Time-consuming and unproductive "distractions" involving Tim Shadbolt's council are behind Suzanne Prentice's bid to become Invercargill's new mayor.

Knives, clubs, large rocks, bottles and an axe were recovered from the scene where a man become the first person to be tasered in the South Island.

A teenage girl who fought off a shark was lucky the animal only gave her an "exploratory bite", an expert says.

A 14-year-old boogie-boarder attacked by a shark says she stood on something slippery before seeing a "massive grey thing twisting in the water".

Summer has ground to a spectacular halt in a number of regions over the past week - is it going to get even worse?

A short-sharp barrage of rain and hail pummelled Invercargill today leaving the city looking like a scene from mid-winter.