Northland news in brief: Bank branches closed; body found in sea

Whangārei's ANZ branches were closed yesterday officially due to ''serious unforeseen circumstances'' that the Northern Advocate understands was threats made to the bank.

Bank branches closed

Whangārei's ANZ Bank branches were closed all day yesterday due to ''serious unforeseen circumstances''. A security guard was stood outside the branches all day and the Northern Advocate understands threats had been made against the banks. The newspaper contacted ANZ's head office for comment but had not received any by edition time yesterday.

Man's body found

The body of a 23-year-old Far North man was found yesterday afternoon after he went missing when the dinghy he was in with two other was swamped. None of the trio were wearing lifejackets but two of the men were able to swim to shore after their small boat had sunk off the coast of Hihi about 7.45pm on Wednesday. Emergency services were alerted to the situation and St John paramedics treated two people with minor injuries. A search was launched for the missing man. The search, including the man's family, resumed yesterday morning and the man's body was found about 3pm, 400 metres off shore. One Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) from Far North Surf Rescue and one Jetski from Ruakākā were involved.

'Big burn' postponed

Today's scheduled ''big burn'' of 8ha of scrub at Oruaiti in Doubtless Bay has been postponed due to unfavourable weather. The fire was to have been part of two days of public events educating Northlanders about the danger posed by extreme fires. Other events, including today's workshops and tomorrow's "fire fair" at Waitaruke Marae, on State Highway 10 north of Kaeo, will go ahead as planned. The fire fair will run from 10am to 2pm and include children's entertainment, giveaways, and demonstrations by helicopters using monsoon buckets. Principal rural fire officer Myles Taylor said the demonstration burn would go ahead as soon as weather conditions allowed.

Another Lotto win

It seems there's hardly a Lotto draw goes by without a decent winner from Northland.
A ticket sold in Dargaville was among seven nationally that one almost $22,000 with Lotto Second Division on Wednesday night. The ticket, sold at Caltex Dargaville, won its holder $21,803. There have been 14 Lotto, Powerball, Strike or Instant Kiwi First Division winners in Northland so far this year, plus 29 Lotto and two Powerball Second Division wins.

Davis to visit Kaitaia

Te Tai Tokerau MP and Labour Party deputy leader Kelvin Davis will be at Te Ahu in Kaitaia at 11.30am on August 9 and at Te Kao's Potahi Marae on September 6 to deliver an update on what the Government has been doing and to explain the impact of its 2019 Budget on Te Tai Tokerau. He will also be keen to hear any concerns that constituents might have.