Northland news in brief: Clocks go back and tsunami siren test

The clocks go back an hour at 3am tomorrow as daylight saving ends.

There's an extra hour in bed tonight when the clocks go back to mark the end of daylight saving. The clocks will go back an hour at 3am tomorrow so the time will become 2pm. While the time shift marks the end of daylight saving, it's also a good time to check, and if need be, replace the batteries in your smoke alarms. Fire and Emergency NZ is urging people to check their smoke alarms with the end of daylight saving coming up on Sunday. There are concerns that, although Kiwis are better at installing alarms, they're not so good at regularly checking they work, which is putting lives at risk. It says check the smoke alarm battery once a month, starting this Daylight Saving weekend by pressing the test button.

Tsumani drill

Northland's 200 outdoor tsunami sirens will be tested on Sunday, as usual coinciding with the end of daylight saving. Sirens from Te Hapua to Mangawhai will sound twice, for 10 minutes at 10am and again for 30 seconds at 10.30am, and will be monitored for any faults. Victoria Harwood, spokeswoman for the Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, said Northland already had more tsunami sirens than any other region of New Zealand, and there was an ongoing programme to expand the network.

Catalina visit cancelled again

The possibility of foul weather tomorrow has seen the planned visit to Northland of a World War II Catalina flying boat this weekend cancelled again. The plane was to visit the Far North today and tomorrow, but a spokesman said it appears the predicted weather for Sunday is again unfavourable leading to the regrettable decision to cancel the trip to Kaitaia. This weekend's visit was rearranged from last weekend when the plane was due to come, but predicted bad weather for that weekend saw the visit postponed to this weekend. No new date has been set for the Catalina to visit the Far North.

Hunters: claim maimais

Northland game bird hunters are being reminded to sort their hunting spot before the season opens. Claiming a favourite maimai or duck shooting stand must be done before 10am on Sunday, April 7. Rules applying to all 12 Fish & Game regions state that hunters have to be at their tagged maimai within one hour of the season's opening hour, or forfeit the spot to any other licensed hunter for the rest of the day. The claim process is also called marking up, pegging and tagging. Only 2019-20 Game Bird Licence holders can stake a claim, and will be sent a plastic claim tag if they request it on their licence application. Hunters should get their licence early to avoid the last-minute rush and also check for any changes to season lengths, bag limits and other rules.

Tele-dentistry trial success

Last month's pilot of an tele-health dental service for Northland children was a success, the Northland District Health Board said. The service, dubbed Zoom, connected patients in Kaitaia with dentists at Whangārei Hospital. Oral health therapist Kirstie Culpan said the service meant children would have consultations on time and could be placed on the general anaesthetic waiting list as soon as possible. While procedures like tooth extraction, root canals and crowns require an in-person visit, services such as examinations and consultations could now be offered via live clinical imaging provided by a specialised intra-oral camera.