, Audio

Some of Queenstown's migrant community have been left out in the cold under the new Covid protection framework.

Only New Zealand or Australian ID is accepted to apply for the vaccine pass - making it… Video, Audio

A icon of New Zealand's backpackers market is closing its doors due to the financial hardship caused by the pandemic.

YHA will permanently shut its 11 hostels from December 15. Timothy Brown has… Audio

With just days until the Covid-19 traffic light system comes into effect, it's clear vaccination is the key to loosening restrictions.

While success stories like Auckland are well canvassed, other… Audio

A traffic light Christmas is on the way, but freedoms will depend on the level of vaccination.

So what can the South Island expect?

Timonthy Brown reports. Audio

Fire and Emergency says the quick thinking of residents and emergency services saved lives during last year's Lake Ōhau wildfire.

Investigators say the blaze - which destroyed 48 homes and buildings… Audio

Health data from Saturday show that 81 percent of the eligible population have received their second Covid-19 vaccine.

Auckland is close to reaching 90 percent full vaccinated - currently just one… Audio

The Delta outbreak has unleashed a greater willingness to use derogatory and offensive slurs as part of public discourse.

That's the take of one University of Auckland research fellow who says terms… Audio

A Dunedin man who brutally murdered a couple before setting their home alight to hide his crimes, has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Wiremu Namana appeared in the High Court in Dunedin this… Audio

Dozens of people have turned out for the first day of a farmgate vaccination tour of Southland.

Two mayors from the region have teamed up to tow teams of vaccinators in caravans to remote settlements… Audio

The Prime Minister has dangled the carrot of lifting some restrictions in the south if they can get the island 90 percent fully vaccinated.

Community and business leaders say this provides the step… Audio

There's mixed feelings in the South Island over the government's continued decision to hold at alert level 2 despite more than a year since the last community Covid case.

Some say the safety-first… Audio

Dozens of people from around the south gave up their time at the weekend to test and improve how Milford Sound Piopiotahi will respond to an emergency, such as a magnitude 8 earthquake along the… Audio

Ohai is today closing the book on its more than century long association with coal.

The small western Southland settlement sprang up around large coal deposits discovered in the 1910s, but its time… Video, Audio