A group's community-focused approach to restoring waterways around Kaikohe, incorporation of mātauranga Māori and providing opportunities for local youth has seen it named supreme winner of Northland Regional Council's fourth annual Whakamānawa ā Taiao - Environmental Awards. The awards recognise the environmental work being carried out in Northland and as well as the supreme win, Te Kotahitanga e Mahi Kaha Trust - Project Ngā Wai Ora o Ngāpuhi also took out the awards' Environmental action in water quality improvement category and highly commended in the Kaitiakitanga category. There were nine winners this year - seven category winners, one supreme winner, and one special awards winner; 22 finalists and 52 entries. The awards covered seven categories: community, pest management, education, water quality improvement, youth environment leader, leadership and kaitiakitanga. A special award, offered for the first time this year, recognises specific mahi supporting Kiwi Coast and went to Bay Bush Action. Other 2022 winners are junior fishery officers Curtis Robinson and Jayden Edwards (Youth environmental leader award), Hori Parata (Environmental leadership award), Kerikeri Peninsula Conservation Charitable Trust (Environmental action in pest management award), Vision Kerikeri and Friends of Wairoa Stream (Environmental action in the community award), Tangiteroria School (Environmental action in education award) and Te Toa Whenua (Kaitiakitanga award).
Three more Covid-related deaths
Three people were reported on Friday to have died in Northland while Covid-19 positive. The Ministry of Health reported yesterday the deaths of 25 people with Covid-19 across the country, including three in Northland. No further details were released on the three.
The deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 1127 nationally. There were 234 new Covid-19 cases reported in Northland yesterday - 135 in Whangārei, 65 in the Far North and 34 in Kaipara. There are 1452 active Covid cases in Northland, with 10 people in hospital in the region with the virus. A total of 34,928 people have recovered from Covid-19 in Northland. Nationally there were 6862 news cases reported on Friday.
Airport feedback extended
Whangarei District councillors have decided to extend the consultation period on the Whangārei Airport Location Study by five weeks, to July 1, and to publish further background reports on the project. The decision was made at Thursday's council meeting after a supplementary agenda item was considered, prompted by many requests from the community for more information and an extension to the consultation period. All councillors supported the move. By June 1 the documents people have requested will be loaded onto the council website. Council staff will also be contacting all who have submitted so far, informing them of this development and the opportunity it provides for submissions to be withdrawn and re-submitted, added to or changed. All who registered an interest in being kept up to date at drop-in sessions in May will be contacted to inform them of the decision. To learn more and have your say, visit: www.wdc.govt.nz/HaveYourSay before the new closing date of July 1.
Firefighters' union members to strike
A date has been set for strike action among professional firefighters nationwide. The New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union announced on Friday that industrial action would take place from 1am on June 13. The exact details of what strike action would look like are yet to be made public.
Former mayor in court
An Environment Court judge has reserved her decision in a case against former Whangārei Mayor Stan Semenoff, who was in court this week on Resource Management Act charges. The Northland Regional Council alleges Semenoff was to blame for an illegal rubbish fire at one of his business properties, causing air pollution. Semenoff faces two charges of discharging contaminants into the air – one by burning waste outdoors and one for burning tyres. Each is punishable by up to two years' imprisonment or a fine up to $300,000 . As managing director of the Semenoff Group of companies, Semenoff is personally charged for the offences. He does not deny the fire at his industrial site at South End Ave, Raumanga, on June 3, 2020, and turned up there soon after the fire service arrived. But he claims he did not know about the fire beforehand – that it was planned by two managers to whom he delegated responsibilities while recovering from a stroke. Judge Prudence Steven heard the case in Whangārei on Wednesday. A date for the release of her reserved decision has not yet been scheduled.