Northland news briefs

A diver who allegedly took 31 undersized paua, 256 kina and undersized crayfish is to appear in Whangarei District Court. Fishery Officers on patrol in the Taiharuru area on Monday discovered the diver and his illegal catch. The daily legal limit for paua is 10 per person, and the minimum legal size is 125mm. The daily limit for Kina is 50 per person. If convicted the diver could face fines of up to $20,000.
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Hundreds of Northland children involved in the I Have A Dream charity are releasing a music single and video encouraging children around the country to dream big and not to give up on their dreams. The song is being performed live at Forum North at 6.30pm tonight. I Have A Dream's Joby Hopa said the song unites the community to rise up and succeed. The performance is being livestreamed on the I Have a Dream Facebook page.
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Northland Police have arrested a 50-year-old man following search warrants in Kaihu, near Dargaville this week. Among the items seized were four firearms and a quantity of ammunition, along with a quantity of methamphetamine. He has been remanded in custody and will be appearing in Dargaville District Court in November.
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A poodle has been seized from an Opua property after an attack that left a woman with a bloodied leg. It is understood the woman was walking home from Opua Cruising Club on Friday evening when a small black poodle slipped under a gate on Richardson Rd and bit her on the back of the leg. A Far North District Council spokesman said animal management officers responded to the complaint on Monday and followed up again on Tuesday. They had impounded a dog and were investigating the attack. The investigation would take some days to complete, he said.
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A Russell group is among the latest recipients of subsidised, humane trapping equipment in the Kiwibank Predator Free Communities initiative. Fourteen new groups, from the Bay of Islands to Marlborough, have joined the initiative this year, bringing the total so far to 24. The long-term goal is to have a trap in every fifth backyard and to make entire communities predator-free. The Russell group aims to protect kiwi, weka and little blue penguin, and create a mainland predator-free zone as a buffer for the wildlife restoration underway as part of Project Island Song.
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Kaitaia police have charged a man who allegedly head-butted a woman three times then threw her to the ground with assaulting a female. The victim insisted that nothing had happened, a spokesman said, but witnesses said otherwise. She then intervened when police tried to arrest the man, and was finally subdued with pepper spray. She was later released with a pre-charge warning for obstruction.
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Mangawhai Meat Shop's Pork and Fennel sausage picked up a bronze medal in the traditional category of the Great New Zealand Sausage Competition. The bronze was a three-way tie with New World Rototuna's lamb, mint and rosemary and Elite Meats in Christchurch's pork and fennel sausage. The category was won by Zamora in Queenstown's pork and sage sausage. The competition's Supreme winner was the Boudin Noir from Akaroa Butchery & Deli.
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Far North Mayor John Carter has welcomed the milestone reached by Ngapuhi in its Treaty settlement process with its final day of hearings held at Waitangi on Friday. While the iwi still had a long way to go before settlement, completion of the hearings was a "hugely positive step". Resolving Treaty grievances was not just vital for iwi, it would benefit all of Northland. In other cases, such as Ngai Tahu, Tainui and, closer to home, the Te Hiku iwi, settlement removed the "them and us" mentality and set the stage for economic revitalisation. "So I'm delighted," he said. The hearings, which started in May 2010, were spread over 31 weeks.