Northland news in brief: New Te Tai Tokerau candidate named; Kiwi sign stolen

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi is the new Māori Party candidate for Te Tai Tokerau. Photo / Supplied

The Māori Party has named Mariameno Kapa-Kingi as its candidate for Te Tai Tokerau in the election this year. Of Te Aupōuri and Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa descent, Kapa-Kingi has spent her professional life working for iwi organisations and in Māori health, in particular with young Māori suffering from mental illness. She has also helped drive Kāinga Ora, which aims to secure healthy homes for whānau.

Kiwi sign nicked
For Backyard Kiwi and Whangārei Heads Landcare level 2 has been a time of checking in and catching up on kiwi, traps and bait lines. But one of the casualties of lockdown was a 'Kicking Kiwi' sign stolen from the main road during level 4.

The two large reflective kiwi signs are strategically positioned on the road between Nook Rd turnoff and McLeod Bay. The signs mark a high kiwi traffic zone and many kiwi were killed on this stretch of road – until the signs went in. If you can help find the sign please let your local police know.

Mistakenly charged
Some Far North residents may have been mistakenly charged late payment penalties for their water rates after cheques in pre-paid envelopes were held up during the Covid-19 lockdown. A spokesman said the Far North District Council had now received overdue mail from NZ Post and was processing the cheques.

Anyone who believed they had been wrongly charged a late payment penalty should call the council on 0800 920 029. ''We apologise for the distress this may have caused and want to assure customers we are working hard to correct payment records. We are also working with NZ Post to make sure this doesn't happen again,'' the spokesman said.

Decision awaited
Northlanders will have to wait a few more weeks to find out which of the big projects requested by their councils will get the nod in an infrastructure spend-up aimed at soaking up unemployment and countering a Covid-19-related economic downturn.

Last month Northland's four councils submitted wishlists totalling more than $1 billion to the Infrastructure Industry Reference Group, which has whittled down a nationwide $125b of requests to a shortlist which was submitted to the Government on Monday.

Ministers are expected to spend the next two weeks deciding which projects to back. Priority will go to ''shovel-ready'' projects which will create the greatest number of jobs in the shortest time.

Northland projects on the wishlist include a $79.6m Kaipara Harbour clean-up requested by the Northland Regional Council and a $230m city revitalisation project by the Whangārei District Council. Projects of less than $10m have been referred to the Provincial Development Unit for possible PGF funding.

Gallery re-opens
Village Arts gallery in Kohukohu is re-opening this weekend after a Covid-enforced closure, initially on Saturdays and Sundays only from 10am to 3pm. Rachel Miller's exhibition, Lark, will remain on display.