Laine Priestley

Journalist at Otago Daily Times

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Articles

Homeless man’s hopes crushed

5 days ago | odt.co.nz | Mary Williams |Laine Priestley

You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image. NewsDunedinA homeless man says it is "hard to feel hope" after his makeshift shack burned down at the Oval in a cooking fire. City leaders said the fire, and the plight of other people living in tents at the Oval, was symptomatic of a desperate shortage of government funding for housing and wrap-around support for the city’s homeless.
Dancer taps into family tradition

5 days ago | odt.co.nz | Laine Priestley

You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image. NewsDunedinMore than 60 years after Lorraine Knowles won a top Dunedin tap-dancing prize, her granddaughter has followed in her footsteps.
Police car cops a wee dousing

6 days ago | odt.co.nz | Laine Priestley

Friday, 9 May 2025 You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image. NewsDunedinA Dunedin man apparently on a mission to damage patrol cars told officers ‘‘all police vehicles need to be permanently damaged’’. While elsewhere in the city a teenager was arrested mid-stream as he urinated on a police vehicle.
Trust relieved as stabilisation work begins

6 days ago | odt.co.nz | Laine Priestley

You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image. NewsDunedinRestoration work on the ruins of Cargill’s Castle began this week, parts of the deteriorating structure getting some much-needed support. The building, which was abandoned in the 1970s, has been decaying since then. Cargill’s Castle Trust chairman Steven De Graaf said making a start on the stabilising was a huge relief.
Settlers association against charging out-of-towners visiting Toitū

6 days ago | odt.co.nz | Laine Priestley

You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image. NewsDunedinThe trust which backs Toitū Otago Settlers Museum has come out against charging out-of-town visitors, saying the move would lead to confusion. Otago Settlers Association (OSA) member Phil Dowsett told Dunedin city councillors at long-term plan hearings yesterday that the group did not support the move.
'Incredibly worrying': Family's fears for missing tramper

1 week ago | odt.co.nz | Laine Priestley

The family of a missing tramper in Milford Sound ‘‘feel so helpless’’ as the search for the man reaches day four. He has been identified as Eli Sweeting from Bristol, who lives at Port Motueka, Tasman. His sister Serena Sweeting, from England, posted on social media that this was an ‘‘incredibly worrying time’’.
Crews return to douse smouldering shed fire

1 week ago | odt.co.nz | Laine Priestley

Firefighters tackling a large commercial shed fire in Green Island overnight had to return to the scene today after the remnants started to smoulder again. A Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) spokesman said crews left the scene at 1.20am, but some firefighters returned at 8am. There were a couple of spots smouldering so a tanker was called in to douse them. That has since finished and a fire investigator remains at the scene.
Man flees police after ignoring pepper spray warnings

1 week ago | odt.co.nz | Laine Priestley

An agitated man fled police at speed after being pulled over last night, despite a threat he would be pepper sprayed. Sergeant Matt Lee, of Dunedin, said police stopped a vehicle travelling along Old Brighton Rd, Fairfield at 12.30 this morning. Driving the vehicle was a 48-year-old man who was wanted by police for a historical matter. When officers told the man they were arresting him, he quickly became agitated and refused to exit his vehicle.
Sports bodies demand leaky roof fix

1 week ago | odt.co.nz | Laine Priestley

You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image. NewsDunedinNational sporting competitions will dodge Dunedin unless the council urgently repairs the roof of the leaky Edgar Centre, councillors have been told. Dunedin’s biggest sporting codes have joined forces with the Edgar Centre calling for the council to act sooner rather than later, saying the leaky roof is leading to last-minute cancellations and putting player safety at risk.
NZTA’s inaction on sun strike hot spot ‘irresponsible’

1 week ago | odt.co.nz | Mark John |Laine Priestley

You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image. NewsDunedinNew Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi’s (NZTA) inaction on sun strike has been criticised as "irresponsible" after another crash on a dangerous section of State Highway 1, just south of Dunedin. A two-car collision backed up traffic on the Southern Motorway near the Saddle Hill overpass about 5pm last Friday.