Far North Briefs: Bowel screening age lowered, slip repairs, Mental Health Awareness Week

Far North District Council contractor Fulton Hogan will be installing steel columns, soil anchors and new pavement layers along the road.

Traffic management will be in place overnight along part of Mangamuka Road, resulting in longer-than-usual wait periods, while the Far North District Council’s roading contractor carries out slip repairs. From Monday October 13, access through a stretch of road 2.9km south of State Highway One will be restricted between 8pm and 6am. Traffic will be allowed through the worksite on the hour, every hour, while permanent piling is installed. Regular stop/go traffic management will be in place during the day.

Bowel screening

The Government had announced that the age for free bowel screening has been lowered from 60 to 58 in Northland, Auckland and the South Island, with the rest of the North Island to follow in March 2026. Health Minister Simeon Brown said this was a step to giving more people the best chance of having bowel cancer detected early.

Electric future

Transpower has opened consultation on five draft scenarios describing potential future electricity needs in Aotearoa, to help understand what transmission infrastructure will be needed in 2050 and beyond as the country electrifies and grows. The consultation is the next step in Te Kanapu, Transpower’s programme to develop a future grid blueprint. Consultation is open now until 5pm, Friday November 14 on the Transpower website: https://www.transpower.co.nz/.

Mental Health Awareness Week

The theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is Top Up Together, encouraging people across the country to connect with others as they bring the Five Ways to Wellbeing into their everyday life. The five simple actions are proven to help people find balance and boost wellbeing: Me whakawhanaunga/Connect, Tukua/Give, Me kori tonu/Be Active, Me aro tonu/Take Notice and Me ako tonu/Keep Learning. Mental Health Awareness Week runs to October 12. To learn more about the week and explore activities designed to help people connect with their community, visit mhaw.nz.

Hall refurbished

Refurbishment work to update a prized and well-used community hall in the heart of Ōkaihau has finished. Work was done to improve accessibility at the hall, provide new and upgraded kitchen and toilet facilities, and to remove old and dangerous construction materials. The upgrade means the hall can more easily cater for large functions in the main hall and the adjoining supper room. Accessibility has also been improved with upgrades to the toilet cubicles, which now provide wheelchair access, grab rails and accessible over-height toilet suites for ease of use and comfort. The changes make the hall more inclusive and easier to use for all members of the community.