Northland tsunami warning: Dargaville safe during alert
7 Mar, 2021 04:00 PM
3 minutes to read
Dargaville residents were safe and not told to evacuate amid Friday s tsunami risk.
Susan Botting is the Local Democracy Reporter for Northlandsusan.botting@northernadvocate.co.nz
Kaipara Mayor Dr Jason Smith says Dargaville residents were safe on Friday despite not being told to evacuate amid the wider tsunami risk.
Smith said Dargaville residents were instead told to exercise sensible precautions and keep away from the water, in line with Northland Civil Defence advice.
A Northland Civil Defence spokesperson said low-lying coastal areas along the whole of Northland s west coast should evacuate. But this did not include Dargaville.
Kaipara council re-thinks water charges to share costs
The Mangawhai waste-water treatment plant.
The Kaipara District Council (KDC) is floating a proposal to its communities to share the cost of drinking and wastewater systems evenly among all ratepayers.
Council’s sustainable growth and investment general manager, Sue Davidson, says the current system is too complex.
“Capital costs are currently paid for by specific networks while operational costs are shared across all networks, except for the Te Kopuru wastewater scheme, where all costs are paid by those on the scheme,” Ms Davidson says.
Council is seeking feedback on two new options. Ms Davidson says KDC’s preferred option is to share capital, maintenance and operating costs equally across ratepayers on all networks.
Tsunami threat to Northland from Kermadec earthquake
4 Mar, 2021 10:30 PM
8 minutes to read
TSUNAMI WARNING LATEST (1.25pm) GNS Science has downgraded tsunami warnings for New Zealand, advising the largest waves have now passed. A National Emergency Management Agency release says the threat level s now downgraded to a beach and marine threat for all areas that were previously under land and marine threat. It says all people who were evacuated can now return. The advice remains for all areas under beach and marine threat, to stay off beach and shore areas. Doubtless Bay residents in the Far North reporting seeing a surge of water come into the harbour. The surge came!, one resident posted on social media. Over the past hour a strong surge has been flowing into Mangonui Harbour. No tsunami wave as such but more like a strong flowing river stirring up the mud and sand in the harbour.
Mangawhai development: Independent commissioners decision pending on Kaipara development
24 Feb, 2021 04:00 PM
2 minutes to read
Signs advertising Mangawhai Central are visible on the farmland between Mangawhai Village and Mangawhai Heads. Photo / Google
Signs advertising Mangawhai Central are visible on the farmland between Mangawhai Village and Mangawhai Heads. Photo / Google
Northern Advocate
A decision by independent commissioners on a proposal to build up to 1000 homes and a business area in a rapidly growing Northland seaside town is expected within the next few weeks.
Auckland-based Mangawhai Central Ltd has applied to Kaipara District Council for a private plan change to develop about 130 hectares of former sheep and beef grazing land between Mangawhai Village and Mangawhai Heads.
Kaipara mayor Dr Jason Smith slams central government after checkpoint change
15 Feb, 2021 04:01 PM
6 minutes to read
Kaipara mayor Dr Jason Smith is expressing his frustrations with central government as police checkpoints in Northland from August last year were reinstated late yesterday. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Northern Advocate
Kaipara mayor Dr Jason Smith believes Northlanders are being ignored by central government after yesterday s border checkpoints were reverted to their locations from last year.
Smith, also the Northland Mayoral Forum chairman, said the concerns of Tai Tokerau s local government leaders had also been dismissed by the change, given the dysfunction it caused for locals when Auckland last went into lockdown in August.