Nelson-Marlborough, New Zealand News

A huge response to a new Facebook group set up to help the less fortunate has left its founders overwhelmed.

A 64-year-old Nelson man who broke his leg after slipping on the Cable Bay walkway north of Nelson was airlifted from the area late yesterday afternoon.

The man was seen to fall around 4.30pm this afternoon by other track users, they raised the alarm and cared for him until the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter arrived.

The Canterbury Community Trust confirmed the grant for the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre - a popular tourist destination in Blenheim.

The region's two hospitals are close to agreeing a deal with Hospice Marlborough to continue providing reception cover at Wairau Hospital in Blenheim.

One of the stars of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit has made an unexpected journey of his own, reportedly returning to Nelson as part of filming for a documentary on New Zealand.

A campaign group set up to fight service cuts at Wairau Hospital has called on members of the public to attend the next Nelson Marlborough District Health Board meeting in Blenheim on May 28.

A 66-year-old man badly burned in a house fire in Blenheim last month has died in hospital from his injuries.

SERVICE WITH A SMILE: Students working in the Rata Room, from left back row, Jeff Howe and Alex Herbert; middle, Mac Clark, James Ferris, Alex Cohen; front, Amber Harrison, Brydee Sutton.

The major shift in how the Department of Conservation operates will see at least eight jobs lost in Nelson and Marlborough, and regional offices will no longer be one-stop-shops for the public and community conservation groups.

You can also view a map displaying accumulated data from your report and others.

A ban on commercial harvesting of mussels was lifted from East Bay in Queen Charlotte Sound on Thursday last week, but remains in place for Tory Channel.

During a controlled purchase operation by the Nelson Marlborough Public Health Service in Marlborough and Nelson this week, volunteers aged 14 and 16 tried to buy cigarettes and herbal products from 17 outlets in the region.

Government cutbacks increase plant pest threat Cuts to frontline conservation staff, combined with reduced biosecurity funding, could have serious implications for New Zealand's market gardeners and for our native flora, Labour's Biosecurity spokesperson Damien O'Connor says.

The Southern District Health Board will share another health board's planning executive for nine months while it reviews the role being vacated by Robert Mackway-Jones. Dr Sharon Kletchko is general manager of strategy and planning at Nelson Marlborough District Health Board.

Two teenage boys spent the night lost in the bush after taking a wrong turn while tramping in the Nelson Lakes National Park.

A 39-year-old truck driver sustained moderate back injuries after their truck rolled in the Motueka Valley this morning.

STARTING THEM YOUNG: David Chamberlain, Sarah Kerby with ten week old Baillie, and Skye Powell-Jones with 19-month old Ruby, during Saturday's march.

The Nelson Marlborough District Health Board will ask for ministerial approval to move forward with the sale of 5 hectares of land at Wairau Hospital in Blenheim.

The Nelson Marlborough District Health Board will spend more than $1 million on a new computer system that will allow regional sharing of radiographic images, despite facing a $3m budget deficit.