Far North news in brief: Meet the candidates and honours given out

You can hear from the election hopefuls for the Northland and Te Tai Tōkerau electorates in a meet-the-candidates event at Kaitāia RSA from 5 o'clock tonight.

Meet the candidates

Far North voters can hear from the Northland and Te Tai Tōkerau election candidates at an event in Kaitāia tonight.

Kaitāia Business Association in conjunction with Business and Professional Women Kaitāia has organised the event, at Kaitāia RSA from 5pm, and expects most of the candidates announced so far in both electorates to attend.

This is a chance to get to know the aspiring leaders, understand their visions and, most importantly, ask them the questions that matter to you and your community.

Honours awarded

Three worthy Far North folk will be invested with their royal honours in Auckland this week.

The trio were all issued with honours in the King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours list in June, the first for the new King Charles III.

The trio are Malcolm Nicolson, of Kawakawa, made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to local government and the community; Venus Cherrington, of Kaikohe, who received a Queen’s Service Medal (QSM) for services to health and the community and Cheryl Smith, of Kaikohe, made a MZNM for services to rugby.

They will receive their honours from Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro in ceremonies at Government House in Auckland this week.

IRBs on 90 Mile

The country’s top inflatable rescue boat (IRB) crews head to the Far North on Saturday for one of the most challenging IRB races in the world: the 90 Mile IRB Beach Classic. The event, which has been running for 28 years, starts at Scott Point at the northern tip of the beach and finishes 92.6km away at Ahipara, with four checkpoints along the route. This year, 40 three-person crews will be competing, including a team from Australia. Far North Surf Rescue president Vicki Rehu said the best completion time has been two hours and 15 minutes.

Parks for park

A Far North park popular with nature lovers and dog walkers will extend its carparking facilities after a $15,000 boost from the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board, granted at a meeting last Thursday. The Friends of Roland’s Wood, a group that maintains the park in Kerikeri, is fundraising to meet the remaining costs of the upgrade, which includes increasing parking by 10 spaces, additional perimeter fencing, and the removal of three liquid amber trees at risk of encroaching on power lines. To find out more, go to the Friends of Roland’s Wood Charitable Trust’s Facebook page.